Using Blockchains to Prevent Fraud

There is a good chance you still have not grasped what blockchains are. There is no need to panic, nor to be dismissive; it also took a while for people to grasp what the internet is. Technology does not need to be understood in order to be used. For example, politicians remain stubbornly clueless about the internet, but most of us rely upon it every day, and even politicians know how to use the internet to broadcast their opinions. All you really need to know about blockchains is that they are secure distributed databases made possible by clever maths and the internet. Whilst most databases can obviously fall victim to corruption or dishonesty, the distribution of blockchains means you cannot usefully manipulate one unless you can exert control over all of them. That means the information in a blockchain can be trusted, which is a very useful property in a world where trust is at a premium.

And now, because you are smart, you have started to think of ways blockchains can be used to help telcos run their business. Dan Cummings of ETHNews.com wrote a recent article on the subject, identifying the following uses for blockchains.

  • Eliminating fraud that depends on latency between the home and visited networks
  • User identity authentication
  • Real-time monitoring of the internet of things
  • Smart contracts for 5G

Compared to other technologies being pushed at telcos, the proposed uses of blockchains described are unusually useful. If I were you, I would read the telecoms blockchain article on ETHNews.

Eric Priezkalns
Eric Priezkalnshttp://revenueprotect.com

Eric is the Editor of Commsrisk. Look here for more about the history of Commsrisk and the role played by Eric.

Eric is also the Chief Executive of the Risk & Assurance Group (RAG), an association of professionals working in risk management and business assurance for communications providers. RAG was founded in 2003 and Eric was appointed CEO in 2016.

Previously Eric was Director of Risk Management for Qatar Telecom and he has worked with Cable & Wireless, T‑Mobile, Sky, Worldcom and other telcos. He was lead author of Revenue Assurance: Expert Opinions for Communications Providers, published by CRC Press.

Related Articles

Get Our Weekly Newsletter by Email