Free Trial for Users of New RAG-Biaas Number Plan Data Portal

One of the headaches created by a global industry where everybody needs to work with everybody else is that everybody also has to work with national regulators… even if the regulators do not make it easy. A regulator on the far side of the planet may decide to change their number plan, but will not make much effort to warn you. So every number plan change creates the risk of fraud, arbitrage, or inaccurate billing, unless you are told about each alteration, allowing you to amend international rates and system configurations in a timely manner. Given the well-known risks, the Risk & Assurance Group (RAG) has teamed up with the number plan experts at Biaas to encourage more telcos to adopt a systematic approach to mitigation through the new RAG-Biaas web portal.

Biaas provides number plan data that helps telcos manage their prices, supporting their assurance efforts whilst preventing frauds. By partnering with RAG, Biaas would like to make it easier for telcos to obtain access to their services online. Telcos registering to use the RAG-Biaas web portal will be offered a free proof of concept that demonstrates the value added by comprehensive number plan management.

Rob Chapman of RAG talked about the reasons to back Biaas.

RAG is keen to encourage the use of Biaas number range data repositories because we believe their widespread adoption would deliver significant improvements in how the telecoms industry ensures the accuracy of billing whilst simultaneously reducing the risk of IRSF fraud.

With a service of this type, every increase in the number of users leads to increased cost efficiencies for the supplier. In contrast, there is currently a lot of replicated effort because individual telcos separately monitor changes to the number range plans of every nation. Major operators like MTN, Vodafone and BT are already customers of Biaas, indicating their number plan data is trusted by some of the most respected RAFM teams in the world.

Fraudsters exploit common weaknesses, so if one telco closes a loophole then the fraudster will search for other telcos who can be cheated in the same way. A common, comprehensive and cost-effective means of updating tariffs for every national numbering plan would stifle those fraudsters.

Telcos can sign up for a free proof of concept by registering at the RAG-Biaas number plan management portal.

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.

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