<s>
Telecommunications	B-Application
billing	I-Application
is	O
the	O
group	O
of	O
processes	O
of	O
communications	O
service	O
providers	O
that	O
are	O
responsible	O
to	O
collect	O
consumption	O
data	O
,	O
calculate	O
charging	O
and	O
billing	O
information	O
,	O
produce	O
bills	O
to	O
customers	O
,	O
process	O
their	O
payments	O
and	O
manage	O
debt	O
collection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
telecommunications	B-Application
billing	I-Application
system	O
is	O
an	O
enterprise	B-Application
application	I-Application
software	I-Application
designed	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
telecommunications	B-Application
billing	I-Application
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telecommunications	B-Application
billing	I-Application
is	O
a	O
significant	O
component	O
of	O
any	O
commercial	O
communications	O
service	O
provider	O
regardless	O
specialization	O
:	O
telephone	O
,	O
mobile	O
wireless	O
communication	O
,	O
VoIP	B-Application
companies	O
,	O
mobile	O
virtual	O
network	O
operators	O
,	O
internet	O
service	O
providers	O
,	O
transit	O
traffic	O
companies	O
,	O
cable	O
television	O
and	O
satellite	O
TV	O
companies	O
could	O
not	O
operate	O
without	O
billing	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
creates	O
an	O
economic	O
value	O
of	O
their	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operations	O
area	O
includes	O
functions	O
of	O
capturing	O
usage	O
records	O
(	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
industry	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
call	O
detail	O
records	O
,	O
charging	O
data	O
records	O
,	O
network	B-Protocol
traffic	I-Protocol
measurement	I-Protocol
data	O
,	O
in	O
some	O
cases	O
usage	O
data	O
could	O
be	O
prepared	O
by	O
telecommunications	O
mediation	O
system	O
)	O
,	O
rating	O
consumption	O
(	O
determining	O
factors	O
,	O
significant	O
for	O
further	O
calculation	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
calculating	O
total	O
time	O
of	O
calls	O
for	O
each	O
tariff	O
zones	O
,	O
count	O
of	O
short	O
messages	O
,	O
traffic	O
summary	O
in	O
gigabytes	O
)	O
,	O
applying	O
prices	O
,	O
tariffs	O
,	O
discounts	O
,	O
taxes	O
and	O
compiling	O
charges	O
for	O
each	O
customer	O
account	O
,	O
rendering	O
bills	O
,	O
managing	O
bill	O
delivery	O
,	O
applying	O
adjustments	O
,	O
maintaining	O
of	O
customer	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
particular	O
,	O
for	O
prepaid	O
customers	O
billing	O
should	O
be	O
realized	O
continuously	O
(	O
in	O
near	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
computing	I-General_Concept
standards	O
,	O
also	O
noted	O
as	O
hot	O
billing	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
when	O
a	O
lower	O
threshold	O
amount	O
at	O
the	O
account	O
is	O
reached	O
,	O
systems	O
could	O
automatically	O
limit	O
a	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Term	O
convergent	O
billing	O
system	O
refers	O
to	O
such	O
a	O
solution	O
,	O
that	O
could	O
maintain	O
single	O
customer	O
account	O
and	O
produce	O
a	O
single	O
bill	O
for	O
all	O
services	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
public	O
switched	O
telephone	O
network	O
,	O
cable	O
TV	O
and	O
cable	B-Device
internet	I-Device
services	O
for	O
one	O
customer	O
)	O
and	O
also	O
do	O
it	O
regardless	O
a	O
payment	O
method	O
(	O
prepaid	O
or	O
postpaid	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
global	O
market	O
of	O
the	O
packaged	O
telecommunications	B-Application
billing	I-Application
systems	O
estimated	O
to	O
$6	O
Billion	O
at	O
2007	O
and	O
forecast	O
to	O
grow	O
up	O
to	O
$7.2	O
Billion	O
in	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
6	O
%	O
—	O
Oracle	B-Application
Corporation	I-Application
,	O
a	O
USA	O
company	O
;	O
</s>
