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Business Support and Control System

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Business Support and Control System (BSCS) is a telecom billing and customer care platform originally developed by LHS Telekommunikation GmbH, a German company founded in 1990 by ex-IBM engineers Hartmut Lademacher, Jachim Hertel and Rainer Zimmerman. [1]

Still today BSCS is one of the most widely used billing systems in the global telecom industry, especially for mobile operators, the current version is named Ericsson Billing.[2]

BSCS, and its various versions, was deployed by over 100+ telecom operators in 80+ countries, the product was mostly popular in Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, and Asia, serving both Tier 1 and Tier 2 telecom operators. [3]

Telecom Areas

BSCS is a modular, scalable BSS (Business Support System) platform that supports telecom operators in handling:

  • Billing: Generates invoices for voice, data, SMS, roaming, and value-added services.
  • Rating: Applies tariffs and discounts to events like calls, data sessions, or content usage.
  • Customer Care: Supports agent interfaces for customer management, service activation, account updates.
  • Product Management: Allows operators to define and manage complex pricing plans and service bundles.
  • Collections: Handles dunning, overdue payment workflows, and integration with credit bureaus.
  • Mediation: Gathers and preprocesses usage data (CDRs) from network elements before rating.
  • Provision: Enables the activation of SIM Cards, IMEI and other device information on Network Elements in different market platforms and technologies (GSM, Voice mail, iDEN, Leased Line, IP, etc.)[4]

iX Series products

After BSCS 8, the Rating Package and Billing Package were modularized and could be installed as separated products. At MWC Barcelona 2009, LHS launched the iX Series, a range of next-generation business support system components that enable operators to rapidly roll out new services to their entire customer base. The new iX Series product portfolio comprises iX Rating and iX Billing, iX Mediation, and iX Recharge. With its iX Series products, the stand-alone business systems for tier-1 carriers that are designed to fit easily into their business environment.[5]

  • iX Rating: Real-time rating of usage events, CDR reading, rating and tarif taxation.
  • iX Billing: Bill run, invoice generation, account settlement.
  • iX Recharge: Support real-time and event-driven prepaid balance top-ups and recharges across telecom services.
  • iX Collections: Debt and dunning management, automatic handling of debt collection.
  • iX Customer Care: Agent interface and CRM.
  • iX Mediation: CDR collection and normalization.
  • NPX Network Provisioning Extension: Customizable provisioning interface.

Architecture and Technologies involved

BSCS operated on a client/server software platform. It uses Oracle database to persist information, Java-based modules with integration with SOAP/REST APIs, Data Queues, and external mediation devices. Rating, Mediation, Provisioning and Billing were developed in ANSI C and C++ with PRO-C access to Oracle database.

Beginning in BSCS 7 version, the product development centres around the company’s ‘6 degrees of convergence’ methodology, which is as follows[6]:

  • Single Customer Care and Self Care, Partner Management – resulting in enhanced customer care efficiency and extending CRM to partner management
  • Single Marketing View – reducing churn, and improving marketing by having no replication between the prepaid and postpaid databases
  • Unified Services and Tariffs – all services are available to all subscribers, it is just a payment choice at the service level
  • Integrated Balance Management – realtime balances maintained centrally with balance control at the service level
  • Integrated Payments and Recharge – lowering costs and increasing revenue and customer service levels
  • Consolidated Platforms and Technology – resulting in more efficient hardware, skills and maintenance costs.

BSCS Versions

From 1990 to 2025, BSCS had many different versions and distinct product names. Currently BSCS does not exist as brand and it evolved to become Ericsson Billing.

Version Company Release Date Key Functionalities Major New Features Customers
BSCS LHS 1990 Basic postpaid billing, customer data management Initial client-server architecture, CDR processing
BSCS 2 LHS 1994 Improved rating and billing First modular design attempts, enhanced CDR handling
BSCS 3 LHS 1996 Basic support for GSM networks Enhanced GUI, support for SIM-based subscriber ID
BSCS 4 LHS 1997 Tariff flexibility, discounting Multiple contract support, international language support Fascel Ltd., India[7]
BSCS 5 LHS 1999 Mature postpaid billing, hierarchical customer accounts Monolithic client-server system for postpaid billing. Multi-currency, multi-taxation, improved user interface. Telecentro Oeste, Brazil; TeleMig, Brazil; TM Cellular, Malasya; Nextel Peru; Nextel Mexico; Nextel Brasil; Nextel Argentina; Comcel, Colombia; Iusacell, Mexico[8]
BSCS 6 Sema 2000 Large operator support, CRM features introduced Account hierarchies, customizable workflows, prepaid integration begins. TIM Brazil[9]; TIM Peru
BSCS 7 SchlumbergerSema 2002 GSM/3G support, convergence begins First real attempt at convergent billing (prepaid + postpaid), product catalog. TIM Hellas, Greece; E-Plus, Germany; Conecel, Ecuador
BSCS 8 SchlumbergerSema 2003 True convergent billing system Modular architecture, IP service support, advanced rating engine, CRM improvement. Cosmote, Greece; Cosmote, Romania; Azercell Telecom, Azerbaijan; Sercom, Guatemala; Orascom Telecom, Tunisia; Wattanya, Kuwait; Turkcell, Turkey; Aktel, Bangladesh; Wattanya, Algerie; AMC Albania Mobile, Albania[10]
BSCS iX R1 LHS 14-02-05[11] Modular, SOA-based convergent billing. New generation of fully convergent pre- and post-paid billing and customer care solutions. Full convergence (prepaid/postpaid), service bundling, product catalog, Data Queue architecture. BSCS iX enables efficient customer management and real-time billing for voice, data, and content services. It is built on LHS’ new leading edge iX architecture, allowing for stepwise replacements and easy integration. BSCS iX contains iX Rating, iX Billing, and the new Web-based customer and contract management. With BSCS iX, LHS has completed the introduction of the innovative iX architecture into its flagship product BSCS. OPT New Caledonia, France; StarHub, Singapore; Iusacell, Mexico; Du EITC, Dubai; BeST, Belarus
BSCS iX R2[12] LHS 2006 Enhanced scalability and workflow automation iX Collections R2, customer segmentation, promise-to-pay, flexible dunning, SOAP/REST APIs Nextel Peru; Nextel Mexico; Nextel Brazil[13]; T-Mobile Makedonski Telcom, Macedonia; Telenor Serbia; Thuraya, UAE; Patel, Palestine
BSCS iX R3[14] LHS 16-Feb-09 Unified user experience and policy integration, it provides end2end charging, billing, and customer care system. Its open stateoftheart architecture is highly business adaptive, enabling stepwise modular upgrades in line with changes to the business environment. This means that BSCS iX Release 3 can meet the endtoend requirements of entry level communication service providers with high growth potential or can easily be integrated into the complex IT environment of mature businesses with highly demanding large scale subscriber bases. Improved GUI, policy control integration, enhanced rating performance, discount frameworks. New features and capabilities in the new release reflect the industry's trend towards next generation business models. This includes even greater flexibility and more comprehensive wholesale business and partner management as well as features supporting business models for new all-IP based services. At the same time, this is LHS' first release with advanced reporting and integrated business intelligence capability, for which they integrated SAP BusinessObjectsTM software. With its latest release, LHS recognizes the strategic importance of billing data and the need to make it easily accessible for business performance analysis and strategic decision making. Tunisiana GSM, Tunisia[15]
BSCS iX R4 Ericsson 22-Feb-12 Virtualization readiness and operational efficiency, Convergent billing solution using a standard, business orientated SID based API. BSCS iX R4 is a convergent, end-to-end billing and customer care system for any type of communications service provider: mobile, fixed-line, broadband, TV etc. It's highly suited to service providers with a strong postpaid subscriber base. Enhanced support for virtualized infrastructure, fraud management integration, real-time analytics. Integrated Telecom CRM, an integrated billing and customer relationship management product for the telecom industry based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Designed to help operators deliver superior customer serv+E15ice as well as help telecoms operate more efficiently and cut costs. Entel Chile; Bhutan Telecom, Bhutan
CBiO R1 Ericsson 2013 Ericsson Charging Billing in One Combines components like BSCS iX, Ericsson Charging System (ECS), CRM, Product Catalog, and Order Management into one deployable stack
CBiO R2 Ericsson 2014 Ericsson Charging Billing in One Zain, Kuwait; Zain, Saudi Arabia [16]
CBiO R3[17] Ericsson 2015 Ericsson Charging Billing in One Charging and Billing in One offers a flexible evolution path to convergence enabling CSPs to move to fully convergent BSS environment in a step wise fashion in-line with their specific business priorities and starting point, in terms of their existing IT environment.
BSCS iX R16 Ericsson 2016 BSCS iX R16
BSCS iX R17 Ericsson 2017 BSCS iX R17
BSCS iX R18 Ericsson 2018 BSCS iX R18
Ericsson Billing EB20 Ericsson 2020 Ericsson Billing offers flexible real-time billing with configurable Taxation, Multi-Tenancy, Multi-Currency support, Promotion Management, configurable Rounding Algorithms and Open Interfaces. The billing component can gather charges, relating to any service for a current settlement period – including those provided by MVNOs, content providers, digital partners, subsidiaries and others. It supports both batch and on-demand billing modes for customer and partner documents, and its split-billing capabilities allow separation of corporate and private invoices with different charging events based on flexible criteria. This cloud-native solution is designed to meet the needs of modern 5G networks, supporting real-time billing for diverse use cases like pay-as-you-go, subscription services, and microtransactions. Providing greater flexibility and scalability to handle the growing number of devices and services. Orange Egypt[18]
Ericsson Billing EB21 Ericsson 2021 Ericsson Billing
Ericsson Billing EB22 Ericsson 2022 Ericsson Billing
Ericsson Billing EB23 Ericsson 2023 Ericsson Billing Full AWS Cloud support Odido Netherlands[19]
Ericsson Billing EB24 Ericsson 2024 Ericsson Billing
Ericsson Billing EB25 Ericsson 2025 Ericsson Billing
Ericsson Billing EB26 Ericsson 2026[20] Ericsson Billing

References

  1. ^ "Ericsson offers to buy billing software company LHS". June 5, 2007 – via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
  2. ^ "Billing". ericsson.com.
  3. ^ https://www.rihusoft.com/bscs.html#:~:text=Ericsson%20BSCS%20is%20a%20convergent,box%20features%20and%20high%20configurability.
  4. ^ "BSCS Ix | PDF | Enterprise Resource Planning | Software As A Service". Scribd.
  5. ^ "Telecompaper". www.telecompaper.com.
  6. ^ https://www.samsonov.net/wp/assets/Research/OSS/Converged-Mobile-Billing.pdf
  7. ^ "INDIA GSM CARRIER SELECTS LHS GROUP'S BILLING SYSTEM | RCR Wireless News". August 30, 1999.
  8. ^ "Iusacell Rates With LHS". www.lightreading.com.
  9. ^ "BNamericas - TIM unifies cloud billing systems in partner..." BNamericas.com.
  10. ^ "Albania Mobile Picks LHS". www.lightreading.com.
  11. ^ "Telecompaper". www.telecompaper.com.
  12. ^ "Capgemini wins the implementation of the new LHS billing platform at the telecom operator T-Mobile Netherlands BV". Media TradFi et Defi : Corporate Finance, Fintech, DeFi, Blockchain, Web3 News, token, crypto.
  13. ^ "Supporting iDEN into BSCS iX R2". www.linkedin.com.
  14. ^ "LHS launches BSCS iX Release 3 at Mobile World Congress". February 16, 2009.
  15. ^ "SFR France Launches MVNE Operations Supported by LHS Billing and Customer Care System". www.ossnewsreview.com.
  16. ^ https://www.zain.com/en/press/zain-partners-with-ericsson-to-implement-innovativ
  17. ^ "Ericsson Charging & Billing in One (CBiO) - Information Framework Summary". TM Forum.
  18. ^ Tanner, John (April 9, 2024). "Ericsson lands digital transformation deal with Orange Egypt". Developing Telecoms.
  19. ^ Carroll, Michael (October 22, 2024). "Ericsson gives Odido top billing".
  20. ^ "Modernizing Charging and Billing with Ericsson and Dell". Dell. February 10, 2025.
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