The looming implementation of the last elements of the RICA Act means headaches for South Africa`s telecommunications operators and retailers, says Swisttech general manager: development, Michael Hamilton - but smart service providers and network operators can use this data to give them a competitive edge in what is becoming a hotly contested telco market.
"Within the next 18 months or so, telecommunications operators will have to capture and keep on record the names, ID numbers and addresses of every single one of their subscribers," says Hamilton.
"That will make it possible for law enforcement agencies to trace people or intercept calls when they suspect criminal activity is happening. While this is a good thing for South African communities, in the short-term it is going to mean a lot of extra work for our telcos and for retailers. They are going to need excellent systems in place to accommodate this extra workload, which they will not be paid for."
That said, Hamilton points out that smart companies can maximise this data in order to gain competitive market advantage.
Swisttech`s CGR data management solution, already in use by one of the major cellular operators, makes it easier, faster and more affordable for companies to comply with the Act`s requirements. "It`s been locally developed and customised specifically to support RICA," he says. "Operators can easily record all the call data they need to comply with warrants for legal interception, including when, where and by whom every call is made. We also support full auditing."
However, CGR`s usefulness is not limited to RICA applications, adds Hamilton. "Once you start gathering and storing that kind of data, many other opportunities open up. For example, an operator that launches a new cellphone package offering cheaper off-peak calls can easily check to see how many calls are actually being made during those times. It also provides a great way to track the return on investment of marketing campaigns."
CGR can process up to 2.5 billion call data records per day from multiple data streams in different formats. This is done in real-time and in parallel, eliminating single points of failure. CGR also allows for near real-time fraud detection, which monitors pattern deviation, profile monitoring, abnormal subscriber activity, among others. This allows telcos to quickly act against fraudulent activity, which not only means RICA compliance, but also makes for solid business risk mitigation.
"Liberalisation will see a number of new players in the telco space. Possibly the most enticing feature of CGR is its ability to accurately assess and monitor traffic. This has enormous potential for the network service providers struggling with network dimensioning issues as they expand their backbone," Hamilton explains.
However, CGR is modular, which also makes it relevant even to the small-to-medium companies looking for a solution, which can grow with the company`s needs and cash flow.
"CGR is fast, locally produced, easy to configure and operate and has a solid four-year track-record of successful use," concludes Hamilton. "It provides valuable business intelligence that will help communications operators to recoup some of the costs they will incur through RICA compliance."
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