Billing and Reporting

The iTouchPoint billing system helps monitor, manage and process calls related data. iTouchPoint captures a variety of data with every call. This data is processed on a daily basis to generate various types of standard and customized output formats. The automated processes of the iTouchPoint billing system ensure that data is processed, output generated on the fly and made available in an accurate, timely, secure and reliable manner.

Billing

iTouchPoint is capable of producing billing records in practically any format. The iTouchPoint billing system (totally developed in-house) can generate records in standard formats (CDR, EMI, AMA, ABUR) as well as in any customized format as may be required. Output files and data can be pushed to a customer location or retrieved from an iTouchPoint location at a pre-defined frequency. Such periodicity can be as frequent as every day.

• CDR (Call Detail Record) is a data set that holds information about each call (date & time of the call, the duration of the call, who called, the number dialed etc.). CDR's are used to settle costs between carriers as well as generate bills sent to end-users.
• EMI (Exchange Message Interface) is a standard format used for exchange of telecommunications message information among Local Exchange Carriers for billable and non-billable data.
• AMA (Automatic Message Accounting) is a service feature that automatically records data regarding user-dialed calls

Reporting

We house a dedicated team of developers and database experts who can create an almost unlimited range of reports from the captured calls data. If the data exists, we can process it and generate customized reports instantaneously.

• For DA - Directory Assistance helps find information on phone numbers, addresses etc.
  • CDR reports for each call logged on the switch - Basic CDR, DNIS CDR, Toll Free CDR, Total Duration CDR.
  • Summary reports detail the calls by DNIS / ANI
• For Enhanced DA - Directory Assistance Enhanced Services give information on weather, stock updates, sports, movies, restaurants, businesses etc.
  • CDR reports by services: reverse search, address search, category search.
  • Summary reports detail the calls by DNIS / ANI
• iTouchPoint uses various types of data for generating reports and other output formats. Some of the data used is -
  • Switch records - provide details of calls like calling numbers, called numbers, charged numbers, listings, date & time of calls, call durations etc.
  • Collector records - provide details of listing information given to callers while on a DA call.
  • LERG (Local Exchange Routing Guide) - provides the state, LATA, LATA Name, Switch, Location Name for each NPA and NXX combination. (LATA = Local Access and Transport Area)
  • TPM - is derived from LERG and contains time zone information (day light saving info).

Analysis

Much of the raw call data can be combined with external data to uncover patterns and trends in the data. For example, using the Local Exchange Routing Guide (LERG) every listing request can be matched to the phone company that owns a listing. In this way, a customer can, for example, determine what percent of requests use their own data, RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company) data or other LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) data. Geographic trends can also be discovered to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign, for example. Even historical weather patterns can be used to determine variations in call patterns.

• Generate Trends
  • By DNIS
  • By ANI
  • By NPA, NPANXX
  • By State
  • By Service
  • By ZIP Code
• Meta Data
  • Hour of day
  • Day of week
  • Month of year
• Correlation
  • Advertising
  • Weather
  • Climate
• Raw data can also be supplied for internal analysis

Access

Customers can access reports and billing information in a variety of ways. iTouchPoint supports FTP, secure FTP, Connect:Direct (NDM). In the near future, iTouchPoint will release a central, web-based, reporting portal built on Crystal Enterprise technology.

Call records recorded on the network will be in the same format as today (ABUR) and will appear on the existing Invoice. Call records recorded on the DA platform can be in any format (e.g. AMA, EMI, ABUR) and can be provided unrated or rated. Call records recorded by iTouchPoint can be sent via NDM, FTP, or via the current ANC billing process calling card.