Plain-language definitions of the terms used across this site, from BSS and charging to machine learning.
The standards body that defines mobile network technology, from 2G to 5G, including charging.
5G New Radio: the radio technology used by 5G networks.
Standalone 5G uses a 5G core; non-standalone 5G uses a 4G core with 5G radio.
Two or more sites serving traffic at the same time, so one can fail without an outage.
An optional extra bought on top of a plan, such as more data or international minutes.
Using AI and machine learning to run IT operations: detecting anomalies, finding causes and automating fixes.
The amount of minutes, SMS or data included in a plan or bundle.
Finding data points or patterns that differ from normal behaviour, such as a sudden drop in successful activations.
Application Programming Interface: a defined way for software systems to talk to each other.
A single entry point that secures, routes and limits calls to back-end services.
Average Revenue Per User: revenue divided by number of subscribers over a period.
The recurring period, usually monthly, for which a customer is invoiced.
The batch process that calculates and produces invoices for a bill cycle.
A customer's surprise at an unexpectedly high bill, often from roaming or extra usage.
The account that receives invoices and pays for one or more services.
Business Support Systems: the systems that sell, charge, bill and care for customers.
A resilience pattern that isolates parts of a system so one failure doesn't spread.
Several products sold together at one price.
Capital spend (equipment, build) versus operating spend (running costs).
An architecture where products, rules and prices live in the catalog, not in code.
Content Delivery Network: servers near users that deliver web content quickly.
Call (or charging) Detail Record: a record of a usage event, used for rating and billing.
Charging Function: the 5G network function that handles charging requests.
Customers leaving a provider. Churn prediction models estimate who is likely to leave.
A pattern that stops calling a failing service for a while to let it recover.
A third party that routes and settles roaming or number-porting transactions between operators.
Commercial order management (what the customer bought) and service order management (what must be set up).
One charging system for prepaid and postpaid, online and offline.
One bill for several services, such as mobile, broadband and TV.
Commercial off-the-shelf software bought from a vendor rather than built in-house.
Configure, Price, Quote: tools that build valid offers and quotes, especially for business customers.
Checking a customer's balance or limit in real time before allowing usage.
Customer Relationship Management: the system for customer records, interactions and sales.
A central store for large amounts of raw data used for analytics and AI.
The signalling protocol used by 4G networks for charging and policy.
A virtual model of a network or system used to test changes safely.
Disaster recovery: plans and systems to restore service after a major failure.
The process of reminding and acting on customers with overdue payments.
Running applications close to users, at the network edge, for low latency.
Equipment Identity Register: a list used to block stolen or unauthorised devices.
An embedded SIM that is downloaded and activated remotely instead of inserted as a card.
TM Forum's Business Process Framework, a standard map of telecom business processes.
Systems that communicate by publishing and reacting to events.
An order that fails or stops part-way and needs manual or automated fixing.
Allowances included in a plan, such as data or minutes, used before paid usage.
Fibre to the home: broadband delivered over fibre cable to the customer's premises.
AI that creates text, images or code, used for agent assistants, summaries and documentation.
Building a new system from scratch versus changing an existing one.
Network databases that hold subscriber data in 2G/3G, 4G and 5G respectively.
Designing an operation so repeating it has the same effect as doing it once.
International Mobile Equipment Identity: the unique number of a mobile device.
IP Multimedia Subsystem: the platform for voice and messaging over IP (VoLTE, VoNR).
International Mobile Subscriber Identity: the unique number stored on a SIM.
The link and settlement between two operators' networks for calls and messages.
Internet of Things: connected devices such as meters, trackers and sensors.
Key Performance Indicator: a measure used to track performance against a goal.
Large Language Model: a generative AI model trained on large amounts of text.
Software that learns patterns from data instead of following only fixed rules.
Collecting, cleaning and enriching usage records from the network before rating.
An architecture where an application is built from small, independent services.
Practices for deploying, monitoring and retraining machine learning models in production.
Mobile Number Portability: keeping your number when changing operator.
The mobile phone number of a subscriber.
One platform serving several brands or partners, with their data kept separate.
Mobile Virtual Network Enabler: provides BSS and services to MVNOs.
Mobile Virtual Network Operator: a brand that sells mobile services using another operator's network.
Network Exposure Function: the 5G function that exposes network capabilities through APIs.
Creating several virtual networks with different performance on one physical 5G network.
An AI recommendation of the most useful action or offer for a customer at that moment.
Network Functions Virtualisation: running network functions as software on standard servers.
Near-Real-Time Roaming Data Exchange: fast summary records used to detect roaming fraud.
Online Charging System: real-time charging, mostly for prepaid, in pre-5G networks.
TM Forum's Open Digital Architecture: a reference model for modular, cloud-native BSS/OSS.
Operations Support Systems: the systems that plan, provision and assure the network.
Over-the-air: updating SIMs or devices remotely over the mobile network.
Policy Control Function: the 5G function that sets quality of service and usage rules.
Moving a number into, or out of, an operator's network.
Paying after usage on a monthly bill versus paying in advance from a balance.
What is actually sold to customers: a product with its price, rules and terms.
A customer's commitment to pay an overdue amount by a set date, which pauses collection.
Charging a fair part of a recurring fee when a service starts, changes or ends mid-cycle.
Setting up a service in network and IT systems so the customer can use it.
Quality of Service (network measures) and Quality of Experience (how the customer feels it).
Radio Access Network: the antennas and base stations that connect devices to the network.
Returned Account Procedure: the file used to reject invalid roaming records.
Calculating the price of a usage event according to the customer's tariff.
Role-Based Access Control: permissions granted according to a user's role.
Pricing and deducting usage from a balance as it happens.
Recalculating charges for past usage, for example after a tariff error.
Controls that make sure every service delivered is correctly charged and billed.
Finding the underlying reason for a problem, not just its symptoms.
Recovery Time Objective (how fast to recover) and Recovery Point Objective (how much data loss is acceptable).
Software-Defined Networking: controlling the network centrally through software.
An infrastructure layer that handles secure, reliable communication between microservices.
TM Forum's Information Framework: a standard data model for telecom.
Moving a number to a new SIM; also a type of fraud used to take over accounts.
Service Level Agreement: a commitment on availability, performance or response times.
Service Level Objective: an internal target for reliability or performance, such as 99.9% uptime.
The server that stores and delivers eSIM profiles to devices.
A migration pattern that gradually replaces parts of a legacy system with new services.
Transferred Account Procedure: the standard file for exchanging roaming usage between operators.
Total Cost of Ownership: the full cost of a system over its life.
An industry association that publishes telecom business standards, including the Open APIs.
Standard REST APIs from TM Forum, such as TMF620 Product Catalog and TMF622 Product Ordering.
A widely used framework and method for enterprise architecture.
Replacing sensitive data such as card numbers with a meaningless token.
Adding money or credit to a prepaid balance.
The application on a SIM card that identifies and authenticates a subscriber on 3G/4G/5G.
A quick text-menu service on mobile phones, often used for balance checks and top-ups.
Voice calls over 4G (LTE) and over 5G (New Radio) networks.
A code or card used to top up a prepaid balance or claim an offer.
A security model where no user or system is trusted by default, even inside the network.