July/Aug 2004

Billing and airtime support for telematics services may not be uppermost in users' minds, but they can clinch the success of the system, and Stream Communications reckons it's ahead of the game

There are almost certainly several hundred telematics and vehicle tracking systems of various kinds available in Britain now - all offering different services at different prices. Have you ever spared a thought for how they do their billing?

It's a highly complex process. It involves monitoring the customer's utilisation of the system, taking account of special tariffs and discounts, and perhaps integrating charges for third-party services such as Internet access, as well as voice, data transfer and text messaging (as used for tracking "polls") and so on. Billing is a critical stage of most telemetry systems and must be timely and accurate, appearing more or less seamless to the end user.

No wonder, then, that a growing number of the suppliers of these systems are drawn to the idea of using a third-party specialist for their underlying business services - one that can provide not only the billing, but in some cases also the airtime and customer support.

 

Which is where Stream Communications comes in. You may not even have heard of the company until now, but it's been growing steadily over the past four years, and now provides billing and airtime support of one sort or another and an extensive and diverse range of telemetry and telematics system suppliers, integrators and end users.

"Stream offers a win-win business model," says director Nigel Chadwick. "Our whole service and infrastructure are directed specifically at the machine-to-machine communications sector. We aim to develop long-term relationships with our customers and to establish and support their ongoing revenue streams."

Chadwick has a background in finance and management consultancy, while co-director Kevin McDowall has extensive experience of mobile service provisioning, so they were ideally equipped to develop this new service. Early on they realised the potential of the increasing demand for data-based mobile communications, aligned to a growing demand for integrated airtime and billing services.

Almost any kind of company offering or using telematics can stand to benefit from Stream's services. These include original equipment manufacturers (including those serving the vehicle market); value-added resellers; machine-to-machine integrators; telematics service providers; and even corporate end users who might acquire or set up their own telematics or telemetry systems.

Stream also offers co-branded billing, so that the primary supplier's brand and identity can be reinforced, which is important to some customers.

In terms of the kind of technology used for the service, Stream is strictly agnostic. "It could be GPS or cell-site based tracking," Chadwick says, "and it could involve any combination of GSM, GPRS or SMS data transmissions."

Stream itself is a major reseller of airtime, and as a volume buyer, works hard to negotiate special tariffs built uniquely for the telemetry and telematics market.

Split billing is a particular speciality of the company. The directors believe that no other supplier in this market space can come up with anything approaching the granularity that Stream can offer, or the complete turnkey service. One example of a split billing facility is where a telematics supplier might want to hide the charges for certain services within the overall bill. Another is where the supplier might need to offer clients credits for location fixes.

Another strength is Stream's ability to anticipate problems before they arise. "You have to bear in mind that these are machine-to-machine systems," Chadwick points out. "It's not like the consumer market, where you have a human being who can raise issues or concerns. These systems have to work properly without intervention. That's where our experience stands us in such good stead. We can highlight potential issues in advance of trials and this can often be key to their ultimate success and subsequent commercial roll-out on a larger scale."

Whilst Stream prefers not to disclose its client list publicly, we can confirm that it is extensive and wide-ranging.

Perhaps the company's strongest recommendation is that it aims to be flexible. The directors recognise that no two systems will have exactly the same requirements. Where other suppliers might offer a fixed system on a take it or leave it basis, Stream will take account of what the client actually needs.

The company has wide experience of many different scenarios over the past four years and reports an overall maturing of technology, a reduction in capital and operating costs, and increasing market acceptance of the business benefits to be gained from the telematics and telemetry systems. The increasing volume and number of players now established in the UK leads Stream to believe that the future of telematics is very rosy.