亚信科技

On the early morning of September 1st, another sleepless night was illuminated by the glow of hard work. 

Shanghai Telecom's billing system, which carries the communication service data of tens of millions of individual and government enterprise users, completed its billing process hours ahead of original system's schedule. This project marks the first time in four years that a newly awarded vendor has implemented a core BSS system cutover, upgrade, and reconstruction in the domestic telecommunication market, providing robust support for Shanghai Telecom's digital intelligence transformation across individual, family, and government-enterprise businesses! 

Bottleneck Broken! Precise “Kernel Transplant”! Efficiency Boost and Cost Reduction! 

Shanghai Telecom's original billing system, which had been in use for 13 years, struggled to meet the diverse business demands of the 5G era, necessitating an urgent upgrade. Meanwhile, the accumulation of multiple business requirements and complex billing rules posed significant challenges to the system reconstruction. 

In 2023, Shanghai Telecom chose AsiaInfo as its partner to embark on the renewal of its billing system. 

Figure: Billing Operations Portal (Schematic Diagram) 

Both parties formed a cross-departmental special working group, starting with fundamental tasks such as user data organization, business rule clarification, and code analysis to develop a comprehensive and precise understanding of the system. By introducing targeted new technical architectures, advanced algorithms, and digital tools, a new generation of billing system was created that is more efficient, agile, stable, and flexible, catering to Shanghai Telecom's needs for digital, intelligent, and diversified development. This fluent “kernel transplant” of the kernel system yielded remarkable achievements: 

1.Advanced System with Robust Architecture: The new system adopts a leading cloud architecture and elastic deployment model, fully compliant with the Group's L3 into-cloud standards. It supports elastic scaling, significantly enhances concurrent processing capabilities, and achieves the unification and capability integration of billing engine. It is also the first within the Group to adopt the China Telecom ecloud container platform, fully realizing containerization, micro-servitization, and supporting gray releases and upgrades without downtime. 

2. Comprehensive Leap in Core Indicators: The dynamic reconciliation accuracy rate has been raised to 99.99%, the industry's best level. The monthly billing cycle has been shortened by approximately 30%. Individual user reactivation speed has been reduced from 3 minutes to seconds. The timely billing time for government-enterprise users has been shortened from half an hour to minutes. The launch cycle of personalized products and services has been shortened from two weeks to just one day. 

3. AI-Powered Multi-Stage Inspection and Operations: An AI-based audit mechanism covering the entire system, all stages, and multiple levels has been established. RPA robots are introduced for automatic inspections, while AIOps facilitate fault diagnosis and root cause analysis, enabling autonomous inspections and automated operations, freeing up human resources and enhancing operational efficiency. 

4. Exceptional Real-Time Billing Capabilities: Real-time billing capabilities have been comprehensively upgraded, integrating pre- and post-billing modes into a unified real-time billing engine. Both public and government enterprise customers can now enjoy instant billing and real-time discounts, providing a faster and more accurate billing experience. 

5. Real-Time Monitoring and Integrated Operations: Business processes have been standardized, interfaced, and intelligentized, with process and billing operational data integrated into the office system, enabling real-time monitoring and integrated operations. 

6. Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Mechanism: Cross-data centre disaster recovery mechanisms have been established for critical scenarios such as user recharges and suspensions/reactivations, ensuring fluent user operations under any circumstances. 

7. Support for Domestic Products and Open Compatibility: Domestic servers are fully utilized, with an open ecosystem and outstanding compatibility capabilities. 

Leaders from Shanghai Telecom expressed that the system reconstruction faced significant risks and challenges. However, the Shanghai Telecom and AsiaInfo teams ensured a smooth handover and stable operation with their exceptional resilience and professionalism, completing two years' worth of work in just one year! 

Figure: AsiaInfo Supports the Smooth Launch of Shanghai Telecom's Billing System on Time 

The fundamental reason for AsiaInfo to win customer favour lies in its credible and reliable “product + service” capabilities. 

The upgrade and reconstruction of Shanghai Telecom's new-generation billing system and its subsequent customer recognition demonstrate AsiaInfo's profound accumulation of over 30 years of tackling large-scale projects: 

Rich Products and Superior Technology: A comprehensive product system spanning “digital intelligence,” “cloud networks,” and “IT” enables flexible product options for customers. 

Customer-Centric and High-Quality Services: AsiaInfo always puts customers first, with nationwide project teams providing 7*24 personalized services. 

Proven Capabilities in Delivering Major Projects: Mature and comprehensive project management, solution design, implementation and delivery, and operational service systems provide peace of mind to customers. 

Extensive Participation in International and Domestic Standard Setting, Exchanges, and Cooperation: As a member of ITU (International Telecommunication Union), GSMA (Global System for Mobile communications Association), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Program), TMF (TeleManagement Forum), and the China Communications Standards Association, AsiaInfo applies cutting-edge technologies and standards to serve customers. 

Wang Zhuyong, Vice President of AsiaInfo, said that in the future, AsiaInfo will continue to rely on its credible and reliable “product + service” capabilities to support the high-quality operation of Shanghai Telecom's new billing system, not only shining in the billing field but also providing precise and real-time data for frontline marketing and business expansion, continuously injecting robust momentum into Shanghai Telecom's digital intelligence transformation!