Telecom Software Development

BSS (Business Support Systems) covers the commercial layer of a telecom operation: the product catalog (what you sell), billing (how you charge for it), order management (how subscriptions are provisioned and changed), CRM (how you manage customer relationships), and revenue assurance (how you verify you're billing correctly for everything you're delivering). OSS (Operations Support Systems) covers the network layer: network inventory (what equipment you have and where), fault management (detecting and resolving network issues), configuration management (provisioning and changing network elements), and performance management (measuring and optimizing network quality). Most operators run commercial BSS platforms (Amdocs, Comverse, Oracle Communications) alongside custom-built internal tools for the processes the commercial platforms don't handle well. We build the custom layer, the product configurator that's faster than the billing system's native UI, the customer portal that talks to the BSS via API, the operational dashboard the network team actually uses.

An MVNO running on a host network needs the BSS layer the host doesn't provide: a product catalog and pricing engine that defines what the MVNO sells (independent of the host's product catalog), a billing and invoicing system that rates usage data from the host against MVNO subscriber tariffs, a subscriber management system that handles activation, deactivation, plan changes, and account management, a customer portal for subscriber self-service, a support tooling layer for customer operations, and a revenue assurance layer that reconciles MVNO billing against host network wholesale invoices. Some MVNOs also need a SIM management system, an eSIM provisioning API, and a number portability integration. The extent of custom build vs commercial MVNO platform (BSCS, Netcracker, Optiva) depends on your subscriber volume, the complexity of your tariff structure, and how fast you need to move to market.

Most telecom call center contacts fall into a small number of categories: balance and usage queries, plan change requests, bill explanation, fault reporting, and device unlock requests. A well-built self-service portal handles all five without a human. Usage dashboards showing real-time data, minutes, and SMS consumption against the subscriber's plan. Plan change workflows that check eligibility, show the upgrade price with proration, and execute the change immediately against the BSS via API. Bill explanation that breaks down each charge with plain-language descriptions. Fault reporting that opens a ticket, checks for known network issues in the subscriber's area, and gives a live status update without needing to call. Operators running self-service portals typically deflect 30-50% of contact center volume within 6 months of launch.

Yes. We build the API layer between your existing BSS and the customer-facing or operational tools you need. Most commercial BSS platforms expose REST or SOAP APIs for subscriber management, billing queries, product changes, and order management. We integrate against those APIs to build the modern UI your customers see and the operational tooling your team uses, without replacing the billing system itself. For systems with limited API coverage, we build against database views or file-based integrations where necessary. We've integrated with Amdocs, Comverse, Oracle Communications, Netcracker, and Ericsson BSS platforms.

UK (Ofcom): number portability compliance, General Conditions of Entitlement requirements, consumer contract information requirements under the Telecoms Consumer Protection regulation, and GDPR for subscriber personal data. US (FCC): CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information) rules governing the use and protection of call records and location data, E911 compliance for VoIP services, and TCPA compliance for outbound messaging campaigns. EU (BEREC): number portability, net neutrality compliance logging, and GDPR for subscriber data. We work with your legal and compliance team to validate jurisdiction-specific requirements and build the audit trails, consent management, and data handling processes they require.

A focused single-system build, a customer self-service portal integrated with your existing BSS, or a product configurator that talks to your billing system, typically runs $60,000-$100,000. A full MVNO BSS stack covering billing, subscriber management, product catalog, and customer portal typically runs $100,000-$200,000. Network operations tooling covering fault management, performance dashboards, and capacity planning runs $60,000-$120,000 depending on the number of network elements and data sources integrated. All engagements run at a fixed cost agreed before development starts.