Dear Readers,

This summer I had the pleasure chairing the Experian Decision Analytics European Telecom Forum in Lisbon. Building on the success of the inaugural event in 2006, this year we enjoyed the company of guests representing 28 companies from 14 countries throughout the EMEAI region, coming together to discuss the market trends and challenges for the fast-evolving Telecom industry.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our guests from Seat Pagine Gialle (Italy), Telefonίca (Spain), Telekom Austria, GSM Europe, Nokia (Portugal), Orange (UK), Vodacom (South Africa) and SAF (Germany) who joined us in presenting their experiences and contributing to what was a productive, thought-provoking and valuable experience for everyone attending.

A few key themes dominated the event, none more so than the opportunities and threats provided by the increasingly complex product offering that Telecom operators are able to offer - now and in the future. With new services like music and video downloads, Internet surfing and mobile banking, the opportunity to grow revenue is evident, but brings a whole new set of challenges in terms of credit risk exposure. The average bill is increasing as customers utilise these new services but, with that, comes a higher probability of customer default. Add to the equation that some of the services are being provided by third parties, it’s clear to see that unless careful consideration is given to credit and limit management, a Telecom business could find itself seriously exposed. However, if these new challenges are successfully met and managed, the rewards are there enjoy.

It was interesting to see that many of the attendees to the Telecom Forum had previously held positions within financial services organisations, a key indicator that Telecom operators have identified that the developments ahead are going to require a new strategy, and that their approach to the use of analytical solutions will need to evolve to meet these new demands.

At the Telecom Forum, we discussed the move from using decision analytics simply for scoring customers’ applications, to developing a well structured utilisation of analytics integrated into every element of the business, including proactive limit management, collections strategies management, fraud management, pricing and marketing optimisation. In other words, decision analytics needs now to move to ‘industrial strength’, and a number of firms are already well advanced in that respect. For behavioural scoring, a significant development for the Telecom industry is the move from simply using this for collections strategies but to also integrating it in limit management – something that will be necessary with the increased credit risk exposure. Collections strategies themselves will need to be reviewed with the increased customer default rate as a result of the higher value of bills, which you can read more about in this edition of e-news.

In fact, in this edition of e-news you will find many articles based on the presentations and sessions held at the event in Lisbon. For those of you who did not attend, I am sure you will find them interesting, and if you would like to discuss any topic covered herein, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Planning for next year’s event, taking place in Dubrovnik, is already underway. If the topics covered here are relevant to you, and you would like to express your interest in attending in 2008, contact us and we will ensure that we keep you informed of developments.

Marc Gaudart – Senior Vice-President, Experian Decision Analytics

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