This is stated by the partner of technology, media and communication practice of Arthur Andersen in London, Mr Simon McCready in an exclusive interview with The Financial Express.

Mr McCready said that the telecommunication companies are losing around up to 5 per cent of their revenues because of inefficiencies in their processes such as late billing and delayed collections. He said that that the prices of telecom services are going down and the fall is going to continue in future.

This has resulted into thin margins and companies can not afford to lose their 5 per cent revenues just like that, he added.

Explaining the concept of revenue assurance in Indian perspective, Mr Prashant Singhal of Arthur Andersen India said that the Indian telecom operators will have to focus on the customer, accurate and timely billing, prompt cash collection to check revenue loss. The companies will have to improve their sales and marketing process and channel management skills to maximise profit, he added.

One way to improve revenues to work towards maximising network usages through a right mix of services and coordination with other operators, said Mr McCready adding that customer care will also be major differentiater as everybody will be chasing the same customer in multi-operators environment.Talking about the future trends in telecom industry, Mr McCready said that the companies will have to focus more on prepaid customers and premium customers with heavy usages to earn better margins.