We all know how much if costs to make a telephone call - or do we? There ar
e over 150 companies in the UK telecommunications market-place, all with th
eir own unique blend of people, processes and systems, and operating costs.
There are even more packages of services and prices, aimed at different se
gments of the market, and it is vital to each operator; including BT, that
these packages actually make money. In order to understand how to set price
s, BT needs to understand the basis of its costs, how these are allocated t
o the different services, and which services contribute revenue over and ab
ove these costs. This applies to both retail trading, and also wholesale tr
ading, within BT and between BT and other operators for interconnect servic
es.
This paper looks at the process of engineering networks to meet the demand
for BT's services, and applies whole-life financial techniques to identify
hole much it really costs the business to offer these services. It looks at
BT's wholesale pricing, and at how trading units within the company can bu
ild relationships that lead to both the profitable operation of existing se
rvices, and the successful introduction of new services. It looks at the ev
olution of network platforms, new product development, and the effects of p
ricing options, from the present day until well into the next century.