Ofcom Metering and Billing

Ofcom’s Total Metering and Billing Systems (TMBS) regulations ensure that communications providers in the UK measure and bill accurately for telecommunications services.

The UK Metering and Billing Approval Scheme addresses the requirements of the Communications Act 2003 and of the Ofcom Metering & Billing Direction 2017. Ofcom requires that any UK telecommunications service providers, with a relevant turnover of more than £55m per annum, have their TMBS assessed by an Approval Body.

TÜV SÜD BABT was formed as the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) in 1982 and has been involved with the TMBS scheme for more than 25 years. It is the UK’s leading Approval Body under the scheme and assesses over 80% of the current scheme members.

TÜV SÜD BABT's experts developed scheme guidance to provide direction to applicants on meeting regulatory requirements. The scheme’s main requirements are that communication providers have a process management system in operation and can demonstrate continual improvement. Communication providers must agree with their Approval Body what constitutes routine performance, to whom regular reports must also be sent. Ofcom may request these reports to demonstrate that performance is being achieved in practice.

In this increasingly competitive marketplace, system suppliers need to differentiate their products. TÜV SÜD BABT’s services play a vital role in ensuring the integrity of the systems and equipment used within the TMBS.

We assess the robustness of these systems against our Code of Practice and provide an attestation of their performance. This adds value to the manufacturer as it differentiates their product, and gives peace of mind to the communications provider as they know that the product has been independently assessed by TÜV SÜD BABT’s team of experts.

TÜV SÜD BABT is the UK’s leading assessor of metering and billing systems. We offer a range of Ofcom metering and billing services to ensure that billing systems and those functions that support them, are accurate and robust, as well as meeting all relevant regulatory requirements.

TÜV SÜD BABT also offers this assessment service for suppliers to mobile and fixed communications providers of billing, mediation, provisioning, and customer support systems. This is particularly important as the onus is on support system suppliers to demonstrate that their products meet the needs of the Ofcom Direction when systems are used as part of a provider’s TMBS.

As billing or mediation hardware systems cannot be approved under the Ofcom Direction, TÜV SÜD BABT has developed a unique assessment approach which can lead to an attestation of the product. This independent, third-party attestation provides evidence to your customers that your product will meet their needs for Ofcom billing accuracy, reliability and timeliness. We plan the assessment to suit your needs and identify opportunities for improvements to system design and documentation. We also verify the integrity and precision of your product’s contribution to a system, helping you to differentiate it from those of your competitors.

A typical TÜV SÜD BABT assessment will involve:

• An initial assessment / gap analysis.
• On site assessment of end-to-end activities against required regulatory framework.
• Measurement of the system’s performance against agreed target.

The whole process is aimed at identifying the weak links in the complete system and strengthening them to ensure sustainably, Ofcom billing accuracy, and revenue recovery results that meet commercial and regulatory objectives.