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Between new, rich messaging capabilities, portability rates causing a clouded view into communications termination, and the altogether complicated nature of today’s mobile ecosystem, routing has become a complex beast to tame. Service providers and carriers are now juggling a host of mission-critical requirements for ensuring voice and text communications are terminated accurately, but making optimal routing decisions has never been more challenging. Which numbers are still valid? How can RCS-enabled devices be identified to properly support omnichannel communications? Questions like these keep the members of the mobile ecosystem in pursuit of new value and competitive advantage up at night — not to mention the risks that failed routing has on bottom lines and customer satisfaction.
Fortunately, there are now simple solutions to the mobile ecosystem’s complex problems, and they are driven by phone number intelligence data.
Aligning Portability and Routing Goals
Our mobile phone numbers are part of our identity. As such, when a customer wants to switch carriers, they like to take their number with them. This is number portability — and the rate at which these switches are occurring is going up. While this is good for the end user, it brings a lot of complications to the table for mobile providers.
In a world where portability rates are high, routing calls and texts by number prefixes like area codes or National Destination Codes (NDCs) is becoming less reliable. Routing inaccuracies and a lack of transparency from users porting their numbers can lead to issues like high undeliverable message costs, increases in retries and delivery times, more call transfer costs, invoice disputes and more.
What’s needed to avoid these barriers is access to accurate, up-to-date phone number data that tells you exactly what you need to know about the mobile devices you’re routing to — so you’re never in the dark about where messaging or voice calls need to go.
This is where Carrier ID comes in. If you find yourself having to ask what network or service provider the number belongs to, Carrier ID has the answers. This data resource covers all 100+ countries and territories where portability is implemented, along with normalized routing IDs for increased ease, fast response times, flexible deployment and more. Carrier ID works by validating the format and meticulously resolving the current telecommunications service
provider for any given phone number on a global scale, harmonizing disparate data sets for even greater reductions in complexity.
Unlocking RCS Messaging Value
Rich Communications Service (RCS) is the next generation of messaging protocol, expanding what today’s messaging users have access to on both the enterprise and individual levels. Branded corporate messages, dynamic group chats and multimedia capabilities are all part of the RCS promise that a growing number of the mobile market is seeking, along with a host of other advantages. Person-to-person messaging, as well as application-to-person (A2P) messaging, are being revolutionized by RCS — but once again, providers face a complexity issue. Between various messaging hubs and hundreds of millions of active users, resolving the RCS routing process can be a challenge. Still, nobody should be held back from harnessing this value just because the path to success is complex. Providers looking to implement RCS have long been plagued by the fact that there was no central registry to alleviate routing issues — until now.
netnumber Global Data Services’ RCS Routing solution enables interoperability for RCS messaging by offering access to robust RCS routing and device capability information. With the right data and real-time updates on hand, MNOs and CSPs can more easily and reliably deliver these rich communications, all while improving efficiency, reducing costs and delivering a better mobile experience.
Master Routing with the netnumber GDS Portfolio
Routing, as a foundational element of a well-oiled mobile ecosystem, must be treated with the utmost care and attention. Phone number intelligence data holds the key to reliable, accurate and efficient routing — but not all data is the same.
netnumber Global Data Services has purpose built its new service portfolio to not only deliver the table stakes, but to go the extra mile with vital expertise and easy-to-consume, comprehensive data that keeps your operations streamlined.
To learn more about how to overcome common routing challenges, check out our ebook or explore the routing section of our newly unveiled product portfolio.
