Telecom Operators Need More Help to Stem Losses, Heavy Reading Says

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --  Telecom operators worldwide now lose $40 billion a year to fraud, and they need better tools and procedures to address this growing problem, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Service Provider IT Insider (www.heavyreading.com/servsoftware), a paid research service of Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com).

Bigger Than Disney: Telecom Fraud Tops $40 Billion a Year examines the telecom fraud prevention and detection market, covering the current types of loss due to fraud. Further, it discusses how the industry is tackling the challenges it's facing, including platforms that fight fraud. Finally, the report profiles 11 leading vendors in the market.

For a list of companies analyzed in this report, http://img.lightreading.com/ssi/pdf/spiti0712_companies.pdf

"Telecom fraud is an ever-present drain on operator profitability, and operators and their vendor partners have long tried to limit theft," says Susan McNeice, Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading and author of the report. "Despite their best efforts and recent improvements, the bill for fraud is growing and now stands at $40 billion a year – which is equal to the annual revenue of the Walt Disney Company."

Insiders agree on one thing: It's time to re-commit to fraud prevention and redouble efforts, McNeice says. "To be sure, there is no one approach to guard against fraud," she continues. "Operators have many resources at their disposal to rekindle their thought processes and actions about risk reduction. But because the costs are already borne before the services are stolen, reducing fraud delivers savings direct to the bottom line of the operator's income statement."

Key findings of Bigger Than Disney: Telecom Fraud Tops $40 Billion a Year include:

• Fraud equals nearly 2% of telecom annual revenues worldwide.
• New services, especially mobile-based offerings, are increasing fraud risk for network operators.
• Long-established fraud problems, including service theft from inside sources, continue to drain service provider resources.
• Operators and vendors are ramping up fraud prevention efforts by making fraud detection part of a larger risk-management initiative.
• Fraud systems benefit from data analytics to identify emerging threats and deliver a new view of risk and opportunity.
• As network operators expand more and more services into the realm of mobile commerce, they will need trusted partners to minimize fraud risks.

Bigger Than Disney: Telecom Fraud Tops $40 Billion a Year is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (six issues) to Heavy Reading Service Provider IT Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/servsoftware. For more information on all of Heavy Reading's Insider services, please visit www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

David Williams
Global Director of Sales, Research
Heavy Reading
858-829-8612
dave.williams@heavyreading.com

Press/analyst contact:
Jennifer Baker
Marketing Director, Light Reading Communications Network
617-871-1910
jbaker@lightreading.com

About Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com)
Heavy Reading is an independent research organization offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the global telecom industry. As a telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com), Heavy Reading contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.

About Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com)
The Light Reading Communications Network combines the most trusted telecom research brands with award-winning online communities and a rich events portfolio to deliver the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.   With the power of this platform, leaders who build, deploy, finance, and regulate next-generation telecom networks are able to make more informed decisions on emerging market and service opportunities.  Light Reading Communications Network is a division of UBM TechWeb (www.ubmtechweb.com), the global leader in technology media and business information. 

SOURCE Heavy Reading