Billing Management: #7 Usage Billing in Telecom & Internet Service Provider

Billing Management: #7 Usage Billing in Telecom & Internet Service Provider

Telecom and Internet Service Providers operate in markets where usage varies drastically from one customer to another. While flexible, usage-based models align revenue directly with consumption, they also introduce operational challenges like real-time tracking, precise rating, and transparent invoices.


Many providers still see these models as complex to automate. But the reality is that the right billing infrastructure can turn this complexity into a scalable, data-driven process. Zoho Billing offers that infrastructure, which is adaptable enough for both ISPs and telecom service providers to manage millions of usage events daily.

Below are two scenarios that show how Zoho Billing supports usage billing models in these industries.

Scenario 1:  

A regional internet service provider, having 25,000 residential customers and 3000 small businesses, decided to move away from the traditional fixed monthly broadband plan. They let the customers pay entirely based on how much data they consume rather than setting up a standard base fee. The structure is simple,

  • $0.40 per GB for the first 500 GB

  • $0.30 per GB for the next 500 GB

  • $0.20 per GB beyond that.

This model gives customers flexibility while ensuring revenue reflects actual network usage. To make this model work,

  1. The ISP (Internet Service Provider) must capture live data usage from its network monitoring system.

  2. Rate the usage according to defined tiers.

  3. Generate accurate invoices each billing cycle without manual calculation.

 With Zoho Billing, a usage-based pricing engine, and API integration, the ISP connected its network management platform directly to its billing system. Every gigabyte consumed by a customer was sent as a real-time usage record.


In Zoho Billing, the ISP once defined usage tiers and rates. The system automatically applied those rates at the end of each billing cycle, calculating charges based on total consumption.

Let's take a residential broadband plan with three users sharing one data pool. Total monthly usage is recorded as 1.28 TB (~1,280 GB)

Item

Value

Total Usage

1,280 GB

Tier 1: 500 GB x $0.40

$ 200

Tier 2: 500 GB x $0.30

$150

Tier 3: 280 GB x $0.20

$56

Total Invoice Value

$406

 
The invoices were then generated automatically, including a detailed usage summary. The customer could view their live usage within the client portal through data fed directly from the same APIs, providing transparency throughout the month.


Scenario 2:  

A telecom operator runs a postpaid service where users subscribe to a base plan, and the customer pays for additional voice and message usage. It has a strong customer base of over 120,000 postpaid subscribers. The base plan costs $50, covering 100 minutes of domestic and 50 international calls and 100 SMS. Additional usage costs:

  • $0.05 per minute for local calls.

  • $0.10 per minute for international calls.

  • $0.01 per SMS

Managing this type of billing requires:

  1. High-volume usage capture from the telecom mediation system.

  2. Accurate categorization of usage (local vs international calls, SMS).

  3. Real-time rating to prevent discrepancies.

  4. Generation of detailed transparent invoices.

Since the telecom operator handles millions of call records monthly, even small inefficiencies could lead to significant revenue leakage.


Zoho Billing was integrated directly with the Call Detail Record (CDR) system via API. As calls and SMS were logged, corresponding usage data was pushed automatically to Zoho Billing, categorized by type. Each usage metric, such as local minutes, international minutes, and SMS, was mapped to the respective price brackets. The platform automatically applies rates and calculates the total charges at the end of each billing period.

Let's take a subscriber who makes 780 minutes of local calls, 90 minutes of international calls, and 310 messages in a billing cycle.

Items

Rate

Amount

Base Plan

$50

$50

Extra domestic calls 680 minutes

$0.05

$34

Extra international calls 40 minutes

$0.12

$4.8

Extra 210 SMS sent

$0.01

$2.1

Total Invoice Value

$90.9

 
The invoice generated through Zoho Billing gives a clear usage summary. This transparency strengthens customer confidence and reduces disputes over billed usage. Telecom providers maintained their pricing structure with minimal billing overhead, scaling up new offerings without changing their core system.


Potential Shift 
Across the connectivity industry, usage-based billing is becoming the new standard. Success depends on a system that can manage continuous usage flow, accurately rate customers, and clearly communicate with them.

Zoho Billing enables this transformation by providing an adaptable billing infrastructure that handles real-world complexities with built-in handlers. This allows industry experts to focus on innovation and not manual reconciliation. It helps service providers manage the full lifecycle of usage-based revenue with reliability and precision.


NotesAs we drive across industries in each post, the next sector, the next post will be on Usage Billing in Logistics & Delivery. 

    • Sticky Posts

    • Community Learning Series | Digest #5 — September 2020

      Dear customers, We're happy to bring you the September edition of our #CommunityDigest! Keep track of your subscription KPIs right from your smartphone: Last month, we enhanced our Android mobile app to help our customers get daily updates on their business health. We got to know from a lot of customers that this has made their job much more easier because they no longer have to keep a reminder to manually check on the previous day's revenue or activations. If you have not downloaded it yet, here's

    • Community Learning Series | Digest #4 - August 2020

      Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. I'm happy to bring you the fourth edition of our #CommunityDigest with some brand-new updates from us. 1. Daily Business Updates (for Android users) The Zoho Subscriptions Android app has got a cool new update: You can now get a push notification to your smartphone that lets you know how many activations and cancellations have taken place, and what's the net revenue for the previous day. The best part is, you can tell the app when exactly you

    • Community Learning Series | Digest #3 - July 2020

      Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. We're glad to bring you the July edition of our #CommunityDigest. New community members can view our previous newsletters here. This time, we have two major updates and three interesting topics for you: 1. Zoho Subscriptions Developer Community Since the inception of Zoho Subscriptions, our team believed that the recurring billing platform we provide should be able to offer an extensive API library that empowers businesses to automate most

    • Introducing: Community Learning Series | Digest #1 - May 2020

      Dear customers, We hope you are staying safe and healthy. Helping businesses manage their customer subscriptions more efficiently has always been, and always will be, our goal at Zoho Subscriptions. We strongly believe this is possible if we grow together as a community and share what we know with each other. To nurture this shared learning experience, here is our brand-new Community Learning Series! ​ Welcome to the first edition of our digest! Each edition of our community digest includes guides

    • Recent Topics

    • Vendor legal and DBA names for USA users

      I would like to hear how Zoho Books users are handling DBA names in the vendor profile. If the Company name in the vendor profile has to be the legal name (line 1 of the W-9), whare are you entering the DBA name (the name that checks are made out to)

    • How to create one ZohoCRM organisation out of a multi-organization?

      Hi, we have a multi-org including two different Zoho CRM organizations for two companies using respectively EUR and USD as default currency. I was wondering if there is any easy way to merge the two organizations into just one, so that users may access

    • Gray screen while signing documents

      We are all getting a "gray" screen when trying to sign documents in Zoho sign. Anyone else having issues?

    • Projects custom colors replaced by default orange

      Since yesterday, projects uploaded to Zoho, to which I had assigned a custom color, have lost the customization and reverted to the default color (orange). Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you resolve it?

    • Interview booked through Invite but no Notifications

      We have a workflow that was developed through a developer/partner that was tested and worked. Today, we pushed a candidate through the process and invited them to an in-office interview. They were sent the booking link (as usual and as tested before successfully)

    • WebDAV support

      I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?

    • Automatiser la gestion des SLA dans Zoho Desk avec Zoho Contracts

      Les équipes du service client s’efforcent d’assurer un support rapide, régulier et fiable pour garantir la satisfaction de chaque client. Les accords de niveau de service (SLA) permettent de clarifier les engagements en définissant les termes et conditions

    • iOS App doesn't refresh for Document Creation

      Hello Zoho team, I have created a workflow to be used on a mobile iOS device which starts in Zoho Creater and ends with a murge and store function that then opens the newly created document within the Zoho Writer app. This process is working great however

    • Uploading a signed template from Sign to Creator

      Good day, Please help me on how to load a signed document back into Creator after the process has been completed in Sign. Below is the code that I am trying, pdfFile = response.toFile("SignedDocument_4901354000000372029.pdf"); info pdfFile; // Attach

    • Zoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration

      I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regex

    • Assistance needed: Activation of a domain

      Hello Zoho Support, I purchased the .com domain "primesolva.com" via Zoho 6 days ago. The domain is still pending, and I cannot access the DNS panel to add the TXT verification for domain ownership. Please confirm the registration status and help me activate

    • Operation not permitted

      I am trying to add an email address to the list of user but I am getting error Operation not permitted

    • Request to Permanently Delete Email User (info@mehbobgulf.com ) from Old Organization

      Please permanently delete the user email info@mehbobgulf.com It is still associated with my old Zoho organization. I cannot delete it because it shows ‘You cannot delete email. Zoho host’. I need to use this email in a new Zoho account.”

    • Client host [89.36.170.5] blocked using Spamhaus

      Hello please make make actions for delist ..... "Client host [89.36.170.5] blocked using Spamhaus"

    • Suggestion: Option to Re-run a migration

      As I'm going through a migration process, I like the IMAP migration tool, but it would be better if there were an option to re-run the same migration as configured. There's not even an option to copy/edit one that's already there. Just run if it hasn't

    • Issue with "Add Your Mobile Number"

      Hello, I am trying to sign up for email service for a domain name, and I cannot finish the authentication. When I enter my mobile number, I receive the message "We’re unable to send OTP to this mobile number. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com". I

    • zoho mail non vérifié

      Bonjour, Il y'a un jour que j'ai acheté un domaine et toute les tentatives pour l'associé a mon compte shopify son vaine. j'ai essayé TXT sans suite après, j'ai essayer avec CNAME sans suite. j'aurais besoin de votre assistance pour associé mon mail.

    • Unable to send message;Reason:553 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain

      i have facing the issue "Unable to send message;Reason:553 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain" if i verify domain evertthing i did but still face the same error.

    • ZohoMail is so close to being Perfect BUT

      Why don’t you have HILIGHTING???!! I've been trying to find a substitute for Edison Mail but I want & need hilighting (preferably in more than just yellow)! Is this even on your To Do list? I’m so disappointed. 🙄

    • Override Auto Number field?

      We are preparing to migrate from Salesforce. In Salesforce, we auto-generate a unique number on our Opportunities (Potentials). If the Opportunity results in a contract, we use that unique number as the Contract number. There are some situations where

    • Using a third party service provider want to move directly with Zoho

      Hi good day I’m currently using Zoho but I’m using a third party service provider I want to move directly with you guys I’m using Zoho email and invoices and my domain please let me know if it’s possible to move away from the third party provider my email

    • Request for Assistance Regarding Email Sending Issue (554 5.1.8 - Email Outgoing Blocked)

      Dear Zoho Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request assistance with an issue we are currently facing regarding our Zoho Mail account. Our email account, admin@tuyensinhcanuoc.com, is encountering the following error when

    • Zoho Mail API returns empty inbox (0 messages) but webmail shows 37 unread emails

      Hello, I'm experiencing a discrepancy between Zoho Webmail and the Mail API (EU region). **Setup:** - Account: EU datacenter (mail.zoho.eu) - API: Self Client OAuth2 via api-console.zoho.eu - Scopes: ZohoMail.messages.READ, ZohoMail.messages.UPDATE, ZohoMail.folders.READ,

    • ShipStation and Zoho Inventory

      Hello, I am looking to sync zoho inventory with shipstation ZOHO INVENTORY           SHIP STATION Sales Order  ==>  create ORDERS INVOICE  <==    Shipments What exactly does BETA mean on the Shipstation connector?  This is required for me to sign-on in the next month. Thanks in advance for your efforts

    • E

      We are trying to add our Zoho Form embed in our Elementor Page Builder. After adding Zoho Forms widget in elementor page builder it’s displaying in backend page builder but it’s giving 403 error while trying to save, as it’s not reflecting in front end.

    • Connecting Zoho Inventory to ShipStation

      we are looking for someone to help connect via API shipStation with Zoho inventory. Any ideas? Thanks. Uri

    • custom module import.

      Is there a way to import data into a custom module? Thanks Rudy

    • HEIC File Type Viewer

      Hi, It would be nice to be able to click on the images in the All Entries/Reports Tables which are HEIC the same as JPG, PNG, etc. so they open in a viewer from Zoho or the Attachment Service, today HEIC requires you to download each image and open it

    • How to dynamically pass IDs from one API response to a second API call in Zoho DataPrep?

      Hi Team, I am setting up a global consolidated reporting pipeline in Zoho Analytics (India) using Zoho DataPrep as the ETL engine. I am pulling data from multiple Zoho Books Data Centers (US, Singapore, India) thats why i used the URL Source (OAuth 2.0)

    • Building Toppings #4 - Setting up and using connections in Bigin toppings

      When building a topping to extend Bigin's functionality and connect it with third-party applications, creating and handling connections is an important step. Connections provide a secure way for your topping to authenticate and communicate with other

    • Need code format to specify default values

      Can someone please direct me to the code syntax or the proper translation per the instructions circled below. These instructions don't seem correct.

    • AI Interview Insights: Turn Recorded Interviews into Quick Transcripts & Summaries

      Evaluating interviews shouldn’t require replaying long recordings or taking manual notes. With AI Interview Insights, you can now review complete transcripts and AI-generated summaries of your One-way (Recorded) interviews right inside Zoho Recruit. This

    • Record payment: Payment Mode vs. Deposit To and how to "connect" them!?

      How do we set up that when we choose:  "Payment Mode"= Cash, then "Deposit to" is automatically set to Petty Cash, and if we choose  "Payment Mode"= Check, then "Deposit to" is automatically set to Undeposited Checks, and if we choose  "Payment Mode"=

    • Grouping Undeposited Funds to Move to other accounts

      In the bank option it would be nice to check what transactions in undeposited funds I want to move to other accounts. Then while checking this it can accumulate totals and created whats essentially a deposit slip. Once the transaction is moved it should

    • Depositing funds to account

      Hello, I have been using Quickbooks for many years but am considering moving to Zoho Books so I am currently running through various workflows and am working on the Invoicing aspect. In QB, the process is to create an invoice, receive payment and then

    • Facing email delivery issues? Verify your domain's DNS records

      Have you ever wondered why your legitimate emails are landing in the recipient’s spam folder? Or been surprised to see emails sent from your registered domain getting rejected by recipient email servers? Why does this happen? In most cases, this happens

    • Order of Departments in Help Desk

      In the end user portal, , the departments are sorted by the date of creation of the department (or perhaps their id). Is there a way to choose the display order of the departments or at least to be able to sort them alphabetically?

    • COGS - Account showing negetive

      I have multiple COGS account and in these all there is one account is negetive so suggest why it is showing negetive value.?

    • Create CRM Deal from Books Quote and Auto Update Deal Stage

      I want to set up an automation where, whenever a Quote is created in Zoho Books, a Deal is automatically created in Zoho CRM with the Quote amount, customer details, and some custom fields from Zoho Books. Additionally, when the Sales Order is converted

    • %PaymentLink%

      Does not work. Software creates a BAD link. ....and yes payment options are turned on. Link on the invoice pdf once opened will work but this template is a joke.

    • Next Page