Total metering and billing systems approval Kitemark scheme

About the Ofcom Metering and Billing Direction

The Ofcom Metering and Billing Direction is a technical standard intended to ensure that communications providers have in place compliant systems will deliver accurate bills to customers.

Organizations who provide communication services covered by this, with a relevant annual turnover in excess of £55m, must have their metering and billing systems assessed by independent third-party assessors (Approval Bodies) such as BSI against this standard.

This approach helps to provide consumers with confidence and enables the providers to show they can be trusted.

The Ofcom Metering and Billing Direction covers areas such as:

Tariffs: so that consumers can understand how their charges are calculated
Billing: so that consumers can trust their bills are accurate
Risk management: in relation to the total metering and billing system (TMBS) so that providers can build resilience

How does the process work?

Typically, the certification journey consists of six steps:

Contact us to register your interest and we will agree on the work to be carried out.
You will have a stage one and/or a stage two audit, depending on your requirements.
Parallel to this, we will also review the documentation specified in the direction.
Once the initial audits and documents are complete and finalised, a public notification will be made with the intention to grant approval for your metering and billing system.
Once the notification period of 30 days is complete and no issues have been raised, we will issue your certificate.
Regular audits will be conducted to maintain your certification.

Why choose BSI for metering and billing certification?

We have been working with leading telecommunication providers for decades enabling them to build resilience, comply with regulations and continually improve.

For organizations who need to achieve regulatory compliance for their products we also offer market access services including UKCA marking for Radio Equipment and, the IECEE CB Scheme, and testing to support CE marking.

And as the originators of BS 5750, the world’s first quality management standard that formed the basis of ISO 9001 today, we are also proud to offer certification to TL 9000 which is based on ISO 9001, but designed specifically for the telecommunications industry.