Portal Software, Inc. (Pink Sheets:PRSF), the premier global provider of billing and Revenue Management solutions for telecommunications and media markets, announced today that FASTWEB is expanding its use of Portal to support its expansion into a variety of next generation service offerings for its customers in Italy.
[Read more…]
Partner Communications Announces the Appointment of David Avner as COO
Partner Communications Company Ltd. (Nasdaq:PTNR) (TASE:PTNR) (LSE:PCCD) announces that its Deputy CEO, David Avner, takes on extra role as COO, effective immediately. In his capacity as Deputy CEO and COO, Mr. Avner will oversee the selling, marketing, technology, customer service, human resources and purchasing operations of Partner.
Since April 2005 Mr. Avner has served as Deputy CEO at Partner. In the two years prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President of Operations and Member of the Executive Management at Amdocs Limited. Previously he served at Amdocs as Group President Europe and LATAM & Member of Management. Prior to that, Mr. Avner served at Strauss Dairy Ltd. for 17 years, the last four as General Manager of the Dairy Division. He was also the General Manager of Strauss Ice Creams Ltd., and Manager of Information Systems at Strauss Dairy Ltd. Mr. Avner also served as active Director of Yotvata Dairies Subsidiary since 1998.
He holds a B.A. in Mathematics/Computer Sciences & Philosophy from Haifa University in Israel and an MBA degree from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Mr. Amikam Cohen, Partner’s CEO, wished Mr. Avner success in his new position.
For more information about Partner, see http://www.investors.partner.co.il
ECG Partners with TelCove to Develop VoIP Platform
TelCove is a leading supplier of business critical telecommunications that has continued to grow since 1991. Among the expansion of the company, TelCove felt as though it was necessary to move to the next level and incorporate VoIP into their program.
“ECG was selected by TelCove to do turnkey engineering, installation, integration and remote technical support of TelCove’s Voice over IP Platform” said Ted A. Huf, TelCove VP Engineering. “ECG delivered a fully integrated and tested VoIP system in Pittsburgh and Atlanta as well as a laboratory system using Broadworks feature servers, Lucent gateways and Acme Packet Session Border Controllers.”
ECG created a project plan, incorporated the project timeline, set the engineering requirements, and developed a call routing plan for the development. ECG integrated a VoIP network into their legacy TDM network, which allowed them to maintain their current peering arrangements.
China Media Group Corporation Announces Plans to Provide Telecommunication Advertising
China Media Group Corporation (OTC BB: CHMD) (“CMG”) announces today that it plans to provide advertising through telecommunication devices to broaden its advertising reach. Advertising messages transmitted by SMS including interactive advertising are the new age advertising medium that will continue to grow with increasing success and consumer acceptance to location-based ads, opt-in advertising and advertisers-supported premium contents.
In November 2005, there were over 390 million mobile users in China, and they sent over 274 billion SMS messages, generating about RMB 27 billion, an increase of [40]% of messages sent over 2004. China Media Group intends tap into this growing segment to provide advertising to the masses. Mr. Con Unerkov, Chairman of China Media Group, stated, “Technology is moving so fast today we need to prepare our business for the new advertising medium. We view the convergence of telecom, media and television fast becoming a reality, and we intend to be actively developing this business segment in Greater China. We are exploring several opportunities that would provide us a platform to launch the TMT convergent services, first in the telecommunication SMS sector.”
Xinhua News Agency reported recently that by 2006, there will be over 440 million mobile users in China, an increase of about 12% compared to 2005.
Wireless Telecom Group Announces Acceleration of Stock Options
Wireless Telecom Group, Inc. (AMEX Symbol: WTT) (the “Company”) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved accelerating the vesting of all unvested stock options granted by the Company. The Board believes that it is in the best interest of shareholders as it will reduce the Company’s reported compensation expense in future periods.
As a result of the vesting acceleration, options to purchase 249,000 shares of the Company’s common stock became exercisable immediately including 96,000 held by executive officers, 34,000 held by non-employee directors and 119,000 held by other employees. Based upon closing stock price on the American Stock Exchange on December 28, 2005 of $2.60, 31% of the accelerated options do not have economic value at this time.
As a result of the accelerated vesting of stock options, the Company is not expected to be required to recognize anticipated stock option expense of approximately U.S. $125,000 in 2006 and U.S. $125,000 in 2007. The Company will report the impact of the acceleration as a fourth quarter event and in its 2005 financial statements by way of pro forma footnote disclosure, as permitted under the transition guidance provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Wireless Telecom Group, Inc. is a global provider of electronic noise generation equipment in the telecommunications field. Boonton Electronics, a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leader in the manufacture of test equipment dedicated to measuring the power of RF and Microwave systems used in multiple telecommunication markets.
Microlab/FXR, a wholly owned subsidiary, is a global provider of passive microwave components including power splitters, directional couplers and filters. These products are employed as system components in commercial applications such as wireless base stations for cellular, paging and private communications, in-building wireless signal distribution, television transmitters and aircraft navigation landing systems. Microlab/FXR products are also used in military systems such as electronic countermeasures and missile guidance.
Willtek is a leading provider of solutions that enable manufacturers and operators of wireless communications devices to test mobile phones, air interface, and base stations of cellular networks. Willtek serves a base of more than 5000 customers worldwide with state-of-the-art products including testing equipment for GSM, GPRS, CDMA and WCDMA phones and wireless devices, as well as handheld spectrum analyzers.
Level 3 CEO James Q. Crowe to Speak at the 16th Annual Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference
James Q. Crowe, chief executive officer of Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT), will make an investor presentation at the 16th Annual Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on Monday, January 9th. Mr. Crowe’s presentation is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:05 a.m. Mountain Standard time. A Web cast will be available both live and archived on Level 3’s investor relations Web site at http://www.Level3.com/582.html.
Telelogic Signs 2.0 Million EUR Renewal Agreement with Leading Global Telecommunications Vendor
Telelogic (STO:TLOG), the leading global provider of software solutions that align advanced systems and software development with business objectives, today announced that a leading global telecommunications vendor has renewed its one-year agreement for core components of Telelogic’s Enterprise Lifecycle Management (ELM) solution, at a value of 2.0 million EUR. Under the terms of the agreement Telelogic’s solutions will be rolled out to over 4000 users, an increase in the user base compared to 2005.
The agreement includes licenses for Telelogic FOCAL POINT, in addition to licenses for Telelogic TAU for analysis, modeling, design, and code generation, and Telelogic DOORS for requirements analysis and management. FOCAL POINT’s superior decision-making capabilities convinced the customer’s product management group to standardize on it for release planning and product planning.
“Telelogic’s solutions deliver powerful benefits to companies across the entire lifecycle – from deciding what to build to designing, developing and delivering it”, said Anders Lidbeck, President and CEO of Telelogic. “Telelogic is still the first choice when world-leading telecommunications companies need solutions to deliver and succeed in today’s dynamic and competitive market.”
Thomson Establishes Thomson-Inventel Advanced Product Development Group for Innovative Telecoms
Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) today announced the formation of a ‘Thomson-Inventel Advanced Product Development Group’ to further reinforce and accelerate the development and deployment of innovative broadband service delivery platforms and home networking solutions to its network operator and Internet Service Provider client base.
As networking possibilities expand, network operators need an increasingly broad and sophisticated range of consumer equipment to gain and hold subscribers, and complement their value-added services to expand revenues. To better address existing and, in particular, anticipate future needs, the Thomson-Inventel Advanced Product Development Group will develop cutting-edge broadband service delivery products and solutions for subsequent industrialization and commercialization by the Telecom and Home Networking Business Units of the company.
Leveraging the skills responsible for the successful launch of multiple play and fixed-mobile convergence solutions for major European operators this year, the group will be headed up by Eric Carreel, co-founder of Inventel, and consolidate all the necessary expertise around residential gateway, home networking and other broadband applications technologies within the company.
“The formation of the Thomson-Inventel Advanced Product Development Group will reinforce Thomson’s reputation as a leader in innovative technologies and creative product development and significantly enhance our ability to serve our network operator and ISP client base,” stated Bruno Fabre, Vice President, Telecoms at Thomson. Bringing together these product innovation skills will also enable us to sharpen our competitive edge and better tap the potential of this rapidly growing market,” he added.
Analysys International Says Developing WAP Service Websites Will Challenge Monternet’s Dominant Position in China
Analysys International, a leading Internet-based business information service provider, says that the rapid development of China’s portal websites’ WAP services will challenge the dominant position of China Mobile’s Monternet in China’s WAP service industry.
Mr. Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile’s President, says that Monternet has reached the turning point after years of development. The existing business model is to operate all services on China Mobile’s platform, which has enabled operators to control the copyright form the source. But the development of WAP2.0 has provided much content to be downloaded free from the Internet, which will inevitably have an impact on their operating model. He says China Mobile will not enter the market for content providing and will continue to cooperate with CPs and SPs. China Mobile’s current principle is to maintain balance between supervision and development.
Lately, China’s portal websites, including Sina and Sohu, increased their investments on WAP websites, showing that WAP has become one of their future development focuses. Their strategy to enter the WAP service market is to attract visits from users by providing contents like news and relative information. The increasing visit volume of free WAP websites has attracted China Mobile’s attention. President Wang’s words showed that China Mobile will still adopt the semi-closed operating model for Monternet. They will surely strengthen regulations on the free WAP websites to maintain Monternet’s dominant position.
According to Analysys International’s Awtach-Mobile VAS Service, China Mobile’s strategy to strengthen regulations on free WAP services will increase the entry barrier of WAP service industry, and drive more WAP resources to concentrate on Monternet and eventually lead to their industry monopoly. However, things would not necessarily go the way China Mobile wants. As the WAP industry matures and develops, Internet based portal websites will challenge Monternet’s monopoly by leveraging market tools and propel the industry into an open developing model. Also, the interconnection between WAP and the Internet will also challenge Monternet’s monopoly.
Analysys International thinks that many market factors, including the rising of portal websites and the interconnection between WAP and the Internet, will inevitably challenge Monternet’s monopoly position. China Mobile cannot change the potential industry development demand simply by regulatory movements. Therefore, changing operation ideology and innovate business model should be critical for China Mobile to achieve the strategic transition for Monternet.
Nokia and CommTel Network Solutions Australia expand broadband in the Pacific
CommTel Network Solutions Australia, a value added re-seller of Nokia’s network solutions, has signed an agreement for the supply of Nokia broadband DSL solutions and related services to a new customer, Telecom Cook Islands Ltd in the Pacific, marking a new market entry for Nokia. Deliveries will begin in January 2006 and the system will be up and running during March 2006. This follows on from a similar agreement signed with Solomon Telekom in December 2004.
The Nokia D500 IP DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) was chosen for the provision of faster Internet access services in these Pacific islands as it delivers integrated IP functionality unlike any other IP DSLAM solution in the broadband industry. “Having initially launched Internet services in 2003, Telecom Cook Islands is now able to migrate customers from our existing ATM network to the benefits that IP provides for multimedia services,” says Robert McFadzien, Manager, Information Systems, Telecom Cook Islands.
“This represents a milestone in our sales channel structure, highlighting the effectiveness of our collaborators in offering Nokia broadband solutions. As utilities, authorities and operators move towards IP-based networks, the Nokia D500 is a perfect extension to the continuing portfolio of Nokia narrowband and Nokia microwave radio solutions,” says Alf Kysenius, Sales Director, Networks, Nokia.
The Nokia D500 is a complete IP-based multiservice access node platform for providing both quality of service and secure authentication. It supports the latest DSL standards, for example ADSL2+ G, for increased bandwidth, as well as existing ATM-based DSL services. With IP Multicasting capability and telephony utilising fixed-to-mobile convergence standards, such as SIP, the Nokia D500 provides residential homes and businesses access to video, voice and data services, on phones, PCs, TVs and mobile devices.
“Solomon Telekom is now offering fast Internet access to business customers, adding extra capacity, coverage and bandwidth to the existing network,” says Aydin Ada, Manager Information Systems, Solomon Telekom. Having supplied broadband to customers in the area such as Telecom New Zealand since 1999, Nokia has a renowned track record in carrier-class broadband and narrowband products. Nokia works together with key partners to enable broadband services for more than 50 customers across the globe, covering the European, Asia-Pacific, China, and the Americas markets.
Executive Vice President Steve Rolls Leaves Convergys
Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG), a global leader in providing customer care, human resources, and billing services, announced today that Steve Rolls, Executive Vice President, will be leaving the company effective January 31, 2006. As a result of Mr. Rolls’â„¢ departure, effective January 1, 2006, Convergys’â„¢ Employee Care and Finance and Accounting Business Process Outsourcing businesses will report to Dave Dougherty, President and Chief Operating Officer.
Level 3 Announces Early Participation Results of Private Debt Exchange Offer
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT) announced today the early participation results of its previously announced private exchange offers. As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Thursday, December 22, 2005, approximately $690 million in total principal amount of old notes had been validly tendered, representing approximately 54% of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of all Level 3’s notes with a 2008 maturity and approximately 56% of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding old notes.
The offers are scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on January 10, 2006. Old notes tendered after 5:00 p.m. New York City time, on December 22, 2005, will not receive the early participation payment. Old notes tendered pursuant to the offers may no longer be withdrawn, unless certain specified events occur. The settlement date for each exchange offer is expected to be on or about January 13, 2006. The exchange offers are being made only to qualified institutional buyers and institutional accredited investors inside the United States and to certain non-U.S. investors located outside the United States.
The new notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. Level 3 will enter into a registration rights agreement pursuant to which it will agree to file an exchange offer registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to the new notes.
Echelon and STROM B-Systems Team to Expand Energy Management Solution into Eastern European and Russian Markets
Echelon Corporation (Nasdaq:ELON), the leading technology supplier for the widely-used LonWorks(R) control networking standard, today announced that STROM B-Systems, a system supplier in the utilities sector, has entered into an agreement to become a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) of Echelon’s Networked Energy Services (NES) intelligent electricity metering system. STROM, a subsidiary of SISTEMA Group, the largest consumer-oriented private sector company in Russia and the Confederation of Independent States, will connect the NES infrastructure with its integrated data collection, processing, and billing solution to provide a complete back-office infrastructure for telecom, gas, water and electricity utilities.
“Automated meter management (AMM), next generation metering solutions best exemplified by Echelon’s NES system, represent a high-growth opportunity throughout Europe, driven both by EU-wide legislation designed to open markets and improve energy efficiency and utilities’ desires to provide higher quality service at lower operating cost,” said Mirko Jelcic, CEO at STROM. “With the NES system as part of our FORIS offering, we can offer electric utilities and multi-utilities the world’s most advanced AMM system as part of a complete, off-the-shelf data collection, billing, and customer care solution.”
STROM B-Systems is a system supplier for the utilities sector. Its FORIS product family fully supports the IS/IT requirements of utilities, including data collection and management, resource inventory and monitoring, flexible rating and discounting system, billing and inter-billing, fraud detection, customer relationship management (CRM), and integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
Echelon’s NES system provides an open, bidirectional, and extensible infrastructure that enables a comprehensive range of utility applications that can bring benefits to every aspect of a utility’s operation, from metering, to customer services, to distribution operations, to value-added services. The incorporation of the NES infrastructure should allow the company to expand the capabilities of its FORIS offering to include automated networked meter management and convergent billing.
“STROM’s well-established presence in the European, Eastern European and Russian utility and IT markets brings the NES VAR program a strong and very experienced partner in these regions,” said Ken Oshman, Echelon’s chairman and CEO. “We believe that STROM’s unique, future-proof offering can help lower costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer service for utilities now and for many years to come. The addition of STROM to our NES VAR program is an important element in furthering our utilities business strategy.”
The NES Value-Added Reseller (VAR) program is designed to establish Echelon’s NES system as a global standard for intelligent metering systems by enabling companies that provide products and services to the utility industry to adopt and adapt the NES infrastructure as the basis for their end-to-end metering solutions sold under the NES Powered by Echelon(TM) branding program.
BT Group and Lucent Technologies Sign Contract for New IP/MPLS Core for BT’S 21st Century Network Initiative
Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU – News) and BT Group (London SE: BT Group) today announced the signing of a contract for innovative new technology that will sit at the heart of BT’s all-Internet protocol (IP), 21st Century global network. The award of this contract today follows BT’s selection of Lucent as a preferred bidder for the core of the network, and subsequent successful testing and development work conducted throughout the summer.
Lucent will help BT deploy a more efficient core network that will enable it to offer customers a diverse set of feature-rich services including voice, broadband, Ethernet, virtual private networking (VPN) services and IP VPN — as well as supporting established packet data capabilities such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) transport services — over the MPLS core.
In the UK, BT’s 10 billion Pounds Sterling 21st Century Network (21CN) programme involves the migration of 30 million customer lines and the withdrawal of the legacy voice (PSTN) platform. 21CN will deliver today’s and future services, sending them through one dedicated IP network.
BT Wholesale chief executive Paul Reynolds said: “With 21CN, BT and our suppliers are leading the world in next generation networks. Where we go with 21CN, others will follow and the experience gained and expertise developed in this transformation of BT’s network will set the standard for other NGN deployments. We’re moving forward strongly with world class suppliers and the first customers in the UK will start enjoying services over 21CN within 12 months.”
Lucent is one of the suppliers providing network equipment, its deployment and maintenance services in the core domain element of BT’s infrastructure upgrade — one of the world’s largest — which is already underway. “We are proud to be providing a key element in this revolutionary all IP next-generation network, which will position BT as a world leader in the implementation of new technologies,” said Andy Williams, President of Lucent Europe. “It is a significant step forward in the strong relationship we have forged with BT, which will play a key role in ensuring the health and well-being of the U.K’s future economy.”
Lucent is working with Juniper Networks to provide BT with best-in-class solutions that enable carriers around the world to create innovative and revenue-generating services, which will be installed and maintained by Lucent Worldwide Services. Based on Juniper Networks M320, T640 and TX Matrix routing platforms, the new core MPLS network will enable BT to converge multiple service-specific networks into a single, robust, reliable and flexible architecture that will carry a breadth of new and existing services over a common IP/MPLS core.
Lucent Worldwide Services provides multi-vendor support for many companies and carriers, including remote and on-site technical support, along with professional and managed services. It is also engaged in major migration projects taking legacy networks and migrating them over to next-generation all-IP technology.
ECtel Integrated Revenue Management Announces Acquisition of Revenue Assurance Solution Provider Elron Telesoft
ECtel, a leading global provider of Integrated Revenue Management(TM) (IRM(TM)) solutions, announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Elron Telesoft, a prominent revenue assurance solution provider. With the acquisition, which is expected to be closed at the end of the month, ECtel enhances its position in the revenue assurance market, and expands its comprehensive IRM(TM) offerings.
At the closing of the transaction, ECtel will purchase all of the outstanding share capital of Elron Telesoft Ltd. and Elron Telesoft Export Ltd. from their parent company, Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq:ELRN), in consideration for US$2.1 million in cash. The seller will be entitled to receive an additional US$400,000 if certain milestones are achieved by Telesoft during 2006. The acquisition is subject to customary approvals and closing conditions.
Telesoft brings to ECtel its flagship RAP product, a cutting-edge solution that manages all revenue-related business processes for communications service providers (CSPs). RAP effectively complements CashView(R), ECtel’s best-in-class cost and revenue assurance solution for interconnect, CDR and SS7 reconciliation. This combination will allow ECtel to provide CSPs with a flexible, end-to-end solution that addresses all of their revenue assurance needs.
“Operators are facing growing revenue leakage that affects both their top and bottom line. As a result, they have made revenue assurance a top priority,” said Eitan Naor, ECtel’s President and CEO. “We are committed to offering CSPs the very best in revenue assurance solutions. As part of our long-term strategy, we are expanding our recently-launched IRM(TM) product framework with Telesoft’s RAP, an excellent product that audits and controls end-to-end revenue-related processes. We have selected Telesoft since it provides outstanding value to operators, addressing their growing revenue assurance needs.”
The acquisition strengthens ECtel’s global sales presence and tier-one customer base in the US, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific. It also significantly expands ECtel’s revenue assurance domain expertise through the addition of Telesoft’s vast industry experience.
“We are proud of our success in building a winning product that serves tier-one operators,” said Benny Yehezkel, Elron Telesoft’s CEO. “Telesoft is delighted to become an integral part of ECtel, a leading revenue assurance player. By joining forces with ECtel, we believe we are well positioned to provide the industry’s leading revenue assurance offering.”
Convergys Corporation Updates Earnings Guidance for Fourth Quarte 2005
Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG), a global leader in providing customer care, human resources, and billing services, today announced it expects fourth quarter income from operations, excluding additional severance, to be in line with previous guidance. Convergys now expects earnings for the fourth quarter of 2005 to be approximately $0.14 per diluted share due to two non-operating items and additional severance expense. Convergys reaffirms earnings guidance for 2006 of at least $1.07 per share.
“As we enter 2006, we’ve built a strong backlog and are encouraged by recent market wins and our ability to continue to drive costs out of the business. Our strong operating performance is continuing in the fourth quarter and we remain comfortable with our 2006 guidance,” said Convergys Chairman and CEO Jim Orr.
Reported fourth quarter earnings will differ from previous guidance due to the tax impact of foreign cash repatriations, adjustments to Convergys’â„¢ cellular partnership results, and additional severance expense. In 2006, additional benefits from severance will partially offset the less than anticipated contribution from the cellular partnership.
Details of fourth quarter items:
1. As discussed in the third quarter earnings release and 10-Q, Convergys has been considering repatriating funds under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the “Actâ€Â). Convergys will complete its foreign cash repatriations of $187 million in cash, inclusive of dividends under the Act by December 31, 2005. The impact from repatriating funds was not included in previous guidance. Convergys expects this will result in additional income tax expense of approximately $11 million, or $0.08 per share.
2. Convergys has a minority interest in the Cincinnati SMSA Limited Partnership (the “Partnership”), a provider of wireless communications in central and southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The general partner of the Partnership recently notified Convergys that fourth quarter results will include accounting adjustments that will cause a loss to be reported in the quarter. In previous guidance, Convergys expected Partnership pre-tax earnings of $5 million to $7 million for the fourth quarter. Convergys expects previous guidance will be negatively impacted by approximately $13 million, or $0.06 per share.
3. As a result of continuing efforts, Convergys has identified additional opportunities to further improve operations and to reduce costs. Annualized savings from fourth quarter severance actions are now expected to increase to approximately $20 million beginning in 2006. Rather than the $8 million severance estimated previously, total pre-tax severance in the fourth quarter is expected to be $13 million. The additional $5 million in severance will impact earnings by approximately $0.02 per share in the fourth quarter of 2005.
In summary, the items impacting fourth quarter guidance are foreign cash repatriations ($0.08), cellular partnership adjustments ($0.06), and additional severance ($0.02). Therefore, rather than the $0.30 per share guidance provided in October, Convergys now expects earnings in the fourth quarter of 2005 to be approximately $0.14 per diluted share.
Comptel InstantLink Provisioning Granted as Innovative Product of the Year 2005
Comptel Corporation, a leading convergent mediation, charging, provisioning and network inventory software solution vendor has been granted Innovative Product of the Year 2005 -award for its Comptel InstantLink® provisioning solution. The award was granted in Decemberat Billing IT Telecom Forum organised by Automatics and Telecommunications Association. The event was organised for the sixth year and it is considered to be the only great event in Russia and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) that gathers competent industry leaders. Annually about 1000 experts from all Russian regions, the CIS and European countries participate in the Forum.
Comptel’s provisioning solution was considered to move towards all-around enabler software solutions for operators from the basic cost and time saver product. The latest developments have seen provisioning take an increasingly important role when rolling out new multimedia services, organizing wholesale business and auto-configuring customer handsets. This means that the strategic value of provisioning has also increased: it has become a key enabler for competitiveness, new revenue strategies and a high-quality customer experience.
“We are proud to receive this award. The Russian telecom market has fast become one of Europe’s leading markets. Russian operators are among the largest players in the industry, and now they focus on providing advanced services and raising ARPU. This sets new challenges and requires new business models with higher complexity of processes. In order to support this development and operators’ new businesses Comptel has developed its offering to meet these needs with new innovative solutions based on provisioning, mediation and network inventory solutions,†said Antti Jukarainen, Vice President of Sales in Europe, Comptel Corporation.
Increasing Competition Boosts Fixed-Mobile Convergence in the Telecommunications Market in Europe
The trend of providing telecommunication applications and services independent of the access network through fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is gaining significant momentum and initiating changes across the value chain from the end users to the core network infrastructure. Intensifying competition both within the fixed and mobile markets and between them is also prompting the adoption of FMC and fixed-to-mobile substitution strategies aimed at fostering customer loyalty and combating the high costs of customer acquisition and retention.
“FMC is a gradual trend, but it is a fundamental shift with wide-reaching implications on all carrier types”, says Jennifer Fruehauf, ICT Research Manager at Frost and Sullivan (http://wireless.frost.com). “FMC is possible at many different levels, from core network infrastructure, business support, operations and access networks to different applications and services. Hence, operators must adopt clear, long-term strategies that prepare these different elements for the changes to come.”
To successfully exploit the growth opportunities in the fixed-mobile convergence market, carriers and service providers will benefit by devising effective strategies at various levels such as the application, service, device and network levels. Carriers enabling end-users to access a range of core services irrespective of the device or access network and service providers that offer value-added services are entering into agreements, partnerships or acquisitions to capture greater market share. The penetration of the wireless local area Network (WLAN) technology into the telecommunications market through its integration into broadband and cellular data and the development of voice over WLAN products and solutions will further spur FMC. Fundamental changes in the core network levels of various carriers following the implementation of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) will lead to savings in operations and capital expenditure and will further underline the appeal of FMC.
Application-level strategies will assume importance with the deployment of IMS, which will facilitate the implementation of a single application platform that can be offered as services for fixed and mobile access. This will encourage the telecommunications industry to shift form a vertical structure based on access technologies to a horizontal one that emphasises applications and services.
To avail of the opportunities that FMC offers, carriers will do well to offer complete service bundles, which will enable cross-selling, by which additional services can be sold to existing customers to avoid the high costs of customer acquisition. However, carriers providing value-added services such as unified messaging or communication must ensure that legacy infrastructure and billing systems are capable of charging for such services.
Moreover, carriers can significantly reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) by integrating core networks and sharing back-end functions such as customer service, network operations and maintenance, customer relationship management (CRM) and other administrative functions. In addition, the IMS architecture, which breaks down barriers between fixed and mobile networks, will also encourage carriers to develop new applications and services with lower investment requirements.
The emerging trend of several users replacing their fixed lines, offers opportunities for carriers to develop an integrated device and eliminate the need for multiple address books, passwords and message portals. However, despite these benefits, the market for integrated devices is still at a nascent stage due to limitations such as short battery life and the high costs associated with integrated devices.
Fixed carriers in the market, such as cable operators, Internet/DSL service providers, fixed network operators and wireless hotspot network operators/(VoIP) service providers can also avail of the increasing opportunities to offer converged solutions due to the well-developed support systems they possess. Moreover, their understanding of enterprise requirements is likely to induce enterprise mobile data solutions, which promises tremendous potential. Integrated carriers (with their own cellular and fixed networks) are also likely to benefit from the integration of core networks and offering converged solutions will be viable for such carriers due to their strong market positions.
Mobile carriers such as Vodafone, O2 and Bouygues are making efforts to increase fixed-mobile substitution and there are others who are also aiming at inducing clients to scrap their fixed lines altogether. Additionally, most mobile operators are offering converged services by integrating WLAN into their cellular networks. While partnerships with fixed carriers to develop converged solutions will be advantageous, mobile operators must ensure that the new services do not compete with their existing ones.
“Uncertainty in the market is driven by the development of various technologies, especially voice-over-IP, wireless LAN, the emergence of WiMAX (and similar) technologies, dual mode handsets and higher speed cellular capabilities”, cautions Ms. Fruehauf. However, despite the presence of some challenges (essentially supply-related), operators which succeed in creating attractive value propositions and providing adequate customer support, can expect to gain from FMC.
IntraISP Lands Green on the Emerald Isle
INTRAISP, LLC (http://www.intraisp.com ), a premier business management software developer, announced today it has entered into a License Agreement with Irish Broadband (http://www.irishbroadband.ie) for their flagship IntraISP software platform release 6.0. Irish Broadband is also engaging IntraISP to integrate this new software system with its WiMAX wireless broadband and services platform to enhance billing processes, general customer services and back office controls.
[Read more…]
Globecomm Systems Signs One-Year Contract Extension With Afghan Telecom
Globecomm Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: GCOM), a global provider of end-to-end value-added satellite-based communications solutions, announced today that the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Globecomm Network Services Corporation (“GNSC”), has signed a one-year contract extension with Afghan Telecom.
Afghan Telecom, a newly formed company, has taken on responsibility for all telecommunications services throughout Afghanistan. GNSC has been providing teleport services, in support of international voice and Internet connectivity, to Afghan Telecom since the District Communications Network (“DCN”), which was built by Globecomm Systems, went live. The DCN provides telecommunication connections between districts, central and provincial organizations.
Ken Miller, President of Globecomm Systems Inc., said: “Globecomm looks forward to a long term relationship with Afghan Telecom as we work together to re-build the country’s telecommunication infrastructure.”
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 158
- 159
- 160
- 161
- 162
- …
- 165
- Next Page »