Sicap, mobile business enabler, and Utel, French service provider giant, released details of their latest collaboration to enhance mobile business opportunities by employing marketing campaigns through an open standards messaging hub, connected to multiple operator networks.
The announcement underlines Sicap’s commitment to enabling a new type of business model for telecom operators by securely allowing third party access to their networks. Sicap messaging hub has recently been deployed by a tier-1 operator group, with web-based API connections and a powerful statistics management facility which both facilitate a revenue sharing business model with multiple third party service providers.
For service providers such as Utel, Sicap technology and their commitment to an open-standards framework is getting them to market on multiple operator networks simultaneously and in the most cost-effective way. The Sicap platform uses open source Linux and MySQL™ components which ease the entry of applications and service providers from the Internet world into the mobile sphere. For operator-side implementations, Sicap typically uses Unix and Oracle™ based configurations.
Utel’s migration to the open-source MySQL database has streamlined in-house operations and reduced administration costs linked to training. Additionally, Utel has eliminated database license fees. Confidence in Sicap carrier-grade technology and easy connections have helped Utel impose their services at tier-1 Group level and enabled them to expand to serve subsidiary networks in very short time.
Pierre Antoine, Chief Technical Officer of Utel added, “We are now running campaigns in French speaking West Africa subsidiary networks from the centralized messaging hub. We have gained in both business opportunities and efficiency by choosing Sicap technology.”
Operational costs for message handling are also coming down on the operator side. The Sicap platform features portability management, which means that all the messages sent from applications are filtered to identify the home network and then channeled to the appropriate network.
Grégory Grin, Sicap Chief Operating Officer said, “The Sicap messaging hub is an ideal way for operators and mobile service providers to both expand and streamline their business. Routing and management of high-volume message campaigns in an increasingly complex environment remains seamless, controlled, and cost-effective. The Sicap hub enables win-win transactions for Utel and the operators whose networks they are connected to.”
About Sicap
The Sicap portfolio focuses on customer satisfaction and service continuity for mobile end-users. Server-side software enables operators to ensures that the latest multimedia and customer care services are seamlessly delivered to any device or SIM. The offer extends to include platforms which facilitate business between network operators, and their partners. Hosted implementations or carrier-grade OSS platform installations provide operators a choice of service levels and investment.
About Utel
Since early 2000 Utel has produced the best European mobile killer applications and gained one of the highest ARPU on the market thanks to FOTOCHAT, exclusive chat application. Chatplay powerful algorithms developed especially for the mobile environment are one of the many contributors to the success of FOTOCHAT.
With the B2C market reaching maturity, UTEL has extended its amazing quality plug and play products to portals and manufacturers.
Utel has a proven community-building track record combined with expertise in mobile technologies.
Utel works in close partnership with international phone operator groups, including Orange, Vodafone, and Mobistar.