RESTON, Va.—Nextel Communications Inc. launched Amdocs customer and billing platform Ensemble, which the carrier expects will improve customer service and reduce customer retention costs. The implementation is part of a seven-year outsourcing agreement between the two companies.The platform provides Nextel with a unified customer...
OXFORD, United Kingdom—News International, the vast media organization with outlets in most major countries, is preparing to unveil its proprietary mobile content delivery platform and a new strategy of forming direct relationships with operators, rather than working with intermediaries.The new division, labeled Omnimedia, is...
NEW YORK—Verizon Communications Inc. and Verizon Wireless said they will begin offering consolidated billing to customers in New York and Massachusetts. The service, One-Bill, is available to customers with accounts in the same name and good credit records with both Verizon and...
OXFORD, United Kingdom—Orange, one of the leading innovators of cell-phone services, has confirmed that it will delay the introduction of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)-based technology, originally due in the fourth quarter, until sometime early next year. The company has blamed the delay on...
Mobile users in the United Kingdom have been put on alert. A scam is doing the rounds. Text messages are being broadcast to thousands of mobiles stating they should ring a phone number urgently. Hapless mobile owners who keep calling the number are greeted...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-After a series of delays, the battle for the South African cellular market appears set to begin. Third mobile network operator Cell C has launched a massive marketing campaign to begin winning some mind share of South African mobile subscribers.The Saudi Arabian-backed...
Audiovox CommunicationsAudiovox Communications introduced the Maestro, a Pocket PC that uses Microsoft Windows Powered Pocket PC 2002 software. The product features 32 MB of SDRAM and 32 MB of Flash Rom and an Intel Strong ARM 206 MHz processor. It also includes built-in CFR...
LAUREL, Maryland, United States—Jamaica's newest cellular provider Digicel selected a billing and customer care software package from U.S.-based Sentori. The technology will allow Digicel to develop and launch services, including voice and Internet Protocol (IP)-based services and facilities and flexible rating options.Digicel was awarded...
CUPERTINO, California, United States—Portal Software said that Monaco Telecom is deploying its Infranet customer management and billing platform to supply GSM and later third-generation (3G) services. The service will include support for prepaid and postpaid customers, along with Web-enabled customer self service.
CINCINNATI—Convergys Corp. and Logica plan to demonstrate an integrated prepaid and postpaid billing system this week at the 2001 UMTS Congress in Barcelona.According to the companies, the demonstration will show how Convergys' Geneva Active Revenue Management software combined with Logica's Aethos PrePaid platform enables...
ATLANTA—BellSouth announced it is offering its wireless e-mail service for the Motorola Talkabout T900, a two-way messaging device capable of communicating with any other e-mail equipped device.According to BellSouth, its e-mail service includes installment billing for the T900, a free warranty, nationwide coverage, and...
NEW DELHI, India—The government-owned fixed-line operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), awarded Ericsson and Motorola contracts to build out its GSM network. BSNL is slated to launch a nationwide GSM service next year, with a projected 4 million-line capacity.Ericsson has won a US$135 million...
NEW DELHI, India—Motorola Inc. said it has signed a $178 million GSM contract to supply infrastructure equipment for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. in four states in southern India.The agreement for a total turnkey 900 MHz GSM network includes base stations, switches, intelligent network, billing...
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, United States—In an effort to offer businesses a seamless messaging and billing service, MobileSys is adding TSI Telecommunication Services' short message service (SMS) manager technology to its data platform. The companies said the platform will allow business users to send SMS...
DALLAS, United States, and STOCKHOLM, Sweden—VoiceStream Wireless signed contracts with both Nortel Networks and Ericsson for its next-generation services.Nortel said it signed a US$300 million GSM contract to upgrade VoiceStream Wireless' national networks for deployment in the first quarter of 2002.Under the pact, Nortel...
DALLAS—Nortel Networks has signed a $300 million GSM contract to upgrade VoiceStream Wireless' national networks for deployment in the first quarter of 2002.Under the pact, Nortel Networks will supply radio base station equipment, switching and professional services for EDGE."It also includes intelligent network equipment...
NEW YORK—Hutchison 3G UK, holder of the largest block of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) spectrum in the United Kingdom, has contracted with U.S.-based ADC Telecommunications to deploy ADC's Singl.eView Convergent Billing system for multimedia services, including voice, data, e-mail and information.As a new...
ARLINGTON, Va.—Convergys Corp., a provider of integrated billing and customer care services, signed a contract with TeleCorp PCS Inc. to provide its Atlys solution to support flexible billing for TeleCorp's SunCom digital wireless services.Convergys said its Atlys service will allow TeleCorp to support content-based...
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—eMerging Information Systems Inc. announced the installation of its Java-based Libertis business support system for Italy's Energ.it Spa is complete.Energ.it said it plans to use the Libertis system to create a billing infrastructure that will allow it to implement competitive pricing...
CINCINNATI, United States—Convergys announced Austrian mobile operator One will use its Geneva Active Revenue Management (ARM) software to replace its legacy billing system.One, which is owned by E.ON, Telenor, Orange and Tele Danmark, provides 97 percent coverage in Austria.
NEW YORK-Trivnet, an Israeli software provider, has developed a system designed to answer questions and eliminate concerns that have slowed adoption of the wireless phone as a sales transaction device.Consumers are concerned about inadequate security and its potential to permit fraudulent use of their...
BEIJING—Spokesman Wang Lijian of China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) confirmed that China would not introduce one-way billing for mobile-phone charges before the end of this year.The 21st Century Business Herald had reported that China Mobile would introduce one-way billing in Beijing and Shanghai.Introduction...
HERZELIA, Israel—Israel-based Formula Telecom Solutions, a developer and provider of end-to-end telecommunications management solutions, announced it was awarded a contract valued at US$10.5 million from MobiTel, Bulgaria's GSM operator. The contract is for the delivery and implementation of Formula Telecom Solutions' Leap Billing and...
