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NetEvidence launches a major upgrade to its Highlight network and application monitoring tool with the Service Assurance Cloud – giving Service Providers a management tool to differentiate their services whilst providing enterprise customers with full visibility of their network and applications.
Currently an enterprise may only have a single Service Provider delivering its network. But as it moves more applications to the cloud, it may end up with multiple suppliers and multiple Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Highlight removes complexity by providing a single portal that gives all parties full visibility of the network and the applications running on their – and other – networks.
The service provider, supplementary cloud providers and enterprise customers can use Highlight’s easy-to-understand graphical reports to prove that SLAs are being met – and that makes the cloud a fully auditable environment. Highlight provides full visibility to enable service providers to grow customer relationships rather than see business eroded from competitive offerings.
Highlight gives enterprises the assurance that their applications and services are performing. It pushes the network into the background whilst still being available for users to drill down into greater detail. And with its engineering quality but management clarity, Highlight is accessible to, and understandable by, anyone. www.net-evidence.com
Cerillion provides convergent CRM & billing, charging, interconnect, mediation and provisioning solutions to fixed, mobile, cable and multi-play communications services providers (CSPs) worldwide. The Cerillion bundled component product suite supports any deployment model: as an end-to-end pre-integrated business support system, managing the complete lifecycle of customers, products, services and revenues; in a mixed deployment, where selected modules may be replaced by 3rd party applications; or in a pure best-of-breed solution. For more information, visit www.cerillion.com.
Keep up with the latest Cerillion news and opinion by joining us on the Cerillion Blog. Here you’ll find insight and comments on the latest trends in the BSS / OSS sector, all delivered by a team of recognised experts from across the company. Through the blog we intend to entertain, inform and challenge you to consider new angles and make new connections. We also aim to provide you with some new ideas and approaches to help you survive in a tremendously competitive but also compelling telecoms market. Join us now on blog.cerillion.com.
Metaswitch Networks, a supplier of next generation infrastructure and applications to network operators, has announced the acquisition of Colibria, an independent provider of enhanced instant messaging, presence and network address book solutions.
The Colibria acquisition complements Metaswitch’s recently launched Thrutu service, a unique in-call content sharing experience that enables mobile users to impulsively exchange information during a call and is available as a branded platform for global operators.
The addition of Colibria’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Rich Communication Suite (RCS and RCS-e) compliant portfolio further broadens the range of options that Metaswitch can now present to operators looking for short, mid and long-term answers to the dual challenges of countering competitive threats and keeping the voice call relevant.
Speaking on the deal, Kevin DeNuccio, CEO at Metaswitch Networks, said that operators around the world had quickly realised that the time had come to turn up the heat on their over-the-top competitors.
“The way people communicate is quickly evolving from just voice and text to a new, richer set of social interaction and contextual calling services,” he said. “Metaswitch is in the middle of this transformation, helping service providers address these demands and putting their brand front and center in the new communications experience. Colibria technology will play a key role in making this happen.”
Surging mobile data revenue makes case for managed services
Many operators see the managed service model as a way of managing risk effectively and being able to focus more on their core business. That’s according to a global online survey commissioned by Motricity which was sent out to mobile, fixed and converged carriers globally, as well as conducting interviews with carriers in the Asia Pacific region. The survey revealed that top priorities for managed services included web discovery, advertising, content management, hosting and data-centre management.
Additionally the third-party management of mobile data services such as merchandising, marketing, advertising, business intelligence, segmentation and commerce solutions were seen as being key in enabling operators to expand their subscriber service offering. Thirty five percent of those surveyed saw messaging as the key driver, ahead of the mobile internet and music with 17% and 14% respectively. However, that situation changes when asked what the most important data service would be in two years time. Then 29% of respondents see the mobile internet overtaking social networking (28%) and messaging (26%) as the key driver for revenue growth.
With the need for innovation critical in emerging markets due to the increased competitive, investor and subscriber demands placed on operators, in the Asia Pacific region 82% of respondents said they either currently have a relationship with a managed service supplier around their data offerings or plan to do so within the next three years.
The Motricity findings reflect those of Informa Telecoms & Media which suggest mobile telecom revenues will reach US$1.1 trillion by 2015 with 40% of this figure coming from data services. Ryan Wuerch, chief executive officer, Motricity, said, “Based on Informa’s research, coupled with Motricity’s aggressive international expansion plan, we are in a prime position to partner with operators in emerging markets. Our goal is to enable our partners to quickly monetise mobile data usage by providing the enhanced mobile Internet experience that their subscribers demand.”
WeDo Technologies, a provider of revenue and business assurance solutions, has signed a deal with Turkcell Group to implement its flagship business assurance software RAID across the entire group. The deal will help to ensure Turkcell avoids data and financial losses related to inconsistencies in business support systems and network platforms.
With Turkcell requiring a flexible revenue assurance solution which supported its individual requirements, WeDo partnered with local firms, Telcotank and i2i for strategic consultancy and integration.
The project will be rolled out in phases, starting with the operators Turkcell and Superonline in Turkey and Astelit in Ukraine and will take 18 months to complete. It will cover a range of key areas including subscriber and service reconciliation, usage assurance and billing and ratting verification.
Omer Altinok, group revenue assurance manager at Turkcell, said “When we were talking to WeDo Technologies about our revenue assurance requirements, we knew RAID was the right solution to go for as it is a tried and tested solution, with a fast and guaranteed return on investment.”
Experian, a global information services company, has announced that KPN, the Dutch telecommunications and ICT service provider, has selected its Hunter fraud detection system to detect, investigate and record fraud at the point of application.
KPN will use Hunter to check applications from new and existing customers for signs of fraud and to identify where false details are used or impersonation attempted. Hunter, which will be deployed within KPN’s existing application processing system, will also detect specific fraud types, such as individual data manipulation and the actions of fraud rings.
The solution works by checking application data for anomalies within the current and previous applications, as well as matches against previous known and suspected fraudulent applications. It then provides a referral investigation management facility and enables the recording and sharing of decisions.
Tim Barber, market director for Telecoms EMEA, at Experian, said, “The implementation of Hunter places KPN at the forefront of the fight against fraud in the Netherlands. Hunter is used by many of the world’s leading organisations across a variety of sectors, including financial services, telecommunications and insurance, to help manage fraud risks, minimise losses and ensure genuine customers are not hindered unnecessarily in the application process.”
Alcatel-Lucent has confirmed that Manx Telecom is deploying its End-to-End IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) to address end user demand for seamless access to voice, data and multimedia services.
The solution will create one unified network by which the operator will deliver rich broadband services to consumers and enterprises anywhere, anytime and over any device.
It will allow Manx Telecom to modernise its existing fixed network with an IP-based architecture to provide subscribers with VoIP over narrow or broadband access. By overlaying broadband, Manx can deliver enhanced voice services to subscribers across devices and networks and give consumers and business users the ability to personalise services.
Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution also supports the Global System Mobile Association’s Rich Communication Suite enabling Manx Telecom to unify messaging across mobile handsets and the web to improve communication and collaboration.
Mike Loundes, CTO of Manx Telecom, said, “With Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution, we now have a single, scalable platform that can offer multiple customer services with integrated management to deliver the enhanced services being demanded today and prepare for the services that people will seek tomorrow. This is a key milestone in the deployment of our network which is one of the biggest technology investments the Isle of Man has ever seen, and enables us to fully optimise our network assets to differentiate Manx Telecom in the marketplace.”
Link2One, a multilateral roaming hub provider, has signed an agreement with Orascom Telecom to provide it access to its roaming hub in a move that will see Link2One’s membership growing to more than 220 networks in 80 countries.
The deal sees Orascom Telecom minimise the need for costly and time consuming bilateral roaming agreements with an ever increasing number of service providers, instead leveraging the Link2One Hub framework of multilateral roaming agreements for data, prepaid, voice and 3G services.
Uniquely, the Link2One Hub also provides Orascom Telecom with access to a single financial and clearing settlement pool with integrated payments, reducing the operator’s need for associated manpower and funding. The group is greatly benefiting from this significantly simplified approach to roaming, which allows it to more quickly and profitably grow and expand into new markets.
For carriers the management and expansion of roaming services and relationships can be costly and time consuming – a situation set to become increasingly complex with the additional challenge of providing maximum roaming coverage for voice services, CAMEL, GPRS and 3G. Access to a multilateral roaming hub, such as that provided by Link2One, which unlike competing roaming hubs also comes with integrated financial reconciliation, provides a cost effective and simple solution to these growing challenges for mobile operators.
Khaled Bichara, Group CEO, Orascom Telecom, said, “As a leading operator with networks in 11 emerging markets, one of our key aims is to rapidly expand our networks so that we can provide high quality communications services to our customers at affordable prices. With the Link2One roaming hub, the process of managing our roaming relationships and operating our roaming business is greatly simplified, allowing us to expand our coverage more rapidly and focus on getting new services to market faster.”
Sandvine and Telefonica combine to bring better broadband to more than 250m customers worldwide
In a deal that will impact upon over 250m subscribers worldwide, Telefonica and Sandvine have announced a partnership that will see the carrier using the latter’s policy control solutions to implement tiered service plans and new offerings such as real-time subscriber notification on broadband usage as a way to reduce bill shock.
The move will see Sandvine’s network policy control solutions providing Telefonica with detailed visibility and reporting of network usage across the company’s global footprint in over twenty countries.
Data is collected from the operator’s network, using the Sandvine Policy Traffic Switch (PTS) platform, which then organises and displays it intelligently for executive management analysis. This technique helps Telefonica to both make business decisions based on a vast amount of actionable information and enforce actions to launch new programs and policies within the network.
With many governments, regulators, and public advocacy groups increasingly looking to ISPs to prevent users from inadvertently, or deliberately, accessing questionable Internet sites, Telefonica is also helping to protect its global consumers through the implementation and adoption of measures to combat child pornography through Sandvine’s URL Access Control product. In this use-case, Sandvine’s URL Access Control leverages the PTS traffic identification capabilities to restrict access to specific websites with minimum impact on both the subscriber and the service provider.
Vicente San Miguel, CTO, Telefonica Corporate, said, “As a global company, Telefonica’s network insight and business intelligence is key to understanding how we can better serve our vast subscriber base worldwide. Working with Sandvine since 2008 has brought us closer to understanding and acting on the needs of our customers, while improving revenue opportunities and the cost-effectiveness of our network.”
Claro working with Evolving Systems for Dynamic SIM Allocation Solution
Evolving Systems, a leading provider of software solutions and services to the wireless, wireline and IP carrier market, has announced that Claro, the Brazilian operator, recently went live with the Company’s Dynamic SIM Allocation (DSA) solution to help streamline its SIM card supply chain logistics and optimise its telephone number inventory.
Following a stringent Request for Proposal (RFP) process, involving an industry-wide evaluation of possible solutions, Claro chose Evolving Systems who delivered the solution in partnership with Gemalto, a world leader in digital security.
As a result of fast growth, and in order to comply with countrywide number utilisation regulations imposed by ANATEL, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Claro was faced with the urgent need to optimise its SIM card provisioning process in a very short time frame.
With Claro also having to operate under a regional numbering plan, which can be hampered when SIM cards are pre-provisioned, the deal with Evolving will help to address these issues.
Thad Dupper, CEO and chairman, Evolving Systems, said, “We are extremely pleased that, working alongside Gemalto, we have been able to bring the DSA solution into live production at Claro. This success proves that the combined offering of Evolving Systems’ market leading technology and experience with Gemalto’s strong local presence represents a valuable business proposition for operators in the large and competitive Brazilian market.”
Tribold has announced it is opening a Research & Development Centre in Cwmbran, South Wales and plans to create over 45 new jobs in the software development, engineering sector, professional services and business support functions.
The R&D Centre will be used for core software production development, software testing, released product support and as a location for software implementation services (both on-site and remote).
When selecting the location several options across the globe were considered, with key factors assessed included availability of staff with required skill levels and qualifications, logistical impacts, property costs and how seamlessly the business could be integrated into the Tribold Group as a whole.
Simon Muderack, Tribold CEO & Founder said, “The new Tribold R&D Centre is a significant milestone in the growth of the company. The R&D Centre will ensure that, going forward, Tribold will be able to scale the business with a great degree of direct control whilst maintaining our existing global customer base.”
The news was welcomed by Ieuan Wyn Jones, minister for the Economy and Transport, who said he was delighted that another prominent ICT company has chosen to expand operations into Wales.
Anritsu enables testing of High-Speed HSPA and wireless devices using simultaneous 64QAM and MIMO
Anritsu has introduced a software option for its MD8480C W-CDMA/GSM Signaling Tester that enables testing for the latest W-CDMA/GSM devices supporting simultaneous 64QAM and MIMO.
The release builds on existing W-CDMA/HSPA support in the MD8480C, ranging from Release 99 to Release 8, as well as previous introductions of the market-leading DC-HSDPA option, and a full line-up of HSPA+ Release 7 options.
The MX848001E-17 Simultaneous 64QAM/MIMO option enables the MD8480C Signaling Tester to conduct protocol-based testing on new W-CDMA/GSM wireless devices that incorporate this feature. Simultaneous 64QAM/MIMO offers network operators and consumers 42 MB/s download speeds similar to DC-HSDPA, with the advantage that spectrum is conserved through use of a single 5 MHz channel rather than the two channels required for DC-HSDPA. With this option, the MD8480C now supports all W-CDMA data rates, from 12.2 kB/s voice calls to 42 MB/s data calls, including new category 17, 18, 19, and 20.
Wade Hulon, vice president and general manager, Anritsu, said, “We are proud to be able to offer support for both 3GPP evolutionary paths – LTE and HSPA+. This new software option for the MD8480C underscores our commitment to support industry test requirements for the HSPA+ path, as data rates advance to 4G rates. We look forward to supporting further advances of HSPA+, as data rates trend even higher to support consumer demands for high-speed data.”
Syniverse appoints Patrick George as senior vice president
Patrick George, senior vice president, Global Solutions
Syniverse has announced the appointment of mobile industry veteran Patrick George as senior vice president, Global Solutions. In this role, George will principally focus on leading strategic programs designed to drive business optimisation for customers with an emphasis on Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia.
George joins Syniverse from Belgacom International Carrier Services where he most recently held the position of senior vice president, Marketing and Product Management, and brings more than 15 years of experience serving mobile operators and key members of the communications ecosystem.
Based in Luxembourg, George will lead coordination of key initiatives across the Syniverse’s messaging and network lines of business, including product adaptation, regional customisation, roaming solutions and interoperability, all in support of operators’ messaging and 4G rollout strategies.
Jeff Gordon, chief operating officer, Syniverse, said, “Syniverse is continually integrating new capabilities to help our customers stay ahead of industry trends and subscriber demands, and Patrick’s deep experience in mobile solutions will help us achieve this goal. Patrick’s depth of knowledge serving mobile operators makes him a valuable addition to our team as we work to advance industry solutions for messaging interoperability and network evolution via IPX to 4G, LTE and beyond.”
Oxygen8 Communications, a global mobile, voice and billing specialist, has announced the appointment of Ray Tierney as CEO of its Irish business.
Tierney, formerly sales director for Ireland, will be responsible for further developing Oxygen’s position as a provider of mobile marketing and business communications solutions to leading blue-chip and media companies, in addition to government agencies in the Irish market.
The move will see Tierney focusing on expanding Oxygen’s professional services revenue stream which it offers in conjunction with its platform technology and global billing capability. He will also continue his role in assisting Oxygen’s international market expansion into new territories, which has so far included Canada and over 12 countries across Europe.
Shane Leahy, group CEO of Oxygen8 Communications, said, “We have very ambitious plans for business growth over the coming months and Ray will play a critical role in enabling us to achieve our goals globally and in the Irish market. Ray will be building on his success as sales director and expanding our professional services, strengthening relationships with new and existing customers and developing new revenue streams across a broad range of industry sectors in the Irish market.”
The Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) has announced that its OSIA specification is recognised as international standard by the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). This milestone establishes OSIA as
Telna has announced the divestiture of its KnowRoaming brand to eSimplified. This transfer positions eSimplified—an innovative entity supported by robust private equity and led by fintech and telecommunication industry experts—to propel
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