Banglalink awards charging system upgrade to Ericsson (Bangladesh, Sweden)
Banglalink, one of Bangladesh’s leading mobile phone operators, today announced that it has entered into a five-year agreement with Ericsson to upgrade its charging system, including IN expansion, consulting and systems integration services, as well as support. The upgraded charging system will enable Banglalink to offer subscribers new and innovative value-added services.
Thanks to Ericsson’s consulting and systems integration services, Banglalink’s upgraded solution will feature geographical redundancy, meaning that it will remain functional in the event of any natural disasters or network outages. To date, more than 90 percent of Bangladesh’s mobile subscribers belong to the prepaid segment.
Mohammed Osman, Acting CEO and Chief Financial Officer of Banglalink, said that this is why they wanted to get a powerful unified, consolidated and standard solution that provides them with a competitive edge in prepaid services. This upgrade will also make it easier for them to adopt a convergent prepaid and postpaid billing system in the future. More importantly, it gives them the ability to quickly launch new value-added products and services.
By integrating the Ericsson OSS Navigator with the Ericsson Charging System, Banglalink will benefit from more effective network monitoring and improved service-aware network management. It will also have access to a combination of business and network data that will provide a holistic overview of end users and network efficiency. As a result, Banglalink will be able to develop innovative subscriber plans based on end-user behaviors and network capabilities.
Per-Henrik Nielsen, President of Ericsson Bangladesh, said that they are pleased to provide Banglalink with a robust charging system that will help bring more innovative services to its subscribers. They are also confident that this upgrade to the charging system will strengthen Banglalink’s relationships with its customers.
RCom partners with handygo to offer value-added services to rural customers (India)
‘handygo’ Technologies, Mobile value-added service provider has partnered with Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications (RCom) to offer information regarding health, education and finance, besides other areas, to rural subscribers.
As per ‘handygo’, this voice-based rural service by ‘handygo’ provides authentic information to rural subscribers.
For updates, ‘handygo’ has partnered with various organisations such as Care India, Aviva Life Insurance, Indian Metrological Department, Hariyali Kisan Bazaar, Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing, Transparency International India, India Financial Services and other organisations.
GO Telecom implements Metro fiber network in cooperation with ZTE Corporation
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co.”GO” signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ZTE Corporation on Monday, March 21 to deploy fiber-optic network within the cities (Metro Fiber Ring). The first phase of this network implementation project will start in Riyadh city and will serve the government sectors and business (FTTB) and homes (FTTH).
Eng. Zaid Al Shabanat, Chief Executive of GO Telecom stated “We are pleased to sign this Memorandum of Understanding, which represents a new step towards building the most advanced telecommunications network in the Kingdom. The new fiber-optics network integrates with the Fourth Generation (4G) wireless communications technology, WiMAX 802.16e, to provide GO Telecom products & services that meet the needs of government, business and home sectors, both for Broadband Internet service and Voice services, and opens up more opportunities to provide other Value-Added Services. The second phase of the project will continue in each of the cities of Jeddah and Dammam. Building a new fiber optics network will reinforce the infrastructure of the company and its competitive standing in the Saudi market and will establish a long-term partnership with ZTE Corporation. It should be noted that the founding partners of Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. “GO” have committed to 65% share upon the raise of company capital.”
NuevaTel PCS introduces top-up promotion (Bolivia)
Bolivian operator NuevaTel PCS, which operates under the Viva brand, has launched a top-up promotion for its prepaid customers.
Users who recharge their mobile account by March 31 will be given double the amount of airtime included on the top-up card. Users can use the bonus airtime for national and international calls, as well as national SMS and value-added services.
AIS partners with Google to launch Data Card (Thailand)
Advanced Info Service (AIS) has partnered with Google to launch a Data card with applications from Google and AIS.
According to reports, the Data Card is used by laptop users to access AIS mobile data service and is integrated with value-added services such as Google Chrome and AIS services such as balance checking.
AIS will launch the Data Card at the end of March and the operator expects to end the year with 400,000 Data Card users and increase this to 800,000 a year later.
MTS Ukraine launches single quality monitoring system
MTS Ukraine is planning to launch a single quality monitoring system for value-added services on its network.
The operator will install 30 local modules with dedicated software and a central server in Kiev for the system.
The system will test VAS based on known subscriber behavior, including SMS, MMS, WAP, EDGE/GPRS and other services. The system is supplied by Russian integrator Sitronics.
Axiom Telecom introduces 1 hour repair service for BlackBerry smartphones
Axiom Telecom, a leading mobile and smartphone retailer in the Middle East has introduced a market first with its ’1-Hour Express Service’ for BlackBerry® smartphones.
Under the repair program, customers buying a BlackBerry smartphone from Axiom Telecom stores will be able to have their handset repaired within one hour or Axiom Telecom will replace it. For BlackBerry smartphones purchased at retail stores other than Axiom Telecom but covered under the Axiom Telecom warranty, the handset will be repaired within 24 hours or replaced.
The service is available to customers who have purchased a BlackBerry smartphone in the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain on or after January 21, 2011.
“Providing differentiated and convenient services to our customers is at the heart of Axiom’s customer service promise. Extending that philosophy, we have introduced this unique repair program which is an addition to the many value-added services we offer customers,” said Faisal Al Bannai, CEO, Axiom Telecom.
Axiom Telecom value-added services:
Based on its insights into customer’s service preferences, Axiom Telecom provides a range of value added-services, including:
• Price protection guarantee
• Pick up and delivery
• Call and order
• Standby phone during repair
• Expert Salespeople
• Extended warranty
For a full list of Axiom’s Value-Added benefits, as well as the terms and conditions on the 1-Hour Express Service for BlackBerry smartphones, please visit www.axiomtelecom.com .
MTS, Tata DOCOMO launch special offers for World Cup
With the upcoming Cricket World Cup, telecom companies are coming up with new offers to attract customers and get more business in the season.
MTS has announced that it is offering free local and national SMS for its subscribers on every run that will be scored by the Indian cricket team.
If a player hits a ball for six runs, then a MTS subscriber will get 6 SMS free. This offer will be provided to those MTS customers who opt for recharge voucher (RCV) of US$5.57 from the company. This RCV will give a talk time of US$6.64 to MTS customer. These free SMSs can be sent by customers to any local or national number in India.
According to Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing Officer, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, these initiatives have been specially designed to add to the cheer of their customers every time India wins a match in this world cup.
Tata DOCOMO has introduced two new RCVs in the name of ‘not-out’ for S$1.26 and $2.27, respectively. Both RCVs offer talk-time worth US$0.61 and US$1.12, respectively, which can be used to make voice calls and are valid for 30 days.
According to Rishi Mohan Malhotra, Head, Value-Added Services, Tata DOCOMO, when you think of cricket, it’s all about fun, passion, excitement, celebration and winning and 57 and 103 Not Out are precisely that.
By using these RCVs, subscribers will be able to dial 54321194 and listen to 5 minutes or 10 minutes of cricket updates on every match day.
The other bundles offers with these RCV are one-month free subscription to an IVR-based voice game called Guess Master. The game is about guessing the winner of the day’s toss, the match-winner, scores made in each innings and 6s and 4s scored in each innings.
Subscribers can bid points on each guess and every correct answer will increase their chance to double their points. Post the World Cup, subscribers can redeem their total points for various gifts like Team India Jerseys, Shoes, I-Pods and LCD TVs.
RCVs also offer subscribers free subscription to the My Song service, wherein they can listen to live scores each time they call someone from their Tata DOCOMO number. Match scores will be played on match days whereas, on non-match days, subscribers’ chosen music will be played.
Additionally, subscribers who opt for 103 Not out Recharge Voucher will get free subscription to Call Me Tunes. This will enable him to listen to live score updates instead of ring tones.
Data service subscribers of Tata DOCOMO can download cricket games, wallpapers and animations related to cricket for free via Dive In.
Chunghwa Telecom Q4 revenue increases (China)
China’s largest telecom operator, Chunghwa Telecom Co’s executive expects revenues from value-added services to grow 30% this year as the rising uptake of smartphones and tablet devices urge demand for its Internet access and data services.
According to Chunghwa Telecom Vice President Shih Mu-Piao, the nation’s continued economic recovery will also boost voice and data traffic this year. The company aims to increase revenues from value-added services to US$470 million this year. That would bring revenue contribution from value-added services to about 20% this year, from 17% last year.
He added that the growing popularity of tablet devices, like smartphones, will help boost usage of their value-added services. It is a brand new market as children and older people will find it easier to get online using tablets instead of PCs. Chunghwa Telecom plans to purchase at least 100,000 Android-powered tablet computers with voice function like Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Tab, in addition to 700,000 smartphones, this year for bundling with its service packages.
Chunghwa Telecom reported that net profit last year grew 9% year-on-year to $47.69 billion from $43.76 billion in 2009 because of increasing usage of its value-added services and a lower business tax rate. The tax rate fell to 17% last year, from 25% in 2009.Revenues rose 1.3% last year, from $198.36 billion in 2009.
