Technology giant IBM has joined forces with Irish technology company Openet to jointly create a new centre of excellence in Texas that will help mobile operators with their R&D to cope with billing and bandwidth demand driven by growing use of smartphones and tablets.
Communications service providers are faced with rethinking how their bandwidth is allocated so they are able to offer customers the bandwidth required for a particular service precisely when they need it – whether it is for a quick SMS text message or for a data-intensive video download.
Dublin-headquartered Openet’s suite of proven solutions enables communications service providers to control network traffic, monetise new and existing services and guarantee quality of experience for mobile device users.
Unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, the new IBM Dynamic Service Control Center of Excellence combines IBM technologies with the Openet platform to provide communications service providers the ability to control, monetise, and personalise services for their subscribers.
Openet will provide mediation, rating and charging, balance, subscriber and policy management capabilities, along with analytics for all functions. For example, Openet’s solutions can set usage thresholds based on time of day, subscriber plan, or data consumption to make sure that appropriate actions are carried out once those thresholds are reached. It then allows service providers to charge resulting usage against a pre- or post-paid account.
Proving future mobile concepts
The new centre of excellence will allow operators to test new technology and proofs of concept in a ‘sandbox’ environment, as well as access experienced experts from IBM and Openet.
“The launch of IBM’s Dynamic Service Control Center of Excellence based on the Openet platform demonstrates our commitment to deliver integrated joint solutions to our clients,” said Niall Norton, CEO of Openet.
“IBM has a proven track record in delivering solutions that enable new business models and services. IBM and Openet will help our clients differentiate their capabilities now and in the future, in an environment that simulates today’s network challenges,” Norton said.
The new centre of excellence will also allow clients to access IBM’s global capabilities, including the IBM Telecom Business Analytics and Optimisation Center of Excellence based in Dublin, Ireland. IBM Global Business Services provides consulting, systems integration and application management services around the Openet platform and applications.
“Communications service providers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves while efficiently managing the increasing demands on their networks,” said Scott Stainken, general manager, IBM Global Telecommunications Industry.
“Real-time service control is a powerful tool to differentiate the subscriber experience, allowing more customised services, while deep analytics allows providers to create more targeted customer interactions. IBM’s technology expertise combined with Openet’s platform gives providers powerful new insight to grow their business and speed the adoption of next-generation solutions,” Stainken said.
The new Telecom Center of Excellence is based in IBM’s Telecom Solutions Lab in Austin, Texas.
