WAP enables over-the-air activities

Bell Atlantic Mobile will be one of the first operators to take advantage of wireless e-care and provisioning based on the wireless application protocol. BAM, Phone.com and Motorola have collaborated to develop capabilities that will allow BAM to instantly and remotely perform a number of functions that it once could conduct only manually.

While many operators have established capabilities such as over-the-air voice provisioning, they struggle with functions that sometimes need to be altered. "What about the things that might need to change after they leave the premises?" asked Ben Linder, vice president of marketing for Phone.com.

For example, BAM now remotely can make software changes, such as changing customers' phone numbers in the event of an area code split. "It saves us time and adds value and convenience," said Ted Hoffman, vice president of technology development for BAM. Previously, customers would have to visit a store to allow the operator to make those changes.

The e-care offering can cut costs in a number of ways for BAM. The operator plans to identify the top five reasons that customers call in and add those to the e-care menu on the handsets, Hoffman said. The service will minimize call-ins and make it easier for customers to find answers to their questions, he said.

BAM also will be able to offer roaming services more efficiently. Many operators program roaming partners into the handset before it leaves the factory, making it difficult to change those partners if another operator offers a better deal, Linder said. The new over-the-air capability will allow BAM to switch roaming partners on the fly.

BAM will introduce services during the fourth quarter. The three companies also have been working with the CDMA Development Group to make the capability a standard that is available to other code division multiple access operators.