bcgi targets smaller wireless carriers

(Telephony) Transaction-processing software provider Boston Communications Group, Inc. is aiming its prepaid wireless services to small and medium-sized wireless carriers and extending its relationship with Western Union Financial Services to these players as well.

The company announced today that it has signed four contracts with wireless carriers in Alabama, Illinois, Nebraska and Pennsylvania for its Prepaid Connection service, which it said helps carriers move into the prepaid wireless space easily and cost-effectively.

“We provide [wireless carriers] with a cost-effective co-location of the front-end call processing platform and we aggregate all the transactions for our customers on our billing platform on the backend,” said Tom Erskine, vice president of product development for bcgi. “Tier 2 and Tier 3 [carriers] get cost-effective, end-to-end prepaid service… [and] additional features like Western Union. It helps them reduce their cost and their ability to get to market.”

The new wireless carriers using the Prepaid Connection service are Alabama Wireless in Decatur, Ala., South Canaan Cellular Communications in South Canaan, Pa., Illinois Valley in Marseilles, Ill., and Nebraska Wireless in Grand Island, Neb.

Taking advantage of Western Union’s 33,000 locations in the United States, bcgi also announced that the companies are working together to market their billing and payment solutions to small and medium-sized wireless carriers, simplifying the consumer payment and airtime replenishment process.

Through the prepaid wireless recharge program, bcgi will use its Intelligent Voice Services Network—its North American voice resources network—in conjunction with Western Union SwiftPay services to make in-person subscriber payments easier for its Prepaid Connection service and the Wireless Wallet stored-value value account offering.

“[Wireless carriers] can now launch an offering using the combined power of our platform and Western Union payment, which gives subscribers the ability to place and receive calls and recharge their account anywhere in the country,” Erskine said.

bcgi and Western Union have been working together for two years.

In other news, bcgi announced strong first quarter revenues and earnings, which include net income of $1.7 million compared with $895,000 in first quarter 2000; EBIDTA of $6 million, up 20% from a year ago; and a 3% increase in gross profit from a year ago.

At the end of the last quarter bcgi had about 2.1 million subscribers on their platform, Erskine said. The company has about 30% share of the prepaid services market in the U.S.