Globally, IN a Critical Tool

Bell Atlantic International Wireless helps global ventures implement IN platforms.

As Bell Atlantic's Wireless Group of international cellular companies moves through the growth stage of its businesses, it is taking necessary steps to remain competitive and profitable. Similar to its counterparts in the United States, the Wireless Group's international ventures are using IN platforms as a growth-stage tool for increased differentiation and competition.

Bell Atlantic's International Wireless (BAIW) division actively manages the corporation's investments in wireless companies outside the United States to ensure Bell Atlantic's share-owners are getting the greatest possible return. A team of consultants from BAIW works with each venture to impart Bell Atlantic's experience in implementing a proven wireless business model. Recently, BAIW helped its ventures in Italy, the Czech Republic and Indonesia implement IN platforms.

IN to Capture Corporate Accounts
With more than 9 million customers, Omnitel Pronto Italia is in the midst of the growth phase of its development. It also faces formidable competition from the incumbent provider, Telecom Italia, especially when it comes to capturing corporate accounts.

When BAIW helped launch Omnitel in late 1995, Telecom Italia already had captured much of the corporate market. Therefore, in an effort to attract business customers to a new service provider, BAIW decided to deploy an IN platform as a way to offer innovative services.

In October 1997, Omnitel introduced RAM, an acronym for "Rete Aziendale Mobile," which translates to corporate mobile network. RAM allows Omnitel to create virtual private networks (VPNs) that function much like an extension of a company's wired phone system. Corporate account groups can use the RAM network for three different types of calls, each at a different tariff rate: intra-network for calls within the company, on-network for calls to other Omnitel customers and off-network for all other calls.

RAM provides customers with many of the same capabilities as a landline PBX, such as abbreviated dialing and other customizable features. But the feature that makes it particularly attractive to corporate accounts is its cost-management capability. By giving control of wireless airtime expenditures to the company's telecom manager, Omnitel helped solve a major challenge corporations were facing in keeping telecom costs in check. As a result, RAM has become one of Omnitel's most successful products.

Deploying an IN platform helps Omnitel do three important things to tap the corporate market: get the account by offering attractive services, penetrate it deeper by providing it with cost-management capabilities, and migrate traffic away from wireline networks.

Omnitel also is using IN services to offer "You and Me," a calling plan that allows pairs of wireless subscribers to call each other at a discounted rate.

Maximizing the Analog Network
EuroTel Praha in the Czech Republic has both an analog network, which uses NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone) technology, and a digital GSM network. Rather than let the NMT network turn into a dormant resource, EuroTel Praha is using an IN platform to make the most of this analog network.

EuroTel Praha's goal is to mirror services offered on the GSM network on the NMT platform, making the network's services practical for many customers. For example, if a customer doesn't need GSM for roaming, then the analog network offers reliable coverage at the lowest cost. For customers concerned about possible stigmas about not having a digital phone, handset manufacturers are coming out with small phones that look just like GSM phones.

In April 1999, the company began offering prepaid services on its NMT network and was the first cellular company to use IN service to sell prepaid phones on an NMT network. Now the company offers prepay on both networks, but plans to migrate its GSM prepay customers to the IN platform once all capacity testing is complete.

EuroTel Praha also is using IN to offer VPN services to corporate accounts. Like Omnitel, EuroTel Praha recognizes the importance of providing corporate customers with control over their wireless spending.

Its VPN services provide corporate telecom managers with services that traditionally have not been available to them. They can determine who can make what type of calls, set up least-cost routing and offer speed dialing and other Centrex-like services.

An IN platform provides EuroTel Praha with a number of conveniences as well. It allows the company to design and implement services based on its unique needs and requirements, independent of an infrastructure vendor.

IN in Tough Times
Despite Indonesia's economic turmoil, Excelcomindo is finding that there is a viable market for prepaid wireless service. The company recognized that an IN platform would enable it to provide more features to its prepaid customers and in April 1998 launched its own IN platform.

Most importantly, Excelcomindo's IN platform enables it to migrate customers who are having financial problems from contract payment to the company's Pro-XL prepaid service, and vice versa. Rather than having customers cancel their service, the company can switch subscribers from contract to prepaid, while allowing them to keep their same phone numbers. If their economic situations improve, they can go back to cheaper minutes with postpaid service, not have to change their numbers, and enjoy the benefits of detailed billing, international roaming and other post-paid features.

The IN platform also makes purchasing reload vouchers for prepaid phones much more convenient for Excelcomindo's customers. By linking the IN platform with banks' ATM networks, subscribers can renew their prepaid vouchers at ATM machines. Customers also can request delivery of a prepaid reload voucher by dialing a 3-digit access code. The latter service is marketed as TelePro-XL. Excelcomindo is investigating using the Internet for electronic reloads.

For worldwide wireless-service providers, the possibilities are nearly endless with IN technology. Possible future prepaid applications for Excelcomindo include international roaming, high-speed data and Internet access. Because INs centralize service logic in a few service-control points, rather than in bits and pieces in every switching system, it's much easier to create, customize and administer new products and features.

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The Benefits of an IN

A wireless IN platform uses a distributed network architecture, which enables service providers to quickly and cost-effectively develop, customize and deploy enhanced services for mobile subscribers. Service providers that implement IN platforms usually realize these benefits:

• Increased revenue. Corporate users find the additional services make wireless communications an even morecost-effective business tool. Consumers are attracted to services such as prepaid calling. Increased airtime usage means increased revenues, and revenues can be further increased when fees are charged for selected services.

• Improved customer loyalty and reduced churn. The flexibility of the IN platform allows end-users to pick and choose the specific individual or set of features they want, simply by dialing a number from their wireless or wireline phones.

• Decreased expenditures. INs streamline procedures and other expenses by using a fully integrated system that features a centralized database and provisioning environment.

• Added flexibility. INs feature an open network architecture, allowing service providers the option of developing the service themselves or contracting the service development with a third party.

Campbell is Bell Atlantic International Wireless director of marketing & sales.