SmartTrust to power Cingular 3G activation

SmartTrust will provide the activation services for Cingular Wireless’s new 3G services, supplying its over-the-air (OTA) delivery platform to process new customers and download and install new software on subscriber handsets.

SmartTrust and Cingular are expected to announce the new deal tomorrow, which extends a current agreement SmartTrust has with the operator for GSM activation. While the 3G platform is expected to gel smoothly with the GSM platform, SmartTrust Americas general manager Johan Valentin said that 3G activation is a much more complex process due to the much larger variety of data services available over the high-speed network. Uploading the proper applications and ensuring those services are accounted for and linked back to Cingular’s back-end billing and provisioning systems, require more integration than a basic GSM activation, Valentin said.

The delivery platform consists of an server and customer database software, which allows point-of-sale activation of a new subscriber over Cingular’s UMTS/high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) network, scheduled to launch in 15-20 markets by the end of the year. The platform will upload service settings and software to customer’s phone as soon as it is activated and update those same settings and software as customers subscribe to new or cancel old services.