Posted: 09/2002
contracts & deals
Compiled and reported by Khali Henderson and Tara Seals
Debisys Provides PoSA to Cellular Warehouse, Voicelink
Debisys Inc. completed a WAN integration with Cellular Warehouse, an authorized distributor of Cingular Wireless products and services, for processing prepaid transactions. The company also will provide turnkey electronic point-of-sale (PoS) processing technology to prepaid distributor Voicelink Communications Inc.
Debisys provides proprietary transaction processing software that automates PoS activation (PoSA) and electronic payment processing for prepaid cellular and home phone, long-distance, gift and other products and for processing ATM/debit and credit card transactions.
Voicelink will use Debisys' system to activate prepaid telephony services it sells through universities, colleges and retail channels. "When selecting a partner to bring prepaid telephony services to market, Voicelink evaluated its options and determined that Debisys has an unmatched technology solution," says Ann Johns, president and CEO of Voicelink. "The Debisys solution allows Voicelink to manage and distribute our prepaid inventory while eliminating the inefficiencies of 'live card' distribution."
In addition, Debisys will provide its technology to more than 100 Cingular stores and kiosks Cellular Warehouse operates in the western United States.
Cellular Warehouse is the first company to use WAN integration in the Debisys prepaid processing network. All transactions will be processed to the Cellular Warehouse corporate host data center, which relays the transaction in real time to the Debisys data processing network for authorization.
Debsys president and CEO Mark Flanagan says the company's ability to integrate its technology and enable transactions on a host-to-host basis will allow distributors and operators to process prepaid services through an existing PoS system.
Blackstone Delivers TracFone Prepaid Wireless PIN Distribution
Blackstone will distribute prepaid wireless airtime codes from TracFone Wireless Inc. via the Blackstone POS system, which is available at more than 5,000 retail outlets.
"Today's prepaid wireless customer expects their service provider to offer a convenient one-step option to buy airtime at retail," said Stephan J. Ritter, TracFone Wireless executive vice president of sales and marketing.
The patented Blackstone POS integrates the processing of major credit cards and ATM/Debit/EBT cards with the sale of prepaid wireless and calling cards into one point-of-sale terminal.
First Mobile Japan Deploys VocalTec Solution for International Service
First Mobile Japan Co. Ltd. (FMJ) is deploying a calling card solution from VocalTec Communications Ltd. for a new international calling service targeting prepaid calling card consumers.
The service covers calls from Japan to China, with subsequent expansion to cover Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil, and is based on VocalTec's voice over IP (VoIP) architecture.
FMJ plans to expand its service offering to include the provision of global private voice services to multinational enterprises with globally scattered branch offices. This is achieved by deploying VocalTec's VoIP VPN solution on the same multiservice architecture.
Ntera Deploys Riverstone Metro Solution to Deliver IP Voice Services to Prepaid Carriers
Ntera Inc. deployed metro routers from Riverstone Networks Inc. to deliver packet voice solutions, reducing costs through network simplification, and offering carriers new profitable service opportunities, such as toll-bypass and prepaid calling.
Deployed in about 30 Ntera PoPs worldwide, Riverstone's RS 8000 metro routers provide IP connectivity between Ntera's voice gateways and the Internet. Riverstone's Hitless Protection System (HPS) enables Ntera to deliver consistent toll-quality voice services over dedicated bandwidth and the Internet. With HPS, Riverstone's metro routers continue functioning with no impact on live traffic during service disruptions, improving network recovery times by a factor of 60 and eliminating at least 25 hours of network downtime and 250 hours of router downtime in a 500-router network each year.
Telefyne to Promote Q Comm's Qxpress 200 PoSA Solution
Q Comm International Inc. announced Telefyne Inc. would promote Q Comm's Qxpress 200 point-of-sale activation solution.
Telefyne is a facilities-based carrier and switch-based reseller of prepaid services for retail and wholesale customers. The company's mainstay is switching prepaid traffic and serves some of the largest distributors and domestic carriers in the nation. The company directly supplies prepaid cards to 4,500 retailers nationwide and, through its distributors, indirectly supplies an additional 15,000. Telefyne founder and CEO Jorge Bellas, says his company's need for a user-friendly PoSA environment to manage inventory led him to Q Comm Qxpress 200 system.
GTS Prepaid Partners With Wawa
GTS Prepaid Inc. (GTS) has signed an agreement with Wawa Food Markets to provide the convenience store chain with prepaid telecom products and services.
By mid-July, GTS will provide a range of prepaid products, including nationally branded prepaid phone cards, prepaid wireless phones and refill cards, wireless accessories and prepaid Internet to all Wawa's 540 locations in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The agreement also includes the placement of PoSA terminals in every Wawa location.
Cingular Wireless Unifies Prepaid Services on bcgi Nationwide Network
Boston Communications Group Inc. announced Cingular Wireless has signed a multiyear contract to expand its implementation of bcgi's Prepaid Wireless service offering in all of its TDMA markets throughout the country. Cingular Wireless serves more than 22 million voice and data customers throughout the United States.
Cingular's expanded implementation of prepaid wireless will take advantage of bcgi's platform capabilities, allowing support for features such as nationwide roaming, caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, two-way text messaging, mCommerce, multiple recharge methods and Web-based customer care.
bcgi Prepaid Wireless is an end-to-end prepaid solution combining bcgi proprietary software applications, fully hosted voice messaging and networking capabilities delivered through the bcgi IVSN (Intelligent Voice Services Network), and a fully hosted and managed back-office subscriber management platform. Platform features include triggerless, standards-based call processing, XML-based integration to additional network elements, BSS and OSS systems, and voice messaging and customer care capabilities.
In addition, the bcgi platform is integrated to more than 115,000 retail PoPs, including Western Union and RadioShack locations throughout North America, providing carriers with real-time cash collection and payment processing.
