Phone Plus Prepaid: Adds, Moves& Changes

Posted: 12/2002

Adds, Moves& Changes

* Boston Communications Group Inc. (bcgi), a transaction-processing solutions provider for real-time wireless subscriber management and payment services, will acquire the assets of Infotech Solutions Corp., a privately held provider of wireless services billing software, for cash, plus certain additional payments, contingent on the achievement of specified revenue targets over a three-year period. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the acquisition, which is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2002, subject to various closing conditions.

bcgi will use Infotech Solutions' technology to create a suite of solutions for wireless carriers that handles all aspects of postpaid, prepaid and hybrid subscriber management. Functionalities will include point-of-sale capabilities, inventory management, real-time transaction processing for voice, data and m-commerce, proactive voice messaging, Web-based customer care and payment processing.

* 9278 Communications Inc. has completed its acquisition of Camcom LLC, a distributor of prepaid phone cards in the state of Virginia. Over the course of the last year, 9278 has expanded into the global arena with branch offices in Canada and the United Kingdom. Domestically, there are new 9278 branch offices in Orange County, Calif.; Dearborn, Mich.; Patterson, N.J.; and Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

* U.K.-based Opensoft Ltd. launched its U.S. operations in September, bringing distributors another option for prepaid traffic. The company will offer products that involve local access origination from Western Europe back to the United States. "Opensoft has a PoP [point of presence] in New York and can offer some of the best transatlantic rates for toll free, local call rate and premium calls out of Europe to the U.S.A.," says Michael Hassan, marketing manager for Opensoft's U.S. launch.

* GTS Prepaid Inc. opened a new distribution center, expanding the company's physical space by 50 percent. The new facility, adjacent to the current GTS headquarters, triples the company's current warehouse space and includes room for an expanded point-of-sale activation (PoSA) department. The facility will house the company's entire warehouse, and allow for the continued growth.

* Telstar International Inc. has signed a long-term lease for 23,000 square feet of office space in White Plains, N.Y., where the company has been operating since its formation in 1995. Telstar has begun construction at White Plains Plaza to expand its network operations center (NOC). Telstar employs 65 people at its facility and is actively looking to fill a number of additional technical, marketing, sales and administrative positions.

* Puerto Rico International Communications, a purveyor of prepaid phone cards and prepaid wireless through more than 1,000 retail locations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, has signed on to be a Q Comm International Inc. service bureau. It will purchase Q Comm's Qxpress point-of-sale terminals and license the Q Data Center technology for an ongoing transaction fee.

* iNexcom appointed Larry Messinger as director of enhanced services. Previously, Messinger held several sales management positions in the prepaid industry, most recently as president of Nuetel Telecom Inc., director of carrier services at PhoneRite International Telecom & Trispan and president of PhoneRite Communications. In his new position, he will manage iNexcom's enhanced services, including switching technologies, international terminations and bundled product offerings.