MTS to provide billing solutions in 3 African countries

November 28, 2005

MTS - Mer Telemanagement Solutions, a global provider of business support systems for comprehensive telecommunication management and customer care & billing solutions, has signed an agreement with one of the largest providers of converged networking solutions to provide turn-key solutions for 3G Mobile, fixed and interconnect billing to carriers in three African countries. The networking solutions manufacturer expects to add carriers in additional countries during 2006. Together, the manufacturer's network and MTS' billing solutions provide a powerful resource tool for major carriers and service providers.

Initially, the manufacturer plans to supply MTS billing solutions to African carriers that provide mobile fixed-wireless and long-distance billing to their subscribers. These carriers currently offer pre-paid and post-paid services. Going forward, they plan to offer additional value-added services such as SMS, MMS, WAP that are delivered via an Intelligent Network, calling cards and/or Next Generation services. Additionally, plans call for service offerings to business customers such as free numbers (1-800), premium services, VPN and others.

Hanoch Magid, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, commented, "MTS solutions simplify the customer care and billing processes for carriers and service providers, enabling them to offer a variety of services as one converged solution. Our solutions are flexible and fully scalable, allowing for service modules to be added to carrier and service provider platforms as market demands dictate. This obviates the need of having to buy additional billing systems. MTS' offerings span the gamut from billing retail subscribers to provisioning to customer care.

"MTS solutions are fully web-based and include a customer self-care portal that allows customers to see their bills on-line and even order extra services and products directly from their service provider. They can activate their requests and even manage their payments," added Mr. Magid. "Our customer care module enables carriers and service providers to easily manage customer queries and enhance customer relationships by being closer to the customer and more flexible to the changes in the market. Finally, MTS' billing software enables carriers and service providers to manage the entire relationship with end-users and partners as a way to drive up customer loyalty and to combat churn."

The MTS billing platform is fully scalable and hardware modules may be added at any time to accommodate increasing subscribers and services. It is intended for carriers and service providers of all sizes, offering a powerful partner relationship management module designed to handle contracts, commissions, and wholesaling.

The MTS billing solution is designed for the landline, wireless, Value-Added Services/Content, IPTV and VoIP markets. The platform's interconnect billing capability is ideally suited for carriers and service providers wishing to reduce leakage in dealing with partner relationships, and offers a real money-savings alternative.

MTS has implemented a sophisticated solution for the new Value-Added Services that consists of a powerful rating system that can be integrated into a carrier or service provider's main legacy billing system to reduce the risk and time to market of the new services. The solution allows carriers and service providers to bill for new services such as Video On Demand, Music On Demand, News On Demand, Digital and Analog Video Channels and other interactive Value-Added Services.