Service enables new and mid-session hotlining.
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Press Release Summary:
Hotlining Solution allows wireless service providers to divert subscribers from desired destinations to those controlled by service provider. It is triggered by secured applications based on specific circumstance associated with subscribers or their accounts. Hotlining can be used for re-charging prepaid accounts, delinquent postpaid accounts, and to control abusive and fraudulent users.
Original Press Release:
Bridgewater Systems Introduces Hotlining Solution to Enable Service Providers to Maximize Revenue From Wireless Data Services
Enables New Session and Mid-Session Hotlining
KANATA, Ontario - Feb. 2, 2004 - Bridgewater Systems, a provider of dynamic IP and data service fulfillment and assurance solutions, today introduced a sophisticated Hotlining solution that allows service providers to maximize revenue from their wireless data services.
Hotlining is the process of diverting subscribers from their desired destinations to those controlled by the service provider. Hotlining is based on a specific circumstance associated with subscribers or their accounts; examples of circumstances that would initiate hotlining include delinquent accounts or low quota in a prepaid account. Once the situation or parameter has been rectified, hotlining is released and subscribers are redirected to their original destinations.
The Bridgewater Systems' Hotlining solution provides a complete control system. The new offering is based on Bridgewater Systems' AAA Service Controller for hotlining at session set up and works with the company's Session Terminator to hotline in mid-session.
The new offering includes a sophisticated policy and profiling solution that can be used to ensure subscriber hotlining is triggered only by known and secured applications such as the service providers billing system. Bridgewater Systems also offers a portal system to which the subscriber can be redirected upon being hotlined, plus the necessary integration with network element control. This solution has been successfully tested with network elements from a number of manufacturers.
"Service providers wishing to profit from wireless data services must find ways to ensure they can maximize revenues and reduce losses from leakage, abusive subscribers and fraud," said Celine Bak, vice president of products, Bridgewater Systems. "Our solution provides the sophisticated underlying system control structure that service providers require to implement hotlining in a scalable way that balances the need to increase ARPU and the need to minimize customer churn."
Benefits of Bridgewater Systems' Hotlining solution include the following:
o Re-Charging Prepaid Accounts. For prepaid accounts, subscribers can be hotlined to a warning page when they reach the service provider's depletion threshold, or permanently hotlined when they have totally run out of value.
o Delinquent Postpaid Accounts. Hotlining can also be used effectively to manage delinquent postpaid accounts. It can be set up based on the service provider's bad debt policy, forwarding subscribers to a Web message or payment portal once they have reached the threshold.
o Controlling Abusive and Fraudulent Users. Hotlining can also be used to control abusive and fraudulent usage. In the case of abuse, the service provider can mine subscriber data over a period of time, looking for signs of abuse. Once a usage threshold has been reached, the subscriber can be hotlined to a warning page or be required to take specific action such as upgrading service packages, depending on the service provider's policies.
o Preventing Out-of-Country Fraud. Many service providers have experienced high instances of fraudulent usage originating from other countries and therefore require subscribers to formally request out-of-country roaming, usually in advance of the trip. If a subscriber is attempting to access the network from out-of-country, they can be hotlined to a validation portal. Once it is verified that they are the legitimate user of the service, the hotlining is released, and they have full access to services; therefore driving profitable roaming revenues.
The Hotlining solution is currently available from Bridgewater Systems. Pricing is based upon an expected return on investment of less than one year.
About Bridgewater Systems (www.bridgewatersystems.com) Bridgewater Systems provides dynamic IP and data service fulfillment and assurance solutions that enable service providers to generate profits from their networks while enhancing customer loyalty. The modular Bridgewater Systems product suite extracts greater value from existing operations support systems (OSS), business support systems (BSS) and network assets to enable service providers to realize new revenue sources. Unlike traditional OSS vendors, Bridgewater Systems' proven products deliver on-demand dynamic IP and data services, offer extensive revenue capture capabilities, provide out-of-the-box value and can be deployed in weeks -- instead of months.
Bridgewater Systems solutions are currently deployed by top-tier global service providers such as Verizon Wireless, Bell Mobility, ICG Communications, Covad and Telia. Founded in 1997, Bridgewater Systems is a privately held company.
