(Oslo, Norway - 5 March 2012) The success of a global telecom operator depends on two factors: its ability to adapt to customer needs and the ability to leverage on its scale. Telenor Group is among the first in the industry to introduce a unique cross-border billing platform initiative, built around both objectives. Three business units in Telenor Group, with a combined total of 60 million customers, will deploy a common solution for billing and charging. The result is, simply put, increased competitive advantage.
All customers in Telenor Pakistan, DiGi (Malaysia) and DTAC (Thailand) will be managed by a common IT platform for charging and billing. The merger of three widely different solutions represented one of the most challenging IT sourcing projects Telenor Group has ever undertaken. Today's telecom management systems need to capture myriad sources of voice, SMS, data and subscription-related input - in the context of national regulations, privacy requirements and a rapidly increasing overall traffic load.
"This is innovation at the very core of a telecommunications company. It's a strategic requirement to build flexible systems for billing and charging in an environment where business models are constantly changing. In the future, operators will need to find inventive ways of packaging the new data-based services in a way that consumers find attractive. Our ability to quickly adapt to changing customer needs and find ways to leverage on our cross-border competencies and size deliver direct competitive advantage," says Hilde Tonne, Executive Vice President, Group Industrial Development, Telenor Group.
From an initial list of 23 potential vendors, Telenor Group ultimately decided on a single provider for the new platform. The vendor that best met both the technical and the commercial requirements was Huawei. Today, Telenor Group is signing a global frame agreement with Huawei. In some markets, the implementation phase will be conducted by a third-party system integrator.
"This is a tool that improves our time to market with new services and products. By sharing ideas with Telenor's other markets, we increase our competitiveness," says Jon Eddy Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, DTAC, Thailand.
"Simplifying our existing IT architecture is a critical component in our growth strategy at DiGi. This solution also gives us the opportunity to standardise our technology and processes and improves our utilisation of technical resources," says Henrik Clausen, Chief Executive Officer, DiGi, Malaysia.
Contact information:
Tor Odland, Vice President, Group Communications, Telenor Group
Mobile: +47 9909 0872
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E-mail: tor.odland@telenor.com