Version 2 of Inter-activatE offers higher performance and lower operating costs

02/02/2004

• New distributed architecture brings scalability and high resilience
• Substantial enhancements to functionality, performance, and system support to meet needs of Tier 1 carriers and fast-growing smaller operators

2 February, 2004: Intec Telecom Systems today announced the general availability of Inter-activatE™ version 2, a carrier-grade, flow-through service activation solution. Inter-activatE is designed to replace multiple legacy activation systems in large and small operators by activating any combination of fixed, wireless, IP and advanced communications services from a single application. Inter-activatE V2 has a new distributed architecture which brings the ability to run on multiple small servers, rather than large centralized clusters, providing both high performance and the potential for large operational cost savings. The new architecture also provides a cost-effective upgrade path to fast-developing smaller operators who can grow their Inter-activatE installations as subscriber and service numbers expand.

“In a competitive market you need to give customers immediate, error-free access to new services,” explains Kevin Adams, CEO of Intec. “From a single request Inter-activatE V2 can reliably activate multiple services such as voice, messaging and content service bundles. This reduces the cost of service delivery and builds customer satisfaction. The V2 enhancements are particularly useful to the Tier 1 and fast-growing Tier 2 operators that we are now winning as Inter-activatE customers.”

In response to customer demand for more complex services and more cost-effective operational systems Inter-activatE V2 introduces an improved distributed architecture based on low-cost commodity platforms. This allows operators to take advantage of more cost-efficient hardware while at the same time tailoring Inter-activatE to match their business structures and service offerings. Inter-activatE V2 also makes greater use of operator controlled service updates allowing the definition and maintenance of more complex service offerings through a graphical user interface. The new Inter-activatE System Monitor provides a real-time view into the application yielding faster delivery and better control of service activation.

New Functionality in Inter-activatE V2
Distributed Processing - The distributed architecture of Inter-activatE V2 provides a highly available, low cost platform with true Tier 1 processing capabilities. The primary advantages are faster return on investment, greater system robustness and increased organisational flexibility. Running Inter-activatE on multiple small servers rather than a large centralised cluster can provide large cost savings to major carriers with substantial activation throughput, as well as a clear growth strategy for smaller operators.

GUI-driven Service Updates - Inter-activatE V2 provides operators with a fast and secure way to create or change service activation processes without the need for detailed technical knowledge. All configurations can now be made from the GUI in a safe and user-friendly way. This capability provides operators complete control of their activation business rules and network devices, minimising the risk of human error when changing or adding configurations.
Benefits of GUI-driven Service Updates:

Offers fast introduction of new services

• Eliminates the need for expensive technical effort
• Ensures high quality results by reducing risk of errors in programming
• Offers user-friendly service configuration in a GUI

Service Object Management - The intent of Inter-activatE V2 is to provide an operator with a highly configurable platform for fast introduction of new services and the ability to adjust to customer demand. Service Objects allow the quick definition and easy maintenance of complex service bundles. This ability is absolutely critical in the highly competitive market today. Operators can learn to create service logic themselves, adding more substance to the ROI of Inter-activatE V2. Service Objects are created using an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented scripting language with a clear and simple syntax, making it easy to learn. This brings modules, classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, dynamic typing. and interfaces to many system calls and libraries.

Real-time System Monitor - The new System Monitor is a customizable, state-of-the-art monitor that enables a real-time, high-level view of service delivery to the network. The System Monitor gives operators easy access to complete activity information and statistics on their chosen key performance indicators. Service delivery operational staff and managers can obtain a rapid overview of operations in real-time - for example, discovering how many activation orders have been processed, how many are pending, and how many have failed to complete.
Benefits of the System Monitor:

• Provides a real-time overview of Service Activation activity for the entire network
• Checks service order flows, from originating upstream system to network devices
• Finds bottlenecks in service delivery processes
• Offers customer configurable graphics and Key Performance Indicators

In addition to the new functionality noted above Inter-activatE V2 offers many improvements for the telecoms operator, including:

• Enhanced engine robustness for Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers
• Greater support for redundancy and distributed architectures
• Improved handling of activation failure scenarios caused by network issues, i.e. request timeouts, retry logic, and communication failures
• Added support for Oracle 9i and Redhat Linux Version 9.0

For more information about the latest version of Inter-activatE, visit Intec Telecom Systems at www.serviceactivation.com

About Intec
Intec Telecom Systems is an award-winning worldwide Operations Support Systems (“OSS”) vendor for fixed, mobile and next-generation networks (ie. WLAN, 3G and IP), with more than 550 installations of its products worldwide. Founded in 1997, Intec was listed on the London Stock Exchange (Code: ITL.L) in June 2000. Intec is the market leader in intercarrier billing systems and convergent mediation software, and a recent winner of the 2003 Global Billing Award – Best Overall Contribution, and Telestrategies ‘2003 Mediation Excellence Award’.

Intec’s portfolio includes:
Inter-mediatE™ - billing and convergent mediation solution
InterconnecT™ - billing including US Carrier Access Billing and ITU
Inter-activatE™ - flow-through provisioning and service activation
Inter-contenT™ - end-to-end content revenue management
Intec Dynamic Charging Platform™ – a real-time pre/post-paid charging interface between the network and the back office
Intec ASF™ - end-to-end management for advanced data services

Intec’s customer base includes, among others, BellSouth, BellSouth Peru, Brazil Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Cesky Telecom (Czech Republic), China Unicom, COLT Telecommunications, EBT (Taiwan), Eircom (Ireland), France Telecom, Hutchison 3G, Lattelkom (Latvia), Maxis (Malaysia), Singtel Optus (Australia), Orange, Telecom Argentina, Telecom Egypt, Telecom Italia, Tiscali, TPSA (Poland), Swisscom, T-Mobile International, Telia (Sweden), Telefonica, Telkom South Africa, Telstra, US Cellular, Westel (Hungary), Vodafone, VimpelCom (Russia) and Verizon. For more information on Intec Telecom Systems, visit the website at Intec Billing.
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