Intec Advances Monetization of Real-Time Services with New Integrated Charging and Policy Solution
p>Intec Advances Monetization of Real-Time Services with New Integrated Charging and Policy Solution
Intec have announced the availability of Intec Charging and Policy, a solution designed expressly for the dynamic requirements of real-time charging and policy management to support voice, data and content transactions for all types of next-generation mobile networks.
Intec Charging and Policy is comprised of the proven, award-winning Singl.eView Commerce Engine and a 3GPP compliant Policy Charging Rules Function (PCRF), to equip Communications Service Providers (CSPs) with a complete solution for all essential charging and policy features. The solution bundles both products and deployment services, is delivered in a 3GPP compliant architecture on a low-cost, scalable Linux x86 hardware platform, and enables the integrated functions that CSPs need to deliver and monetize the breadth of voice and data services that today’s subscribers demand.
Leveraging Intec’s extensive experience in real-time charging, the solution packages the most critical charging and policy-centric capabilities in the box. These include support for:
- “Bill Shock” management, monitoring roaming subscribers and other users in real-time and alerting them when usage for a particular service has reached a threshold;
- Prepaid data allowance management, extending the familiar features of prepaid voice to the most compelling data services today;
- “Turbo Boost” options, allowing a subscriber to increase his bandwidth or quality of service temporarily for a specific transaction or for a limited period of time;
- Sliding Quality of Service, whereby the user’s bandwidth varies during the billing period as his aggregate consumption crosses certain thresholds or caps;
- Volume Allowance, with the subscriber paying a fixed rate for data consumption to a cap, and then an incremental amount per additional unit during the billing period;
- Location-Based Awareness support allowing the subscriber to select the location for newest services for best pricing offers;
- Corporate Policy Control, which extends controls for bandwidth, quality of service and usage allowances and restrictions across complex organizational hierarchies;
- Parental Controls, which put the same capabilities into the hands of parents within family hierarchies.
“Intec Charging and Policy alters how real-time charging and policy solutions are delivered and managed,” commented David Heaps, senior vice president of Corporate Strategy at Intec. “With our in-the-box solution, we provide a complete portfolio of the most important charging and policy capabilities.”
Smartphones are becoming ever more prevalent, with recent statistics from Gartner reporting a doubling in the number of units sold year over year. Smartphones are radically altering the way mobile services are delivered, priced and managed. CSPs are dealing with a diverse subscriber community that expects unlimited freedom in how they use their devices, what services they choose, and when and where. This subscriber freedom challenges the CSPs' need to manage scarce network resources, and if left unfettered, it will erode the CSPs profits and also limit their opportunities to benefit from new revenue streams, and erase opportunities for financial gains and erode profits.
Intec Charging and Policy directly addresses this challenge. “With this pre-packaged solution, Intec has captured what operators are looking for, and what subscribers need,” stated Peter Mottishaw, principal analyst from analyst firm Analysys Mason. “Our research has shown that the combination of policy and charging promotes the monetization of mobile data services – it is a very effective method of balancing network control with the sophisticated subscriber management of a charging platform.”
