Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged a multi-million dollar deal from CTM to provide a new convergent rating and billing system for the Macau incumbent carrier.
The new system will transform many of CTM’s key business processes and integrate the telco’s core business support systems for fixed telephone, mobile and broadband services, said Rui Marcelo, director of information technology at CTM.
“CTM has multiple billing and rating systems serving different lines of business, such as mobile post/prepaid, fixed, broadband, enterprise and carrier. The new system will enable CTM to introduce a convergent OSS/BSS platform for rapid development and deployment of new and innovative services and applications, including managed services and media based solutions, and offering its end-users customized services with improved quality of service (QoS), a full range of services and dynamic bundlings,” Marcelo told telecomasia.net.
Marcelo said various benefits are expected with the introduction of this system, including a unified, market-oriented product catalog and unified rating engine for online and offline rating, standardization of business processes across all lines of businesses, centralized operation and maintenance for the overall solution etc.
The new system will also streamline the processes and skill set across all line of businesses, and CTM expects that it could help save up to 60% of processing time for setting up and provisioning services as well as save up to 40% of processing time for service activation in services, amongst others.
The new solution also enables CTM to launch diverse product offerings that incorporate innovative approaches to dynamic charging and discounting based on customer behavior.
“For example, CTM can now launch services where a family can share free usage from a common bucket with options of setting a limit for each member in the family. Similarly, a customer may opt for wireline / wireless services to be billed in prepaid model and postpaid model under single account and in the end paying a single bill,” he said.
Ravi Viswanathan, TCS’ president for growth markets, said the new system is expected to be fully implemented within three years. TCS started the initial engagement activities of this project since April.
A team of 65-70 staff are dedicated for the project - inclusive of on-site in Macau and off-site in the TCS’ delivery centers in India, not to mention the headcount from product partner consortium engaged in the project, Viswanathan said.
CTM, which was established in 1981, provides mobile, fixed line and broadband services in Macau and is a major supplier of enterprise telecom services to corporate customers in Macau. The company has now 350,000 fixed line customers (both fixed-line and internet) and 690,000 mobile (postpaid and prepaid) users.
Earlier this year Citic Telecom International Holdings Limited (Citic Telecom) announced plans to acquire a control stake in CTM for $1.16 billion. The deal was approved in June by the shareholders of both Cable and Wireless Communications and Portugal Telecom was officially approved by the Macau SAR Government.