Telecom Lead America: Albania’s mobile service provider ALBtelecom has deployed CSG Interconnect as its wholesale billing management solution for its fixed line business and Eagle Mobile.
Two important facts prompted ALBtelecom to deploy a wholesale billing management solution.
First, the Albanian telecom operator will have one million subscribers soon.
Second, there is a pressure on its network. For instance, a number of calls extend from ALBtelecom’s networks to those of other domestic and international operators, or commence on other networks and terminate on those of ALBtelecom.
ALBtelecom implemented CSG Interconnect to automate partner management, carrier-to-carrier rating, billing and settlement, as well as support dispute resolution and reconciliation processes.
“In 2011 we invested around 40 million Euros replacing and enlarging our network across Albania, to prepare our infrastructure for the latest technology and improve service infrastructure for our subscribers,” said A Vahap Yeroglu, deputy CEO of ALBtelecom.
ALBtelecom feels there’s a need to monetize from mobile infrastructure investments that the company made in the recent past. Without enough revenue generation, ALBtelecom will not be able to fund future network improvements.
“Carrier-to-carrier billing offers an important and growing source of income for us and by using CSG Interconnect we expect to settle with other operators more swiftly and efficiently than before, whilst adding additional revenue from detecting traffic our previous manual and in-house developed software approaches might have missed,” Yeroglu added.
Recently, ALBtelecom has taken rapid steps in renewing the entire network, by changing the existing TDM technology into the new Next Generation Network (NGN). Besides the traditional services, the investments made in the network have enabled the addition of a very wide range of new services.
Meanwhile, ALBtelecom has already started offering free Wi-Fi service in public spaces in Tirana and is in the process of testing it in various locations of the country. Any subscriber who has a laptop, a tablet or a smart phone can connect to the Internet for free in parks, streets, public places, practically wherever he goes in the capital.
