A consortium of US and UK companies has won a contract to install interconnect, billing and customer care solutions for Nigerian cellphone company M-Tel`s next-generation national GSM mobile network.
M-Tel, or Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications, is 100% owned by Nigeria`s incumbent landline operator, Nitel. M-Tel has about 125 000 subscribers and will launch a major national roll-out of a next-generation GSM network by the end of 2003.
The three companies involved are US-based Sentori, which specialises in multi-service customer management software solutions to communications service providers; Intec Telecom Systems, which is London-listed and supplies intercarrier billing system and convergent mediation software; and GPNW Consulting, an international telecommunications consultancy and systems integration group specialising in carriers` wholesale settlement operations.
Sentori is acting as the prime contractor and the project is aimed at providing M-Tel with a solution that will help to increase its revenue, lower administrative costs, and enhance the quality of M-Tel`s customer support.
Nigeria is expected to be a boom market for mobile operators as with a population of 120 million people, about 30 million are expected to be cellphone subscribers by the end of 2006, compared with the current 2 million. The country has one of the lowest penetrations of fixed-lines in the world. SA`s MTN has targeted Nigeria as a major market in its drive into Africa.
"M-Tel serves the largest market in Africa," says John Bennett, Sentori`s president and CEO. "Our combined solution will allow it to have a sustainable competitive-edge as it continues to acquire customers in the highly-competitive Nigerian environment."
"Nigeria`s nascent mobile market, combined with its large population, makes it one of the most attractive telecoms markets in Africa," says Dave Baker, Intec`s regional director of Africa. "Not surprisingly, competition for this billing project was extremely tough."
After an extensive evaluation process, M-Tel selected the Sentori and Intec solutions on the basis of the companies` proven, flexible technology and their experience in Africa and other emerging markets. Intec will work closely with Sentori and GPNW to ensure the seamless delivery of M-Tel`s solutions.
Intec was founded by SA expatriates, has a research and development operation in Cape Town and numbers several South African companies among its clients, including MTN and Telkom.
Sentori will supply M-Tel with its Sentori Billing and Customer Care system, a multi-service customer management software solution. Intec will supply M-Tel with its InterconnecT billing solution, which enables telecommunications companies to charge other carriers for using its network to carry traffic and support services.
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