London/Moscow, November 19, 2008 –
Intec, a global provider of business and operations support systems (BSS/OSS), today announced that leading Russian telecoms operator VimpelCom has successfully implemented its Interconnect version 7.1. to manage intercarrier billing for its expanding long-distance and international license business. Already an existing long-term Intec customer, VimpelCom has successfully deployed Intec Interconnect and Intec Trading and Routing for its high-volume domestic business. Interconnect v7.1 will now deliver the same billing efficiency and profitability for VimpelCom’s long-distance and international license business.
VimpelCom’s mobile license portfolio currently covers almost 94% of Russia's population, supporting over 53 million customers across the country.
“The Russian market for long-distance and international telephony was deregulated in 2006, with new licences awarded to several carriers, including VimpelCom. Since then, more operators have entered the market and there has been a rapid increase in network traffic,” explained Gary Bunney, Intec COO. “These factors have made it crucial for VimpelCom to deploy a wholesale billing system that can maximise revenue opportunities for domestic, long distance and international interconnect traffic. Intec Interconnect v7.1 meets this requirement. It can support all billing and settlement models from voice, data, SMS/MMS Interconnection and international route-based tariffs (ITU), to new IP and revenue sharing based agreements.”
Intec Interconnect v7.1 was selected because of its best-of-breed reputation; the platform is regarded as one of the world’s most reliable intercarrier billing and settlements systems. VimpelCom was also impressed by Intec’s long-term commitment to the Russian market giving VimpelCom the confidence to deploy Intec Interconnect and continue its strong partnership with the company.
“In the past Intec Interconnect has provided us with an integrated billing solution to ensure accuracy and flexibility in managing our complex intercarrier relationships,” said Yuliya Kostyleva of VimpelCom. “As a result, VimpelCom can now control costs and connect with more carrier partners across the CIS, helping us to improve time to market for services. We are extremely pleased with the performance of Intec’s systems to date and I am confident that Intec Interconnect v7.1 will be equally successfully in supporting our plans for optimising billing performance in Russia’s long-distance and international telephony market.”
The implementation of Interconnect v7.1 is just one of many successful collaborations between Intec and VimpelCom and ongoing proof of Intec’s commitment to VimpelCom’s complex business requirements. With Intec Interconnect, VimpelCom will enjoy a fast return on investment and get to experience a technology that provides unprecedented performance, scalability and reliability. Intec Interconnect is currently used by over 250 carriers across the world, including many of the leading fixed line and wireless operators in Russia and Eastern Europe.
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About VimpelCom
The VimpelCom Group (NYSE: VIP) includes cellular companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and recently acquired companies in Georgia and Armenia. The company operates under the 'Beeline' brand. VimpelCom is recognised for introducing two digital cellular communications standards in Russia. It built the first dual band GSM-900/1800 cellular network in Russia and leads the development and emergence of the mass consumer market for wireless telecommunications in Russia with prepaid products.
The VimpelCom Group's license portfolio covers approximately 240 million people. Geographically it covers 78 regions of Russia with 136.5 million people, representing 94% of Russia's population as well as the entire territories of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia.
As of September 30, 2006, VimpelCom's total number of subscribers was 52.4 million, with 47.7 million subscribers in Russia, 3.2 million subscribers in Kazakhstan, 0.9 million subscribers in Ukraine, 0.5 million subscribers in Uzbekistan and more than 14 thousand subscribers in Tajikistan. As of November 30, 2006, there were approximately 53.3 million subscribers on VimpelCom's network including 5.9 million subscribers in the CIS outside of Russia.
VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in November 1996. Its ADSs (American Depositary Shares) are traded under the symbol "VIP".