Several new ACE*COMM white papers are now available for free download:
"Mediation and Revenue Assurance" Abstract: ACE*COMM's position on revenue assurance is that the process should exist as close to the network as possible. This white paper discusses this proven approach and why the mediation layer is the ideal place for revenue assurance functions to occur. The key rationale for this mediation-based revenue assurance process is that usage data from the network should be collected once and only once. This not only virtually eliminates errors of omission and duplication, but it also allows for real-time (or near real-time) revenue assurance because the analysis occurs "live," direct from the source. This allows for the immediate detection, notification, and correction of problems, a reliable and immediate audit trail, multiple views from a single source of data, pricing and costing for real-time credit checks, and other benefits. The white paper further examines extended analysis and quality factors such as data validation, data repair, inter-carrier accounting, profiling and credit limit checks, and network performance management.
"Mediation and Performance Management" Abstract: For ACE*COMM, performance management is the crucial business of quantifying a network's activities and processes, and keeping them at acceptable and profitable levels. This white paper discusses how performance management can be used to add value to a busy network by extracting better performance – in terms of both bandwidth usage and commercial ROI – as an alternative to adding costly bandwidth infrastructure.
"The DCMS Advantage" Abstract: As telecommunications service offerings continue to grow and become more competitive, communications service providers need to focus on increasing their network's efficiency and profitability. This paper discusses the direct (cost savings and revenue assurance) and indirect (a more homogenized and simplified network, real-time collection, and distributed processing) advantages of the DCMS solution.
Revenue Assurance Article Published
Jonjie Sena, ACE*COMM's Director of Product Management and Architecture for Convergent Mediation™, recently published the article Mediation as the Basis for Service Provider Revenue Assurance on TMCnet.com. You can read it here …
GPRS Support Added to N*VISION® and N*USAGE®
N*VISION® and N*USAGE® now support GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). According to GSM 12.15, N*USAGE® serves as a Charging Gateway Function (CGF), meeting both the primary and secondary roles defined for a CGF: collection, intermediate storage, as well as transfer, consolidation, preprocessing, and filtering of CDRs.
GPRS enables a number of next-generation charging and billing functions, such as the ability to handle changing parameters to allow billing based on data volume, QoS, duration, location, etc. As well, it enables more efficient use of network capacity, allowing the service provider to be more competitive by lowering prices for mobile data communications.
GPRS support means that ACE*COMM's Convergent Mediation™ solutions can reach an even broader market, bringing its cost-saving and revenue-generating benefits to service providers everywhere.
"Due to its unique design, the N*USAGE® component of our Convergent Mediation™ platform is technology independent," said Martin Demers, Chief Marketing Officer for ACE*COMM. "As new switches from other vendors are added to the wireless network, N*USAGE® can be quickly modified to accommodate the additional data formats and feeds. This is important for carriers who must take care to protect their investments in technology in this era of increasing competition and revenue pressures."
ACE*COMM recently proved its ability to quickly address a specific customer request and challenge. The customer wanted to implement a flexible dialing scheme in which their wireless subscribers had the option to shortcut certain dialing prefixes.
The customer had determined that the feature was technically feasible from a network and usability point-of-view, but there were shortcomings when it came to network usage data – the CDRs generated by flexible dialing were unusable by their billing and fraud management systems.
The customer was using a Convergent Mediation™ solution from ACE*COMM to handle their usage records and to prepare them for downstream OSS/BSS processing. The engineers at ACE*COMM were able to customize the customer's Convergent Mediation™ system so that it modified CDRs resulting from flexible dialing – making them usable for the downstream systems. It should be noted that ACE*COMM was able to accomplish this task and to have it tested and running in only 11 days!
ACE*COMM and Zoom Showcase Comprehensive OSS Solution
ACE*COMM and Zoom Networks launched their joint billing and mediation solution for the Chinese wireless and next-generation service provider market. The launch took place at PT/EXPO COMM, which was held in Beijing, China, October 29 to November 2, 2002.
The companies demonstrated how their combined expertise and technologies provide increased profitability, the seamless integration of new technologies and services, and better performance management to China's service providers.
Martin Demers, Chief Marketing Officer at ACE*COMM, was in Beijing for the launch. He said "Together with our partners, we are bringing our advanced mediation solutions to the community of Chinese carriers who are deploying Next-Generation Network technologies and seeking to better analyze their networks for inter-carrier traffic and subscriber usage trends."
Zoom Networks Inc. is one of the leading telecommunications service providers in China. Since its establishment in 1996, Zoom has obtained substantial market-share, providing network carriers with software and hardware solutions. With over 400 employees, three R&D centers, six technical support/customer service centers, and fourteen sales offices, Zoom's reach extends throughout all the major cities in China.
Zoom is partnered with Westlake Global Technology Solutions, part of a diversified investment company with a 30-year history of doing business in the United States, China and Japan. It is focused on delivering advanced U.S. technologies into the telecommunications, network, and enterprise sectors in China.
Partner Update
ACE*COMM announced on September 17, 2002, the signing of a partnership agreement with Fujitsu Consulting, a top-tier provider of management and technology consulting services. The partnership is focused on the integration of ACE*COMM's Convergent Mediation™ solutions into carrier environments around the world. Fujitsu Consulting will offer targeted customers consulting and integration services for ACE*COMM's mediation technology.
Convergent Mediation™ is currently installed in Fujitsu Consulting's Frame 360° Demonstration Lab in Rosemont, Illinois. This initiative has pulled together and successfully integrated more than 25 OSS/BSS vendors serving the telecommunications market. Of these vendors, ACE*COMM is the sole provider of convergent mediation technologies. Read more in the press release …
ACE*COMM announced on August 29, 2002, a teaming agreement with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, to address the mediation requirements of large wireless carriers.
Based in San Diego, CA, SAIC offers a wide range of expertise in technology development and analysis. SAIC's broad consulting experience and resources coupled with ACE*COMM's mediation expertise enables the team to provide comprehensive mediation solutions to large carriers – particularly in the wireless sector. Read more in the press release …
Mediation Q&A
In response to the frequent queries we receive on various mediation topics, ACE*News presents Mediation Q&A a new, regular Q&A column with Jonjie Sena, ACE*COMM's Director of Product Management and Architecture for Convergent Mediation.
Jonjie has over 10 years experience deploying mediation solutions around the world. In his previous role as software engineering manager, he was involved in architecture, design, implemention and deployment issues. Today, as the Director of Product Management and Architecture (Convergent Mediation), Jonjie expands his hands-on involvement with a perspective on the industry and marketing. He is a participating member in key industry organizations such as the International Softswitch Consortium, IPDR.org, and the International Engineering Consortium (IEC), and has published articles in leading industry magazines.
Send your Mediation questions to The Editor for response in our next newsletter.
Question:
Is usage-based billing a myth? Will we ever see it in North America? William R., USA
Usage-based billing is definitely not a myth, and it is already in use in North America. Currently, usage-based billing primarily happens at the wholesale level, where huge volumes of data are transacted and billed to ISPs and other service providers on national and international data network backbones. But it is also filtering down to the individual subscriber level. Many wireless providers already offer usage-based billing for their data services. It is not clear how successful this campaign has been. On the other hand, flat-rate still appears to be the norm for broadband access.
It is likely that usage-based billing will not replace the flat-usage model. Rather, it will offer an alternative method of charging. Usage-based billing appears to be a more fair approach for carriers to recoup their costs, but consumers tend to prefer the simplicity of the flat-rate model. However, as more and more tiers of usage-based plans become available, the bottom and top tiers often offer a buffet free-for-all. Flat rates are a boon for the high usage consumers, and carriers will continue to cater to the group that provides them the most revenue. Flat rates are also more predictable for lower end users with limited budgets.
Question:
What is the difference between probe technology and polling technology? Alexander X., China
Probes are passive data-gathering hardware-based platforms that "spy" on the network and record data as it traverses the transmission medium. Alternatively, data may be retrieved directly from network elements by use of a data-transfer mechanism. We refer to this method as a direct interface to the network element. It enables the capture of information that records all the idiosyncrasies of the service and implementation provided by the network element. In the past, vendors placed a lot of emphasis on why one method was better than the other. Today, however, it is apparent that both methods have their place depending on the amount of information made available by the network element.
Email questions to The Editor. Only your first name and your initial will appear, and not your company name. Not all questions will appear in ACE*News. Questions will also be answered directly via email.
Greg Trexler, ACE*COMM's Director of Product Architecture (Enterprise OSS), continues to publish his "Telemanagement Tips" column in the print edition of Telecom Reseller. You can also find the columns online, here.
ACE*COMM has released its 2002 Annual Report. You can download a PDF of the report from the "Investors" section of our redesigned Web site. Go there now...
ACE*COMM has released three new white papers. See ACE*COMM Publishes New White Papers in the left column of this newsletter.
ACE*COMM will host a CCBN Webcast seminar ("Webinar") on November 12, 2002, from 2:00–3:00 PM ET on the topic "The New Enterprise Telemanagement – From Liability to Asset." Greg Trexler (Director of Product Architecture [Enterprise OSS]), and Martin Demers (Senior Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer) will look at contemporary issues in enterprise telemanagement and its evolution towards enterprise operations support systems (EOSS)-based solutions. Go here to register directly. Use the same link after November 12 to view the archived version.
ACE*COMM will speak on "Mediation OSS as an Enabler of Converging Networks and Reliable Billing" in the Network Management and OSS Sector track at CITAS 2002 in Beijing, on November 27, 2002.
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Feature Quote
ACE*COMM's mediation technology is providing immediate business value and a rapid return on the investment that service providers have in their networks.
Don Dressler, Director of Revenue Management Practice for Fujitsu Consulting
About ACE*News
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ACE*COMM and Zoom Networks launched their joint billing and mediation solution for the Chinese wireless and next-generation service provider market. The launch took place at PT/EXPO COMM, which was held in Beijing, China, October 29 to November 2, 2002.
ACE*COMM announced on August 29, 2002, a teaming agreement with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, to address the mediation requirements of large wireless carriers. 
In response to the frequent queries we receive on various mediation topics, ACE*News presents Mediation Q&A a new, regular Q&A column with Jonjie Sena, ACE*COMM's Director of Product Management and Architecture for Convergent Mediation.
ACE*COMM has released its 2002 Annual Report. You can download a PDF of the report from the "Investors" section of our redesigned Web site. 
