Syniverse
and IBM
(NYSE: IBM)
have joined forces to help advance the next generation of mobile roaming
solutions with a pilot program that uses open-source blockchain
technology to instantly validate new wholesale billing and charging
processes for clearing and settlement services.
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Dennis Meurs, Vice President and General Manager, Transaction and Clearing Services, Syniverse (Photo: Business Wire)
The Syniverse and IBM pilot is designed to enable “smart contracts” to
be coordinated and executed between mobile operators. The
smart-contracts capability of blockchain technology helps determine the
rules and processes governing each transaction between parties. This
capability will help improve customer efficiencies and reduce the
friction of doing business, such as for dispute management.
“In today’s age of digital transformation, a business is only as strong
as its connections, and this is especially true in the area of clearing
and settlement,” said Dennis Meurs, Vice President and General Manager,
Transaction and Clearing Services, Syniverse. “With the growth of
today’s interconnected networks and emerging online technologies, the
future of clearing and settlement lies in the ability to securely clear
and monetize any type of connected transaction, whether it’s for
roaming, the internet of things, or any other process. In collaboration
with IBM, we’ve integrated the power of blockchain to design a pilot
that addresses several business challenges, and a solution that builds
on Syniverse’s 30-year-plus history of solving clearing and settlement
challenges in the mobile ecosystem.”
Working with the IBM Garage to design and build the pilot solution on
the IBM Blockchain Platform, Syniverse recently validated it in trials
with two international telecommunication companies, Orange and Mobile
TeleSystems (MTS). Orange worked closely with Syniverse and IBM to
implement, test, and provide feedback on the solution, and reported that
the solution will help increase operational efficiency, especially for
call event creation and data exchange, based on the specific steps
included in the pilot.
MTS Russia reported that it saw valuable efficiency gains in clearing
and settlement for roaming, underpinned by increased operational
efficiency, auditability, and smart-contract management. The mobile
operator also reported that the solution provided the capability to
directly create, validate, and view all agreements with partners using
smart contracts.
By securely sharing data and creating a permanent, transparent record of
digital transactions in a security-rich environment, blockchain helps
pave the way for mobile service providers to operate more effectively
within their business networks. For the processing of roaming charges,
this provides each participant of the network with the same verifiable
proof of events, billable usage or executed transactions.
The pilot is also an important demonstration of the GSMA Unified Data
Record (UDR) standard, a new global industry standard for charging
settlements designed to address the proliferation of devices that are
expected to grow as a result of 5G and the internet of things (IoT). As
an example, when a mobile phone user makes a telephone call, an event is
generated, which contains information about that phone call, such as the
call duration, time of day the call was made, and the number that was
called. This data is then converted into a format readable by the
billing system. Using the new GSMA UDR format is crucial in supporting
the growing number of new charging processes being powered by the high
speed of 5G networks and the automation of the IoT. The next steps for
the pilot are to extend it to other mobile operators to continue testing
and refining it for these new 5G- and IoT-enabled charging processes.
“In an industry that is driven by data, mobile operators will now be
able to leverage blockchain to help improve efficiency and settlement
times while delivering an enhanced customer experience,” said Utpal
Mangla, Vice President & Partner for Blockchain, IBM Telecommunications
Services. “Together with Syniverse, we’ve designed a blockchain platform
solution that has potential to change the clearing and roaming business
processes and enable mobile operators to improve collaboration within
business networks and get value from data, which is becoming more vital
than ever in today’s quickly evolving technology landscape.”
About Syniverse
Syniverse is the world’s most connected company – we pioneer innovations
that take business further. Our secure, global network reaches billions
of people and devices. Our engagement platform powers the customized
experiences of the future. And the millions of secure transactions we
drive every minute are revolutionizing how goods and services are
exchanged. We have always led companies to reimagine the boundaries of
possibility. Today we’re delivering on opportunities with the power to
change the world. Connect with Syniverse on Synergy,
the Syniverse blog, LinkedIn,
Twitter
and Facebook.
About IBM Blockchain
IBM (NYSE: IBM)
is recognized as the leading
enterprise blockchain provider. The company’s research, technical
and business experts have broken barriers in transaction processing
speeds, developed the most advanced cryptography to secure transactions,
and are contributing millions of lines of open source code to advance
blockchain for businesses. IBM is the leader in open-source blockchain
solutions built for the enterprise. Since 2016, IBM has worked with
hundreds of clients across financial services, supply chain, government,
retail, digital rights management and healthcare to implement blockchain
applications, and operates a number of networks running live and in
production. The cloud-based IBM Blockchain Platform delivers the
end-to-end capabilities that clients need to quickly activate and
successfully develop, operate, govern and secure their own business
networks. IBM is an early member of Hyperledger, an open source
collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain
technologies. For more information about IBM Blockchain, visit https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/
or follow us on Twitter at @ibmblockchain.
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