Comverse Technology Inc. (Pink Sheets: CMVT) will upgrade and expand the business support system and SMS capabilities of Haiti mobile carrier, Voila, in order to enhance service features and better accommodate the increased texting traffic that has occurred since January's devastating earthquake.
Comverse did not disclose the size of the deal, but market sources estimate it at about $1 million.
Voila, a subsidiary of Washington-based Trilogy International Partners LLC, has been a Comverse customer since 2003. The carrier currently uses Comverse's real-time rating and billing platform, and will upgrade with the Comverse ONE Billing and Active Customer Management solution. Voila is also replacing its existing Comverse text messaging capabilities with the upgraded Comverse HUB Short Messaging Solution Center (SMSC) and Messaging Gateway.
Trilogy VP engineering and operations Edgar Geidans said, "This is a significant upgrade to our network, which will benefit all of our Voila customers with new features and functionality. We're pleased to expand our relationship with Comverse to enhance our offerings and to continue to provide customers with the high-quality services and overall value they've come to expect from Voila."
Geidans added, "Since the earthquake earlier this year, we have seen a surge in text messaging. This has been driven by the various support organizations on the ground in Haiti acknowledging SMS as the most efficient form of mass communications. We needed a higher-capacity messaging system for this additional traffic, and we expect SMS to remain as the preferred communication form for now."
Comverse's share price closed at $7.76 in New York yesterday.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 30, 2010
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