PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia (STI) is the sole licensee of CDMA2000 1X technology at 450 MHz band in the country. Given its technology advantage, STI focuses on offering telecommunication access to the previously underserved and underprivileged rural markets. STI has created an honest, simple and affordable communication service that is easily understood and readily customizable by its consumers in its markets via differentiated marketing and brand values. Over the next years, STI will attain nationwide coverage, allowing the company to bridge the rural-urban gap. STI, which operates under the Ceria brand name, is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and has regional offices in all provincial markets across the country.
As a rapidly-growing telecommunications provider operating in Indonesia, STI was looking for a single billing platform that would cater to its prepaid and postpaid voice and data services.
Entrusted with the project by the Indonesian government to bridge the telecommunications gap between its metropolitan and rural areas, STI’s requirements were rather unique in that the solution had to cover an extremely large region of scattered islands that spanned three different time zones. This was a challenge in no uncertain terms.
The company began shopping for a converged solution that would interface with its Huawei telecommunications infrastructure. There were several contenders in the race, at the end of which STI chose the FTS’ FTS™ Billing solution for its multidimensional approach to convergence, where customer, service and network are all at the center of the approach. FTS’ solution responded to STI’s unique distribution requirements. FTS Billing’s order-entry mechanism was adapted to STI’s unusual order management needs, further demonstrating unparalleled flexibility, unlike any other system on the market today.
The ground-breaking FTS Billing solution supplied to STI features a single unified system that provides one rating engine, one product catalog and a single customer-care platform, all working over a single customer database. FTS was the prime contractor for the solution that includes mediation, rating, online and offline charging, billing, customer care, voucher management and a RADIUS server – all working in unison to support all types of voice and data services. The real-time charging engine provides STI with unlimited rating flexibility, combined with robust single and multiconcurrent balance management.
The project consisted of two phases. In the first phase, FTS deployed the prepaid part of the solution, which was completed in only three months. The second phase deployed postpaid services and customer care – an extremely customer-centered solution fully customized to the specific needs of STI.
The unique platform enables STI to define a single set of services and prices that are available for its entire customer base, regardless of whether they are using prepaid plans or paying a monthly subscription. The unified platform also supports easy transition of customers between the various payment methods and supports “hybrid” customers.
The solution enables STI to substantially save on CAPEX and OPEX. Moreover, true convergence allows the operator to offer sophisticated yet easy to implement services and tariffs. The flexibility of FTS Billing further allows STI to create new and more profitable service packages on the fly, with minimal vendor intervention.
This project demonstrates FTS’ market-leading capabilities in implementing end-to-end, converged billing systems. With FTS Billing, STI’s business users are empowered to introduce attractive new service plans in real time, responding to immediate customers needs.