Bridgewater Systems has announced the availability of an on-demand services solution enabling mobile service providers to address consumer segments who prefer to use services based on a period of time, or on fixed-usage parameters such as the duration of a sporting event. As a result, says Bridgewater, mobile service providers can drive incremental revenues with a range of on-demand upsell services that offer new levels of flexibility for those subscribers with flat rate plans or without any existing monthly service contract. The solution is being deployed by a number of service providers around the world, says the company.
Through the Bridgewater on-demand services solution, users interact directly with the service provider network, selects their required services, provides payment and then uses these services as needed, without having to pre-subscribe to a monthly multi-year service plan. As a result, service providers can enable users to:
· Register WiMAX devices for temporary access to regional or country networks similar to the way a traveler would temporarily access Wi-Fi services
· Boost bandwidth for a short period of time
· Turn on a roaming option for data and other services while traveling when their home contract does not support roaming
· Access on-demand mobile content services for specific sporting or entertainment events
For the mobile service provider, the solution helps reduce support costs by enabling automated provisioning of services through an access portal. It also increases revenue by encouraging impulse purchase of services and the trialing of new services.
The solution supports flexible data and time-based metering for on-demand services, enabling multiple models of operation such as duration-based services, time-windowed services and time-bucketed services.This solution leverages dynamic policy control to manage the real-time interaction between the user and the network. Using Bridgewater's subscriber data management capability, the service provider can determine the appropriate offering for the subscriber in real time, and provide new service registration, or enhancement to existing services directly through the subscriber's mobile device, as well as subscriber redirection to a self provisioning portal.
"On-demand services allow service providers to meet the price sensitivity concerns of a broad range of subscribers, and their appetite to try new services on a limited basis," said Farshid Mohammadi, vice president product line management, Bridgewater Systems. "This solution unlocks a new market segment for service providers – open access from any device and by any user – by enabling new service models beyond traditional subscription-based services. The Bridgewater solution allows service providers to capitalize on these opportunities, with flexible metering capabilities based on limited time offers, usage and other parameters."