Ericsson has just announced it is to buy Telcordia for $1.15 billion from current owners Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Warburg Pincus. The deal puts to an end months of speculation about where Telcorida was headed as the company was publicly for sale. 2,600 Telcordia employees will move over to Ericsson.

Here is the full press release. There is a media and analyst briefing taking place in around an hour where we expect more details to be made available.

Ericsson, the world leader in telecommunications technology and service, today announced that it has reached an agreement with Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Warburg Pincus to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Telcordia, a global leader in the development of mobile, broadband and enterprise communications software and services, for USD 1.15 billion. Closing anticipated to Q4 2011 with full effect Q1 2012.

Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced. In this context, Telcordia brings very skilled people and knowledge, a large business in North America and other markets, as well as a good multi vendor product portfolio.”

“We have global presence and scale, global services capabilities and superior knowledge about networks and network performance, as well as an already established position in the OSS/BSS space. It is a perfect fit,” he adds.

One of the main challenges for operators is how to handle the growth in mobile and fixed broadband traffic, as well as the new types of connected devices, services and applications and the high expectations on user experience, while at the same time increasing the efficiency in business and operations.

OSS and BSS are critical areas to handle this challenge and to simplify the processes that support the business. They drive the customer experience and serve as the engine to monetizing traffic, offerings and products that operators sell. All in all, these systems are crucial to create the experience users expect in a cost efficient manner.

Mark Greenquist, President and Chief Executive Officer, Telcordia, says: “The combination of Ericsson’s global leadership position and Telcordia’s long-standing expertise in solving the most complex communications challenges will benefit customers through new services and expanded capabilities.”

“Together, we will lead the way into a new era of converged communications, while expanding our offerings to manage the world’s most dynamic networks.  Ericsson’s acquisition of Telcordia signals their commitment to their future strategy to capitalize on the growth opportunities in the OSS/BSS communications industry. We appreciate the significant value added by Providence and Warburg Pincus over the last six years,” he concludes.

Providence and Warburg said, “We are confident that the company will benefit from becoming part of Ericsson, a clear global leader in providing technology and services to telecom operators.”
The OSS/BSS is a growing market driven by the demand for business efficiency, innovation and high quality user experience. In 2010, the market for software and systems integration is valued at about USD 35 b and is expected to show a compound annual growth rate between 6-8 percent between 2010 and 2013. In addition, there is an attractive market for outsourced and hosted managed services, growing in the same range.

Building complementary strengths

Ericsson has a proven track record in building, integrating and managing networks. Telcordia’s portfolio of proven and scalable software that make those networks more efficient, extends Ericsson’s leadership and footprint in mobile OSS and positions it as a leading vendor for operational knowledge, including network, software, services, processes and efficiency in the growing OSS/BSS market.

Furthermore, Ericsson’s capabilities and leading position in global services and systems integration will allow OSS/BSS portfolio to expand and support more operators around the world.
The deal creates the leader in Service Fulfilment, Service Assurance and Network Optimization and gives Ericsson a leading position in real-time charging and significant capabilities to support operators end to end. The combination will address the needs of Communications Service Providers to deliver mobile broadband and operational transformation to their subscribers.
Telcordia is headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, generated revenues of USD739 million during the last fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 and employs more than 2,600 people.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be accretive to Ericsson earnings per share within 12 months after closing.

TeleWare, a provider of communications solutions for mobile and distributed workers, today announced the launch of TeleWare Mobile, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that will offer a range of services specifically designed for business use.  TeleWare Mobile is claimed to be the first mobile network to deliver true convergence of fixed and mobile networks with a seamless core for both Fixed and Mobile calls and data.

“In the UK, mobile phone use has overtaken fixed lines but businesses still rely on fixed line telephone systems and fixed line numbers,” explains Steve Haworth, CEO of TeleWare Group Plc.  “As any business that has tried to integrate mobile phones into a calling strategy will agree, it can get very complex and rack up huge calling charges as calls move from fixed to mobile and between carriers.”

“TeleWare Mobile is the first service designed from the ground up to combine all the usual features of a modern national mobile phone network with the typical business requirements offered by a modern telephony solution. Because we control the complete end-to-end call experience as well as the software applications that interact with any call and associated data, we can create a whole host of unique and highly valuable services.”

TeleWare Mobile provides an innovative new approach that delivers a business communication solution using one number, one bill, one device without the high bills, unused minutes and complex device management of legacy solutions on the market today.  TeleWare Mobile provides control, connectivity, integration of applications and more, using virtually any mobile device.  All business calls, both fixed and mobile are switched and routed through one core with the business in control of how that call should be processed.

Haworth highlights examples of the power of the TeleWare Mobile Service.  For example, today, without installing any on-site hardware or mobile phone clients, staff could have a single contact number with calls routed to their company’s PBX then passed on to their mobile phone without any additional diverts, the mobile simply becomes an extension of the PBX.

Another example could be an international company that is able to route calls between staff working in different countries using the company WAN and treat them as 1p a minute call or even a free VoIP call.

Features like in-network call recording, call encryption, Push-To-Talk and a host of other applications can be provided by the TeleWare Mobile service as calls are effectively treated as ‘processes’ as they pass through the TeleWare network layer.

“These are just a few examples of the power of the technology as, once you have both the mobile and fixed network working together, the possibilities are fantastic and the benefits to businesses are huge,” explains Haworth, “These are not just hypothetical examples.  We have projects underway with our community of 30 system integration partners that are in the process of delivering innovative telephony systems that solve unique challenges, dramatically improve customer service or significantly reduce costs.”

“We are able to achieve all three simply because we have the ability to control calls, data and applications from directly inside a single network and, as of today, we are the only Mobile Network in the UK to offer this level of service for business customers,” Haworth adds.

TeleWare Mobile uses a normal Subscriber Identity Module (SIM Card) which works with all leading mobile phone types, including any Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Android or Symbian handset or pad device.  The network offers full Voice, SMS and Data and supports roaming in 265 countries.  TeleWare offers full number porting and provides a range of common core business applications and call routing options.  TeleWare Mobile also integrates with standard geographic and non-geographic numbers as well as short code dialling, premium rate numbers and operator services.  TeleWare Mobile interfaces with any SIP compliant PBX and has been tested with products from Cisco, Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, Siemens, Panasonic and over 30 leading vendors.

“We are not competing for the consumer mass market or pay-as-you-go market,” explains Haworth, “We are only aiming at the 4 million UK businesses that need a better way to integrate an increasingly mobile workforce into a more effective communication strategy.  TeleWare Mobile launches with a highly differentiated service and, over the next 12 months working closely with our partners, we will be announcing some truly revolutionary implementations at real world customers,” concluded Haworth.

An update to the ‘Status of the LTE Ecosystem’ report published by the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) confirms that 42 manufacturers have announced 137 LTE-enabled user devices, signalling 40 percent growth in the number of products launched in the past three months.

The report lists each user device by manufacturer, model and form factor, and operating frequencies.

Most devices are designed to ensure ubiquitous mobile broadband coverage by supporting existing mobile network technologies – i.e. dual mode working. The report indicates for each device where complementary modes are supported e.g. HSPA, HSPA+ and/or EV-DO and TD-SCDMA as appropriate, in addition to the LTE mode.

The breakdown of LTE devices by form factor is as follows (March 2011 figures in brackets):

Modules = 27 (22)
M-Tablets = 8 (7)
Notebooks/netbooks = 7 (6)
PC Cards = 2 (1)
Smartphones = 9 (6)
Routers (including personal hotspots) = 45 (28)
USB modems/dongles = 39 (28)

LTE is the fastest developing mobile system technology ever. According to a related recent GSA report there are 208 operators in 80 countries currently investing in LTE. 154 operators are firmly committed to deploy commercial LTE systems in 60 countries, and there are a further 54 “pre-commitment” trials or pilots in an additional 20 countries. A total of 20 operators have commercially launched LTE networks in 14 countries and territories: Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, USA, and Uzbekistan (Source: Evolution to LTE report, GSA, May 11, 2011).

Monitise, a global enabler of mobile money services, has announced a new agreement with Visa, the global payments company. 
 

The new five-year alliance represents minimum annualised revenues to Monitise in excess of $10 million in the first three years, with potential for greater revenues in years 4 and 5 as key milestones are achieved.  The agreement is intended to enable Visa to mobilise existing Visa account holders in the U.S. and in other key geographies creating new mobile solutions that replicate the ease, reliability, and security of traditional Visa payments, on mobile phones and in ecommerce stores accessed via mobile phones.

“Visa is the benchmark for trusted payments innovation on a global scale and it is a huge honour for Monitise to be playing our part in their mobile strategy.  Mobile Money is an industry that will have a big societal impact as the 5+ billion mobile phone users around the world discover new ways to bank, pay, trade and shop.  This agreement validates Monitise’s strategy of becoming the leading trusted enabler in the space and cements our role in this ever growing ecosystem,” said Alastair Lukies, Chief Executive of Monitise.