omniture

Redknee Solutions Provide Bakrie Telecom with Significant Competitive Advantage

Redknee Inc.
2006-11-21 16:31 250970

Service Innovation, Coupled with Cost Savings, Keep Bakrie Telecom on Track

to Reach 5 Million Subscribers in 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia and TORONTO, Nov. 21 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Redknee

Inc., a leading provider of innovative infrastructure software that monetizes

and personalizes services and content for mobile users, and PT Bakrie Telecom

Tbk ("Bakrie Telecom"), a pioneer in Indonesia’s affordable wireless

telecommunication services, today announced Bakrie Telecom has significantly

improved its competitive advantage with deployment of Redknee’s Prepaid

Voice and Messaging Solution. The Redknee solutions power Bakrie Telecom’s

Esia branded TalkTime service, SMS service and marketing promotions including

Circle of Friends and Family, and more.

The rapid pace of development in the Indonesian telecom market demands

that Bakrie Telecom provide new and innovative products such as their Esia

prepaid voice and text plan. Bakrie Telecom’s strategy incorporates world-

class, experienced partners with extensive research and development

capabilities such as Redknee.

"Our differentiation lies in our ability to provide relevant and

differentiated tariffs and services through customer focused disruptive

innovations," said AG Rao, CTO at Bakrie Telecom. "Redknee helps us utilize

our infrastructure as a competitive advantage. It allows us to reduce

Operating Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenditures (CAPEX), increase

productivity and maintain higher levels of customer retention."

Indonesia still has very low teledensity, with 4 percent for fixed and 20

percent for mobile. In comparison, the Philippines and China, countries with

similar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, have mobile teledensities of

42 and 35 percent respectively (Source: Pyramid Research, "Indonesia Country

Outlook," August 2005). According to analysts, the total number of telecom

subscribers in Indonesia is forecasted to double by 2010, exceeding 100

million subscribers.

"Redknee’s Converged Billing approach reduces OPEX and CAPEX by

converging all provisioning, transaction, charging, rating and billing for

supported services such as voice, data, messaging and mCommerce under a

single system and in real-time," said Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO at

Redknee. "This allows operators such as Bakrie Telecom to deliver the

specific leading-edge services that attract new subscribers, reduce

subscriber churn and improve revenue opportunities."

Bakrie Telecom’s Talktime campaign was launched in August 2005 and

generated an overwhelming response that propelled the Bakrie Telecom brand to

the number two position in the country (based on research by Taylor Nielsen

Research -- TNS). As a result, their customer base of 1.3 million subscribers

as of September 2006 represents a 167 percent increase over December 2005’s

487,000 subscribers. Bakrie Telecom’s monthly customer churn rate averages

four percent, compared with the industry’s average rate of 8 to 11 percent.

Bakrie Telecom also enjoys lower infrastructure costs than established telcos

utilizing existing networks.

Bakrie Telecom’s TalkTime service is built using Redknee solutions.

According to analysts and public records, this innovative service generates

significant improvement in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). The Redknee

solutions also allowed Bakrie Telecom to program five additional marketing

promotions.

Redknee’s solutions power Bakrie Telecom’s Texting/Short Message

Service (SMS) as well as its "Circle of Friends and Family" (or Closed User

Group) features. A special rate is applied for conversations and text

messages between family members and friends of Esia prepaid card users.

About Bakrie Telecom

PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk has been operating since 1996 in Indonesia,

initially under the name of PT Radio Telepon Indonesia. The name of the

company was changed to PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk in 2003, and soon after that

launched a CDMA 2000-1X based telecommunication services under the brand

name "Esia". To meet its objective to become a national operator, Bakrie

Telecom has embarked on an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator)

collaboration with PT Indosat Tbk, with both companies agreeing to share

their network infrastructure. Bakrie Telecom has launched many innovative

products such as Gile Beneer, Rumpi Abiss, Hujan Duit and the very effective

TalkTime Campaign. Its focus on "value for money" and innovation in our

offerings has driven its corporate performance. As of end of September 2006,

the company grew its subscriber base by 327%, from 307 thousand in September

2005 to 1.3 million, increased its gross revenue by 131% from IDR 254 billion

in September 2005 to IDR 588 billion, and booked a net profit of IDR 52

billion compare to IDR 112 billion net loss in September 2005. Bakrie Telecom

went public and listed in The Jakarta Stock Exchange in February 2006.

About Redknee

Twenty-six of the world’s leading mobile operators depend on Redknee’s

proven infrastructure software to deliver value-added services and content to

over 207 million subscribers. The converged revenue engine enables operators

to quickly bring to market personalized voice, messaging and content services

in real-time. Redknee allows operators and brand owners to maximize their

differentiation and revenue while reducing expenditures by integrating with

existing environments. The subscriber experience is improved with Redknee’s

self-care, loyalty, and analytics that deliver the content and services

subscribers want when they want them. For more information, visit

http://www.redknee.com .

Source: Redknee Inc.
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