Sicap and NRJ Mobile, the French MVNO, have today announced a software implementation which, the two claim, may lead to a revolution in the way that MVNOs do business with their network hosts.
Sicap, a specialist in converged device and SIM management, says it has deployed its technology to allow NRJ Mobile to both capitalize on their double network position and to overcome the associated technical hurdles.
The deal involved implementing a detection and management platform to support NRJ Mobile business on the two largest mobile networks in France, Orange and SFR. As NRJ Mobile subscribers connect to either host network, a SIM-based trigger feeds information into the Sicap Device Management Center (DMC), which identifies the host network and updates the device accordingly.
The MVNO can firstly ensure that customer devices are configured according to the network they are attached to, thereby overcoming the technical difficulties of doing business on networks with conflicting infrastructure configurations and parameters. NRJ Mobile and their content provider partners can seamlessly market innovative applications to all their subscribers and manage their agreements on the Sicap gateway. Another important role of the Sicap platform is the over-the-air update of network settings which make sure subscribers can listen to and visualise their multimedia content properly, whichever device they are using. The ability to access content is of high importance for an MVNO which targets the youth segment and relies on a multimedia offer of music, concerts, films and Instant Messaging to achieve popularity.
Intelligence gained from the Sicap platform means that NRJ Mobile can allocate their subscribers the most beneficial network depending on regional coverage differences or subscription types for example. NRJ can switch network attachments for their subscribers at their will by simply issuing a new SIM card to the customer. The flexibility afforded by network switching constitutes a clear commercial advantage for the MVNO.
Sicap Managing Director of EMENA and Managing Director of Sicap France, Mr. Armin L. Rau, said "We have worked closely with NRJ Mobile since their acquisition of our Device Management Center in 2004. The implementation of our latest Device Management Center provides NRJ Mobile with a powerful commercial and customer care tool to manage subscriber services and their devices."
NRJ Mobile Director of Products and Services Mr. Julien MULLER concluded that "The deployment of Sicap technology was the most user-friendly and cost-effective way for us to manage the specificities of our dual network strategy. Sicap has consistently recommended software tools which fit our scope, constraints and expectations and which ultimately benefit our customers."