Saunalahti launches its new Prepaid Mobile and Number Portability Services in Finland in record time

Munich, Helsinki, 11 October 2004 – The European Computer Telecoms Group (ECT), Europe’s market leader for intelligent value-added services in fixed and mobile networks, has implemented an international intelligent network (IN) for the mobile arm of the Saunalahti Group. Saunalahti offers complete communication solutions for Finnish business and residential customers in mobile and fixed-line networks. The ECT solution is based on the INtellECT® Intelligent Network. With its country-specific modules for Finland and Estonia, it serves as the cornerstone for Saunalahti’s prepaid mobile and number portability services. Further value-added services like the ECT Ring Back Tone Service and the ECT Mobile Office may follow shortly. The solution for Saunalahti was completed in the record time of 12 weeks. Being a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Saunalahti uses other carriers´ networks. However, Saunalahti has its own technology including Mobile Switching Centres (MSCs), meaning it can implement its own systems and differentiate its profile by offering unique value-added services. “ECT is an ideal partner for Saunalahti: we wanted to have a cost-effective integrated number portability and prepaid mobile solution with capabilities for the future services. Furthermore, we highly appreciated ECT’s professionalism and customer relations”, said Panu Lehti, COO of the Saunalahti Group.

Prepaid Mobile is one of the many value-added services of the ECT Group, Europe’s market and technology leader for prepaid service applications. The ECT Group typically implements Prepaid Mobile with the INtellECT® Service Control Point (SCP), offering customers flexible, reliable, and scalable solutions. In the prepaid mobile segment, the ECT Group provides F-SMSC and G-MSC functionalities, roaming solutions via CAMEL, USSD callback and SMS callback. As it is its standard, the ECT Group’s installation for Saunalahti is a turnkey solution with customized features and complete project management.
In Finland, the charging of special rate service numbers is in some cases determined using the number of pulses sent from the Mobile Switching Centre. The ECT Group developed a special feature which uses the pulses received to calculate the cost of the call.

The ECT Group’s application for Number Portability is also realised with the INtellECT®. As Saunalahti runs an international network, the INtellECT® provides number portability via separate logic modules for each country, all on the same platform. A special service key activates the country-specific logic of the INtellECT®. All outgoing calls are controlled by the respective logic of the INtellECT® Service Control Point and switched to the correct network.

“Over the past few years, the ECT Group has landed major contracts all over Europe from large fixed-line and mobile carriers. I am very pleased that we added Saunalahti to our list. And this is just the beginning – by the end of this year, we want to be in all the mobile networks in Finland,” said Reinier Meuwissen, Sales Director of ECT Benelux and Scandinavia.

About the European Computer Telecoms Group

The European Computer Telecoms Group, or ECT for short, was established in Munich, Germany in 1998, shortly after the German telecommunications market was liberalised. Today, ECT encompasses the mother company European Computer Telecoms AG as well as the European Computer Telecoms Ltd. in London and the ECT Vertriebs- and Servicegesellschaft mbH in Munich. In addition, there are registered ECT Sales and Service Centres in Paris, Strasbourg, The Hague, Warsaw, and Vienna. ECT is also affiliated with Interactive Technologies Holdings Limited in Hong Kong and has a direct sales and service presence in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila.

ECT enables highly profitable value-added services via software applications running on its own complete line of open platforms for public switching, service nodes, intelligent networks, intelligent peripherals and next-generation networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP). ECT’s mobile value-added services, e.g. Ring Back Tone Service, Prepaid Mobile and Number Portability, are utilised by major mobile carriers, such as Vodafone D2, Tele2, TeliaSonera, Omnitel, the Saunalahti Group and Hutchison. ECT's fixed-line customers include major incumbents, such as BT, Deutsche Telekom, and TeliaSonera, as well as alternative carriers, such as Tele2, Completel, Telewest and Versatel. ECT value-added services are also to be found at major Internet Service Providers, such as the United Internet AG, as well as larger providers of prepaid calling cards and services, such as Alpha Telecom, the Calling Card Company Ltd., Central Telecom and Mox Telecom. In the recently liberalised markets of Eastern Europe, ECT also provides cost-efficient and low-maintenance public switching with interconnection. In the Czech Republic, for instance, ECT has equipped virtually all the alternative carriers including PragoNet, the local subsidiary of the Deutsche Telekom Group.

ECT has developed a large family of applications for value-added services, such as fixed-line and mobile number portability, service numbers with televoting and network-based call centre functionality, ring back tone service, prepaid mobile, teleconferencing services, personal number services, and prepaid calling cards. Additional service applications are introduced on a regular basis, all of which run on both the ECT AutoCarrier® and INtellECT® platforms. The AutoCarrier® is a class 4 softswitch that can be utilised for both interconnection to the public telephone network as well as intelligent value-added services. Via its INtellECT® Service Control Point, ECT realises intelligent networks with the Intelligent Network Application Protocol (INAP) CS1 and CS2.

For further press information:

European Computer Telecoms AG
Hagen Gutsfeld
Marketing and PR
Ridlerstraße 55
80339 Munich
Germany
Tel.: (0049) 89/ 55 29 47 – 169
Fax: (0049) 89/ 55 29 47 - 111
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