Aiming to improve the coverage area and cost of satellite
Internet in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited ,NIGCOMSAT,
has taken on a new approach in to delivery of satellite connectivity solutions
by establishing an eco-system of Virtual Internet Service Providers (VISPs).
They will operate using the digital BSS, Business Support
System, PortaBilling, provided by PortaOne, and deliver the service to key
markets – such as government, defense, maritime, enterprise.
VISPs will rent data channels from the NIGCOMSAT orbiting
satellite and then rely on the PortaBilling self-care portal to manage their
tariff plans and subscribers. PortaBilling will carry out all service monetisation,
– that is:namely service activation, charging, invoicing and payment
collection. So a VISP does not need to purchase or implement any
infrastructure, and the only action required on the VISP side is to install the
customer’s equipment.
Such low entry barrier enables nearly any local company such as system integrator, utility or even a supermarket chain to become an ISP. It will have major effects in several key markets, in particular for Small Office or Home Office, SOHO, – these customers will benefit from better satellite connectivity.
Managing Director and CEO NIGCOMSAT, Dr Abimbola
Alale, said “this robust and flexible solution will address the common
challenges that Internet Service providers in Nigeria face at the moment.
“It will also aid profitability, market readiness and a need for technology, which evolves with the market because PortaOne offers a license, unlimited in terms of number of subscribers or resellers. This helps to maintain a low and predictable TCO, Total Cost of Ownership,” Alale noted. She expressed her gratitude to PortaOne team agile development work done on the project to integrate with other elements of the solution such as online payment through REMITA Based in Canada, PortaOne is a leading software developer of agile service provisioning and billing systems for modern telecommunication companies – across the globe.
As Andriy Zhylenko, the CEO of Portaone PortaOne adds, flexible convergent digital BSS is a crucial tool which will enable NIGCOMSAT to succeed via monetisation of an innovative service and better customer experience. “At the heart of PortaBilling is an open architecture that will integrate seamlessly with NIGCOMSAT’s value-added services. The two will work smoothly together to create cutting edge solutions that will meet the needs of today’s customers”, Zhylenko explained. He stated that PortaBilling will make internet access in Nigeria more abundant and affordable, by building a vast network of VISPs in the country.
PortaBilling would further enable prepaid Satellite Internet access across Nigeria – by improving revenue collection and reduction of leakage for VISPs and NIGCOMSAT. Drop calls: Senate tasks NCC,CPC, SON, on effective supervision of service providers(Opens in a new browser tab) “Since the entry is simplified and the operating costs are minimal due to fully automated service provisioning and charging, new Internet Service Providers will be able to appear in regions where they did not exist before. As a result, the overall end-user experience will be improved and there will be more healthy competition,” Zhylenko further pointed out.
The Executive Director, Technical Services of NIGCOMSAT, Kazeem Raji said he was deeply impressed with the full open architecture of PortaBilling, which allows enables NIGCOMSAT to seamlessly tie it into various back-office and VAS system. He admitted that this is “A true partnership approach where we are empowered to decide on how and who performs the integration within our system.”
He also highlighted the benefits of the system as it helps
to improve customer management, lowers total cost of ownership, TCO, and
significantly reduces time-to-market for new services, such as VoIP, data
multicasting, Digital Signage, IPTV, IoT, and many more. To make sure that
NIGCOMSAT’s people learn the ins and outs of the system quickly and can take
full advantage of the integration capabilities and API (Application Programming
Interface), PortaOne provided on-site training for more than 100 of the company
employees. Vanguard
