Boston Communications Group and Cincinnati Bell Wireless to Launch m-Commerce Trial
Wireless Subscribers to Shop Online Using Prepaid Accounts
Thursday December 21, 9:16 am Eastern Time
Press Release
biz.yahoo.com
SOURCE: Boston Communications Group, Inc.
WOBURN, Mass. and CINCINNATI, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Communications Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCGI - news), the leading provider of prepaid services to wireless carriers in the United States, and Cincinnati Bell Wireless, a subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW - news), today announced plans to launch a mobile commerce (m-commerce) trial program enabling subscribers to shop online. The trial is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 2001. Cincinnati Bell has also signed a contract to continue its prepaid wireless service with BCGI.
``We are always looking for opportunities to enhance our service in ways that add value to our subscribers,'' said Karl Weidner, general manager for Cincinnati Bell Wireless. ``This trial program will offer our prepaid subscribers, particularly the youth market which we know is online, the ability to finally purchase online.''
The trial enables subscribers of Cincinnati Bell Wireless' prepaid service, i-wireless, to now make online purchases through proprietary content added to the i-wireless Web site. It also has a unique feature, person to person payments, that makes it possible for subscribers to quickly and easily add funds to their prepaid account or transfer funds to another subscriber's account. The service also allows subscribers to complete basic customer care functions, such as view account balances at their convenience and without the intervention of a customer care representative.
Enabling a simple, quick and secure method for purchasing goods, such as CDs, DVDs, and digital content, the BCGI transaction processing platform will process the online transactions by debiting the subscriber's prepaid wireless account accordingly. Debiting the wireless account is particularly attractive to those consumers who, for security reasons, prefer not to complete their online purchases with a credit card, as well as cost-conscious individuals who want to control their spending habits and the youth demographic who do not have access to credit cards.
``The goal of our m-commerce initiative is to leverage the convergence of e-commerce and mobile technology to make online shopping easier for consumers. BCGI's transaction processing platform currently handles about 70 million real-time transactions per month most of which are microtransactions attributable to prepaid wireless airtime charges,'' said E.Y. Snowden, BCGI's president and CEO. ``Providing an m-commerce platform for carriers, merchants, and subscribers alike is a natural extension of our prepaid billing platform. Not only do we anticipate that this new initiative will be well received by consumers and merchants, but it should also be attractive to carriers like Cincinnati Bell Wireless, as it gives them the power to quickly and efficiently transform their prepaid services into next-generation m-commerce payment platforms.''
About BCGI
Boston Communications Group, Inc. (BCGI), founded in 1988, provides universal real-time transaction processing and payment services, as well as other enhanced voice and data services, to wireless carriers through its Intelligent Voice Services Network (IVSN) and its proprietary, highly scalable transaction processing platform. Through this unmatched nationwide real-time infrastructure, BCGI provides one or more of its services to approximately 70 wireless carriers and resellers, including the five largest domestic carriers. The IVSN and transaction processing platform support BCGI's prepaid wireless service, the market leader in one of the highest growth segments of the wireless communications industry. BCGI now handles approximately 1.5 billion minutes of service a year and supports over 2.7 million prepaid subscribers. Please visit BCGI's web site at bcgi.net .
About Cincinnati Bell Wireless and Broadwing
Cincinnati Bell Wireless is a subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW - news) combines unparalleled customer service with the industry's most advanced and flexible 18,000 mile next-generation fiber optic network and award-winning IP backbone, to create data and internet solutions that are innovative, reliable, and provide businesses a competitive advantage. Broadwing will be the first provider with a fully deployed optical network and sets the standard for customer accountability with the industry's only Installation Guarantee. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Austin, Texas, with 6,000 employees in 56 sales and service offices across the country. More information about i-wireless can be found on the web at www.i-ontheweb.com .
This press release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including the favorable reception of BCGI's m-commerce product by consumers, merchants and carriers. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, significant decreases in business from major customers, lack of acceptance of BCGI's m-commerce product, declines in demand for the Company's services, unforeseen outages in the Company's services, the inability of the Company's carrier customers to successfully market and sell wireless prepaid service, the loss of a major customer, or a downturn in general global economic conditions, and the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: Boston Communications Group, Inc |
