Wednesday February 14, 8:11 am Eastern Time
Press Release
China's Key Communication Carrier, JiTong, Expands License Agreement with Portal Software
Multi-Million Dollar Contract Reaffirms Leading Service Provider's Commitment to Standardize On Infranet as the Converged Billing Solution for All Current and New Services
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2001-- Portal Software, Inc., (Nasdaq:PRSF - news) a leading provider of business infrastructure software for broadband, wireless Internet and next-generation communications services, has won a multimillion-dollar repeat order from JiTong Communications Co., Ltd. JiTong has extended Portal's Infranet®customer management and billing platform across its next-generation services network.
One of six carriers in China, JiTong initially implemented Infranet to support its nationwide VoIP services. The functionality of Infranet to support multiple services from a single platform led JiTong to select Infranet. The product's exceptional performance, accuracy and flexibility solidified JiTong's decision to expand their license agreement to support multiple services over its network.
``Our IP telephony service grew rapidly last year,'' said the technical director at JiTong. ``We attribute this to our hard work and to Infranet. By deploying Infranet across our network to support other services we believe we can increase our revenue generating opportunities and continued growth of JiTong.''
JiTong provides multiple network services including dial-up, leased line and satellite access services, virtual Web hosting, DNS and IP address applications and data center services. Prior to the implementation of Infranet each service offering was billed separately, which lead to fragmented billing and customer data. To improve its customer service management and accelerate new product development, JiTong needed Infranet, a real-time, comprehensive, converged billing platform.
Infranet is a leading real-time customer management and billing solution that supports cable TV access, wireless access, broadband multimedia access, satellite access and online service application, making it the platform of choice for multi-service providers like JiTong.
``As China prepares to enter the World Trade Organization, local service providers are facing new challenges,'' said Robert Lau, vice president of Portal Software (Asia Pacific) Limited. ``To shore up their competitive position, they need to offer customer services that are fast, accurate and up-to-date. Infranet is geared to support rapid business expansion and guaranteed service quality. It's an important tool for China's service providers as they confront global competitors.''
About JiTong
JiTong owns the National Public Economic Information Communication Network. It constructs, operates and manages ChinaGBN (www.gb.com.cn), one of the five largest business networks in China with 53 nodes in major cities. ChinaGBN's dial-up access number is 167. JiTong is also one of only four companies to have been approved by the Chinese Government to provide nationwide IP telephony services. Through its IP telephony access number 17920, JiTong's users can reach numerous cities within China and more than 170 other countries.
JiTong also operates a broadband network that provides individuals, enterprises and group users with Internet, IP telephony, frame relay, satellite communications and microwave communications services.
About Portal Software, Inc.
Portal Software provides software to manage next-generation communications and e-services. The Infranet software platform enables service providers to rapidly deploy new services, define optimal business models and price plans, and bill their users. Portal's software is licensed by more than three-quarters of the world's 30 largest communications services companies to support wireless, broadband Internet, next-generation voice, and other e-service offerings. Customers include Qwest Communications, Sprint, NTT, Deutsche Telekom, Telenor Mobil AS, China Telecom, and France Telecom. Portal Software employs over 1,500 people at more than 40 offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.portal.com.
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