Convergys and Tomen Mediacom Announce Selection of WIZARD to Support Launch of Digital Cable TV Services
CINCINNATI & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2001--
Existing TV and Internet subscribers to be converted to new billing
and subscriber management solution by end of 2001
Convergys Corporation (NYSE:CVG), the global leader in integrated billing and customer care services, and Tomen Mediacom (under the Mediatti brand) a leading Japanese media provider, announced today a seven-year contract for Convergys' WIZARD(R) convergent video, voice, and data billing and subscriber management solution.
Implementation is scheduled to be completed this year for the first of Mediatti's affiliated cable operators with work to conclude for the remaining operators in 2002.
Tokyo-based Mediatti will use WIZARD in a Convergys service bureau environment. The company's interactive TV service will enable households currently subscribing to subsidiary cable stations to access a wide range of interactive applications including video on demand (VOD), e-mail, banking, shopping, weather, news, and sports information.
"Convergys' WIZARD will bring about significant benefits in subscriber management and operational efficiency," said Hiroshi Morimoto, President of Mediatti. "In addition to centralizing all customer data, allowing for more efficient response to customer needs, WIZARD gives us the scope to introduce a greater range of flexible billing packages for value-added services. In total, the Convergys solution will help Mediatti realize cost reductions, greater efficiency and a more responsive subscriber care system."
"WIZARD helps innovative cable/broadband providers like Mediatti centralize operations and streamline workflows resulting in considerable efficiency gains," said Bob Marino, President of Convergys Information Management Group. "As Mediatti introduces Japan's first interactive digital cable TV system, Convergys will help it extend its video, voice, and data service offerings in the new convergent era."
WIZARD system integration and localization will be completed by Nihon Unisys Limited and Convergys.
Convergys' WIZARD solution is a comprehensive subscriber management and billing system designed to handle industry-wide demands faced by multichannel subscription television operators.
About Tomen Mediacom (Mediatti)
Tomen Mediacom, one of Tokyo's largest cable TV operators, was originally established by Tomen Corporation in 1997. Following the sale of 58 percent of the company to Olympus Capital Holdings Asia and Pacific Century CyberWorks Japan K.K.(PCCW Japan) in 2000 the company is now undertaking a transformation into a multi system operator (MSO). Under the Mediatti brand name the company is seeking to take strategic investments into under performing cable operators and transform them into cable TV powerhouses through the injection of efficiency generating technical and management skills and innovative consumer services that will implement operational changes that will lower costs and allow operators to acquire and retain subscribers. The company presently has stakes in 5 operators in Japan and is seeking to expand this through the acquisition of further stakes in existing operators and through the building of new networks.
About Convergys
Convergys Corporation (NYSE:CVG), a member of the S&P 500 and the Forbes' Platinum 400, is the global leader in integrated billing and customer care services provided through outsourcing or licensing. We serve top companies in telecommunications, Internet, cable and broadband services, technology, financial services, and other industries in more than 30 countries. We also provide integrated, outsourced, human resource services to leading companies across a broad range of industries.
We bring together world-class resources, software, and expertise to help create valuable relationships between our clients and their customers. This commitment is validated by the more than 1.3 million individual bills our software produces each day to support more than 100 million subscribers, and by the more than 1.2 million separate customer contacts we manage each day, both live and via electronic interaction.
Convergys(TM) employs nearly 44,000 people in 46 customer contact centers and in our data centers and other offices in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Israel, and Europe. Convergys is on the net at www.convergys.com, and has world headquarters in Cincinnati.
Previous news releases and other information about Convergys can be viewed on our Web sites, www.convergys.com and www.genevatechnology.com.
(Convergys and the Convergys logo are trademarks and WIZARD is a registered trademark of Convergys Corporation.)
CONTACT: Convergys
John Pratt, 513/723-3333 (Business and Financial Media)
john.pratt@convergys.com
or
Jeff Hazel, 513/723-7153 (Trade Media)
jeff.hazel@convergys.com
or
For Tomen Mediacom:
Gavin Anderson & Co.
Ross Rowbury, +813 5404 0640 |
