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Tell Me More - From Infoseek
ÿ Saville CBP to Provide ATU Telecommunications with Rapid Product Creation and Efficient Customer Service
September 8, 1997 8:08 AM EDT
BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1997--
Saville's convergent billing and customer care system will carry
ATU into the 21st century
Top-20 local telecom provider ATU Telecommunications is using Saville Systems' (NASDAQ:SAVLY) convergent billing platform (CBP)(tm) to quickly create customized products and provide more efficient service to its more than 100,000 customers.
As a key part of Anchorage, Alaska-based ATU's expanded billing capabilities, Saville CBP 3.2 will enable the company to rapidly adopt new rate pricing strategies for its local telephone services. Saville CBP includes a pricing mechanism that supports quick pricing changes, which will enable ATU to easily create and bring new products to market. In addition, Saville CBP will help ATU streamline internal costs and processes, making customer service faster and more efficient.
"Saville CBP is a flexible, forward-thinking, convergent billing system that will enable us to rapidly develop new products at competitive prices," said Tom Edrington, CEO and general manager of ATU. "Saville has a strong reputation for developing solid billing systems for key industry players such as AT&T, Citizens Communications and Ameritech. That industry-leading reputation, combined with a full-featured billing system, convinced us the company could provide us with a system that will help carry ATU into the future."
The future includes a deregulated telecom market where competitive telecom providers will enter a market dominated by ATU for the past 80 years. To help it compete in this new landscape, ATU will use Saville CBP to develop customized packages of services on-the-fly. Saville CBP is replacing ATU's legacy COBOL-based billing system, which did not provide the company with the flexibility it needed to quickly create new services, Edrington said.
Saville CBP will also help ATU streamline its customer service operations, enabling its service reps to be more responsive to customers' needs. The billing system, integrated with ATU's new inventory tracking system, will make it easy for employees in different departments to share and access the same customer information, which will help reduce errors and make customer contact much more efficient.
"ATU is facing the same challenge as many telecom providers in today's rapidly changing telecom market. Deregulation is opening the door to new competitors, making it critical for established providers to have an infrastructure in place that will enable them to support all the services customers want. By implementing Saville CBP now, ATU is setting itself up for success today and in the future by growing customer loyalty and reducing customer churn," said Jack Boyle, Saville's president and CEO.
About ATU Telecommunications
Founded in 1915, ATU provides a full range of telephone and data services to local businesses and residential customers. It also offers cellular and paging services through MACtel, a wholly owned wireless subsidiary, and supports Internet growth through its 30 percent ownership of Internet Alaska. ATU began offering long-distance service in March 1996, and in April 1996 acquired a one-third interest in a wireless cable TV company, Alaskan Choice Television. ATU can be reached at www.atu.com, or call (+1) 907-564-1742.
About Saville Systems
Founded in 1982, Saville Systems is the leading provider of convergent billing and customer care solutions for the telecommunications industry. Saville is a publicly held company, traded on the Nasdaq (US) market under the symbol SAVLY, and employs over 900 professionals worldwide. For more information, Saville can be reached at www.savillesys.com, or call (+1) 617-270-6500.
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