Lightbridge And Dun & Bradstreet Unveil Industry's First Wireless
Telecommunications Industry Score
Risk Assessment Tool Determines Delinquency of Carrier's Business Accounts
BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1997-- Lightbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:LTBG - news), a leading
provider of customer acquisition and retention solutions for the global telecommunications industry, and Dun & Bradstreet
(D&B) announced today that they have developed and will jointly market, beginning in January, the first Wireless
Telecommunications Industry Score for businesses.
Credit and marketing professionals at wireless telecommunication companies that provide cellular, paging and Personal
Communication Services throughout the world can use the score to assess the risk of doing business with new and existing
accounts in the United States. The industry-specific tool is based on a statistical model that predicts the likelihood that a
company will become severely delinquent (90+ days past due) in paying its wireless telecommunication bills within 12 months.
''D&B's database of more than 11 million U.S. businesses coupled with its analytical expertise make it uniquely positioned to
develop and support a credit score for the wireless telecommunications industry,'' said Joe Plotnick, assistant vice president,
strategic industries at Dun & Bradstreet. ''We're confident the score will be very successful in an industry where companies
need to make fast credit decisions on high-volume, low-dollar accounts.''
''Lightbridge's expertise in the wireless industry allows us to offer the best solution to identify potential risk to our clients,'' said
Pamela Reeve, Lightbridge's president and CEO. ''This score allows our clients to continue to process a high volume of
applications quickly, consistently and at low cost, but with less risk, giving them a greater advantage.''
The statistical model for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry Score was developed using historical, payment
performance information on wireless telecommunication carriers from Lightbridge and D&B. The score is supported by the
customer acquisition system component of Telesto(TM), Lightbridge's network of integrated customer acquisition and
retention solutions. Comprised of Lightbridge's best-in-class credit, fraud, churn, channel and market performance solutions, it
provides the industry's most complete, workflow-enabled customer management system. The score is driven by D&B's
comprehensive business information, such as the company's financials, payment performance and public record of suits, liens
and judgments. The score ranges from 101 to 660. The higher the score is, the less risk there is associated with the account.
About Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), a company of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, is the world's leading provider of
business-to-business credit, marketing and purchasing information, and receivables management services. Dun & Bradstreet
was one of the first information providers to develop and market a commercial credit score in the United States. Today, the
company markets 12 industry-specific credit scores, as well as OneScore, a small-business credit scoring system that blends
D&B information with consumer credit information, and a Financial Stress Score, which predicts the likelihood of a company
failing within 18 months. The corporation, which also includes Moody's Investors Services and Reuben H. Donnelley, is
headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., employs 16,000 people in 38 countries, and reported 1996 revenue of more than $2
billion.
About Lightbridge
Lightbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ:LTBG - news), based in Burlington, Mass., is a leading provider of software-based services that
help global telecommunications carriers quickly acquire customers and retain them over time. Lightbridge has leveraged its
credit processing expertise into solutions that help carriers quickly and cost-effectively provide bundled services through new
channels. Telesto, Lightbridge's network of integrated customer acquisition and retention solutions, provides best-in-class
credit, fraud, churn, channel and market performance solutions to such clients as AT&T Wireless, BellSouth Mobility DCS,
Omnipoint Communications, and Sprint PCS. It is the only complete, workflow-enhanced system for customer interaction in
the converged telecommunications marketplace. Additional information on the company can be found on the Web at
lightbridge.com .
Editors note: Telesto is a trademark of Lightbridge, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of
their respective owners. D&B press releases are available on the Internet via the Dun & Bradstreet World Wide Web home
page (http://www.dnb.com).
Contact:
Lightbridge, Inc. Neva Group
Kate Strong Monique Klares/Terry May
781/359-4852 617/441-4000 x246/230
kstrong@lightbridge.com mklares@neva.com/tmay@neva.com
or
Dun & Bradstreet
Ingrid Cordasco
908/665-5123
cordascoi@mail.dnb.com |
