TELEKABEL AUSTRIA SELECTS CONVERGYS
BILLING AND SUBSCRIBER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
--Billing Solution Combines "Best of Breed" Products to Support Cable Telephony--
Convergys (SM) Corporation, the global leader in providing outsourced, integrated, customer care and billing services, announced today it has signed a contract with Telekabel, a leading supplier of cable television services in Austria. Under the terms of the two-year licensing agreement, Convergys will supply Telekabel with systems for subscriber management and billing for the provider's video, telephony, and high-speed data services.
Telekabel, part of United Pan European Communications (UPC), has been using Wiztec's WIZARD to support CATV services for over 400,000 subscribers since 1996. Telekabel will use Convergys' CableMaster 2000 integrated with the WIZARD solution to provide billing and subscriber management for business and residential cable telephony. Telekabel will also implement Network Inventory Management from Convergys. The WIZARD application will enable Telekabel CATV, telephony, and Internet services customers to receive a consolidated bill.
"CableMaster has proven to be the best cable-telephony management system available, and that's why we selected it for our billing and subscriber management solution," said Werner Novak, chief financial officer of Telekabel. "CableMaster also integrates well with WIZARD, allowing us to incorporate CableMaster and WIZARD for a comprehensive telephony rating and billing system."
"This extraordinary subscriber management solution marks a first for Convergys and Wiztec, combining our 'best-of-breed' solutions to meet the unique needs of a CATV, telephony, and high-speed data application," said Bob Marino, president of the Convergys Information Management Group. "This is a robust solution that will help take Telekabel into the next century, enabling it to acquire a competitive advantage, and helping it to maintain its market-leading position in Austria."
The Convergys CableMaster 2000 and ICOMS solutions - developed specifically for the integrated video, data, and telephony markets - utilize a fully integrated, on-line, real-time relational database, giving all functions and departments the ability to update and access data at all times. Through licensed and managed service installations, they support many of the major markets of leading cable system operators worldwide, including MediaOne, Sky Network Television, Telewest, ONO, Helsinki Televisio, Time Warner, Cox Communications, TCI, Comcast, and Suburban.
Since its introduction in 1982, the Convergys CableMaster 2000 solution (and now ICOMS) have been installed in 10 countries around the world, serving more than 14 million subscribers. When Convergys entered the U.S. cable billing market in 1995, the company had about an 8 percent market share. When newly-signed contracts are implemented, that number could grow to 30 percent.
WIZARD was developed by Wiztec Solutions Ltd., (NASDAQ: WIZTF), a company in which Convergys owns a 70 percent equity stake. WIZARD is jointly marketed by Convergys and Wiztec Solutions.
ABOUT TELEKABEL
Telekabel is part of United Pan-Europe Communications NV (UPC), the European cable division of United International Holdings Inc., operating in Austria and serving customers in the Vienna region.
ABOUT CONVERGYS
Convergys Corporation (formerly CBIS and MATRIXX Marketing) is the global leader in providing outsourced, integrated, customer care and billing services, bringing together world-class resources and expertise to help clients transform customer relationships into a competitive advantage.
Convergys software produces more than one million bills each day, and Convergys call centers handle more than one million calls each day.
Convergys serves the top companies in a wide range of industries, including communications, technology, cable and broadband services, consumer products, financial services, utilities, healthcare, hospitality, and direct response. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Convergys employs over 33,000 people at its more than 30 call centers, data centers, and other offices in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Convergys (NYSE:CVG) is on the Web at convergys.com
Convergys is pronounced: kun VER jis Convergys and the Convergys logo are service marks of Convergys Corporation.
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