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V O L U M E 2<br />

N U M B E R 2<br />

M A Y 2 0 0 8<br />

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F S Y N I V E R S E T E C H N O L O G I E S<br />

PREDICTING<br />

THE FUTURE<br />

OF MOBILE<br />

By David Pogue<br />

Columnist<br />

New York Times<br />

Asia Pacific<br />

AP team responds<br />

to region’s needs<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet<br />

Award-winning<br />

NRTRDE solution<br />

SOLUTIONS 2008<br />

Time to explore,<br />

exchange, expand


2<br />

Inside SYNERGY<br />

E X E C U T I V E C O R N E R<br />

6 Cover Story<br />

Future of mobile<br />

communications<br />

3 Regional Update<br />

Global news<br />

about <strong>Syniverse</strong><br />

3 Employee Spotlight<br />

Meet Linda Harte<br />

4 <strong>Syniverse</strong> Focus<br />

Asia Pacific team<br />

5 Customer Connection<br />

VimpelCom Group<br />

8 <strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet<br />

Update<br />

Award-winning<br />

NRTRDE solution<br />

11 Customer Service<br />

SOLUTIONS 2008<br />

12 Events Calendar/<br />

Contacts<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> continues its focus on customer service, innovation and integration.<br />

The first half of this year has been extremely busy for <strong>Syniverse</strong>. In addition to working<br />

hard to ensure we continually provide you with high levels of innovation and customer service,<br />

we’ve also had a successful presence at events around the globe, including Mobile World<br />

Congress in Barcelona and CTIA Wireless in Las Vegas. We hosted the <strong>Syniverse</strong> Analyst Day<br />

in New York and two <strong>Syniverse</strong> Users’ Group meetings, one in Nashville and one in Budapest.<br />

Our team has been busy other ways, as well. In March, for example, we announced the<br />

launch of <strong>Syniverse</strong> Financial Settlement Services (FSS), an offering designed to meet CDMA<br />

operator demand for a cost-effective, comprehensive settlement service that streamlines the<br />

payment and receipt of financial positions between roaming<br />

partners. <strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet also has been demanding<br />

a lot of attention, especially since it won the GSM Association’s<br />

Global Mobile Award for “Best Roaming Product or<br />

Solution.” We are honored that our Near Real Time Roaming<br />

Data Exchange (NRTRDE) offering was singled out as<br />

the industry’s best way to combat the growing worldwide<br />

risk of roaming fraud. You can learn more about <strong>Syniverse</strong><br />

DataNet on page 8.<br />

Of course, a major priority this year is the integration<br />

of the wireless data and financial clearing business of<br />

BSG Clearing Solutions (BSG) into <strong>Syniverse</strong>. The nicest<br />

surprise of the acquisition is that there have been no surprises.<br />

The cultures of both organizations are very similar,<br />

each emphasizing customer service and high-quality<br />

performance. This is making for an extremely smooth<br />

transition as the two companies are combined under the<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> name. Best of all, we now offer you a broader<br />

set of solutions than ever before, including a complete<br />

end-to-end GSM data and financial clearing ability.<br />

“We are honored that our<br />

NRTRDE offering was singled<br />

out as the industry’s best way to<br />

combat the growing worldwide<br />

risk of roaming fraud.”<br />

Tony Holcombe<br />

President & CEO<br />

Finally, I want to let you know that we’ve been preparing for SOLUTIONS 2008, our annual<br />

customer conference in Florida, and I think you’ll find that this year’s agenda is one of our best.<br />

I invite you to check out page 11 for details about this most extraordinary event.<br />

I hope you enjoy this issue of Synergy, and I look forward to seeing many of you in June<br />

at SOLUTIONS. J


3<br />

R E G I O N A L U P D A T E<br />

Employee SPOTLIGHT<br />

Asia Pacific (AP)<br />

One way <strong>Syniverse</strong> AP is providing increased customer support is by adding<br />

personnel and offices strategically placed throughout this part of the world.<br />

In India, for example, we recently opened a New Delhi office and increased<br />

the number of staff. In addition, a new sales director has joined our Hong<br />

Kong team. Desmond Ko came to <strong>Syniverse</strong> in March and serves operators<br />

in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and throughout the region. For more news<br />

from the AP team, read the special feature on page 4.<br />

Caribbean & Latin America (CALA)<br />

More robust in-region customer service continues to be a priority in CALA<br />

as we continue to build a regional support team at our headquarters office<br />

in Buenos Aires. We also are adding additional <strong>Syniverse</strong> team members<br />

throughout the region. Based in Chile, Emilia Bolocco is a new sales executive<br />

for South America. Also joining the CALA staff is Leonardo Saucedo as<br />

our business development director. He is based in Uruguay and will focus on<br />

new regional initiatives.<br />

Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)<br />

The EMEA team continues to widen its geographical footprint. A recent<br />

count shows it has employees working in 11 countries throughout the region.<br />

We had excellent participation at the <strong>Syniverse</strong> Users’ Group EMEA meeting<br />

in Budapest at the end of April. More than 60 participants representing<br />

about 20 countries joined us for the two-day gathering. EMEA also is seeing<br />

great success with <strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet, our NRTRDE offering. See page 8 for<br />

an update about this award-winning solution.<br />

Linda Harte<br />

Senior Account Executive<br />

North America<br />

Specializing in new business<br />

development, Linda<br />

Harte is a Texas-based,<br />

self-proclaimed “new business<br />

hunter” who uses her<br />

broad background in the<br />

telecommunications industry<br />

to seek and develop<br />

opportunities in the North<br />

American market. Synergy<br />

recently spoke to Linda to<br />

learn more about her and<br />

her work.<br />

Synergy: Tell me a little bit<br />

about yourself.<br />

Linda: First and foremost,<br />

I’m a proud parent who<br />

has a daughter and two<br />

granddaughters living in<br />

Boulder, Colorado. I grew<br />

up in a small town in Texas<br />

and earned my bachelor’s<br />

degree in marketing from<br />

the University of Texas.<br />

I’ve worked in the telecom<br />

industry for 30 years and<br />

can honestly say every single<br />

day has been unique.<br />

I’ve been with <strong>Syniverse</strong><br />

for 2-1/2 years.<br />

North America (NA)<br />

Alfred de Cárdenas has joined <strong>Syniverse</strong> as executive vice president for<br />

North America. He brings to <strong>Syniverse</strong> more than 20 years of experience in<br />

the global telecom industry. Jerry Easom, vice president of industry affairs for<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong>, has been named to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications<br />

Association (CWTA) Board of Directors as its trade representative. Jerry,<br />

who has been a member of the CWTA trade council for about nine years,<br />

will serve a two-year term.<br />

Synergy: What part of your<br />

job are you most proud of?<br />

Linda: I truly enjoy opportunities<br />

to help customers<br />

generate new revenue.<br />

I’m most proud to work<br />

for a company that offers<br />

an outstanding portfolio<br />

of products and solutions<br />

that improve quality,<br />

reduce costs and generate<br />

revenue for our custom-<br />

Cont.on page 11


4<br />

S Y N I V E R S E F O C U S<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> AP keeps up with customer needs in a<br />

fast-growing region<br />

AP TEAM<br />

Asia Pacific<br />

The territory covered by <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s Asia Pacific<br />

(AP) team has two defining characteristics:<br />

a huge geographic footprint and a well-deserved<br />

reputation as one of the fastest-growing regions for<br />

the world’s mobile communications industry. In the<br />

final three months of 2007 alone, AP gained more<br />

than 88 million new subscribers.<br />

“The potential for growth in mobile technology,<br />

especially in China and India, is enormous,”<br />

said Raymond Cheung, <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s executive vice<br />

president and CEO-AP. “We know operators in<br />

these two countries as well as others throughout<br />

the region are expecting large increases in their<br />

mobile traffic. As always, <strong>Syniverse</strong> is prepared to<br />

help them as they grow their businesses.”<br />

One of the steps Raymond has taken is to<br />

expand <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s physical presence across the<br />

region. In India, <strong>Syniverse</strong> opened an office in New<br />

Delhi in late 2007 and has increased the number<br />

of employees who work in that country. In China,<br />

“One of our responsibilities is to be able to react<br />

quickly to our customers’ requirements. A local presence<br />

allows us to be in a position to do this and better<br />

focus on customer needs and customer service,”<br />

Raymond said.<br />

In fact, <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s in-region support staff for<br />

roaming services, such as data clearing, financial clearing,<br />

NRTRDE and signaling services, has increased to<br />

more than 20 people.<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong>’s success in AP really took off with the<br />

acquisitions of Interactive Technology Holdings Limited<br />

(ITHL) in 2006 and the wireless services business<br />

of Billing Services Group (BSG) in 2007.<br />

“Although <strong>Syniverse</strong> has had customers in the<br />

AP region since 1997, these two acquisitions served<br />

as an impetus for <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s rapid growth in this<br />

part of the world,” Raymond said. “In addition to<br />

bringing about 200 highly skilled employees and<br />

in-region development capabilities to <strong>Syniverse</strong>, we<br />

have had great success in bringing <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s full<br />

spectrum of industry-acclaimed solutions to former<br />

“One of our responsibilities is to be able to<br />

react quickly to our customers’ requirements.<br />

A local presence allows us to be in a position<br />

to do this and better focus on customer needs<br />

and customer service.”<br />

Raymond Cheung<br />

Executive VP & CEO-AP<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> expanded what had been a small business<br />

center<br />

in Beijing to<br />

a fully staffed<br />

regional<br />

office, and<br />

the company<br />

continues to<br />

bring on additional<br />

solution consultants and sales personnel to<br />

meet that country’s needs. <strong>Syniverse</strong> also is looking<br />

at other locations in China where it makes sense to<br />

create a permanent presence.<br />

ITHL and BSG customers. At the same time, traditional<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> customers gained easy access to the<br />

ITHL and BSG products obtained by the purchase<br />

of these two groups.”<br />

Among the wide array of offerings available to<br />

AP customers are number portability, mobile broadband,<br />

data and financial clearing, roaming and a<br />

number of value-added solutions.<br />

“<strong>Syniverse</strong> is considered an industry leader in<br />

other areas around the world,” he said. “It is my<br />

intention that this also rings true throughout the<br />

AP region.” J


5<br />

C U S T O M E R C O N N E C T I O N<br />

VimpelCom Group moves to <strong>Syniverse</strong> for reliable,<br />

cost-effective data clearing services<br />

As one of the fastest-growing mobile operators<br />

in Eastern Europe and the first Russian<br />

company to list its shares on the New York Stock<br />

Exchange (NYSE), VimpelCom Group (NYSE:<br />

VIP) has a reputation for providing high-quality<br />

service to its more than 50 million subscribers<br />

across Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,<br />

Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia.<br />

In 1992, a small group of scientists and<br />

engineers who had spent their careers developing<br />

advanced technology for radio electronics and<br />

defense equipment formed VimpelCom. A year<br />

later, they launched an AMPS standard mobile<br />

network in Russia operating under the Beeline<br />

brand, a brand that would become one of the most<br />

well known in Russia. Five years later, a full GSM<br />

network was deployed.<br />

Today, VimpelCom has networks in seven<br />

countries and is looking to expand outside of the<br />

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It<br />

recently acquired Golden Telecom, a telecommunications<br />

and Internet service provider with reach<br />

throughout the CIS.<br />

With such an impressive geographic presence<br />

and excellent service reputation to uphold, VimpelCom<br />

did not take its choice of a data clearing<br />

partner lightly.<br />

“As we continue to expand our global footprint<br />

and as we see our customers using more and more<br />

of their services as they travel, we wanted a supplier<br />

who had the ability to handle our entire group of<br />

seven operators,” said Evgeniy Ryabov, head of the<br />

VimpelCom Group’s roaming department. “As we<br />

learned more about <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s<br />

standing in the mobile industry,<br />

its commitment to first-rate<br />

customer service and its track record<br />

for responsiveness, making<br />

the decision to move our data<br />

clearing business to the company<br />

was easy.”<br />

In early 2007, Mobitel, a<br />

St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow<br />

VimpelCom mobile operator in the Republic of Georgia,<br />

was the first group operator to sign a contract for<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong>’s data clearing house services. Later in the<br />

year, VimpelCom determined other operators in its<br />

group (VimpelCom Russia, ArmenTel in Armenia,<br />

Tacom in Tajikistan, Unitel in Uzbekistan, Ukrainian<br />

Radio Systems in Ukraine and KaRTel in Kazakhstan)<br />

also would adopt the <strong>Syniverse</strong> solution to support<br />

international GSM data roaming. Additionally,<br />

VimpelCom Russia chose the award-winning <strong>Syniverse</strong><br />

DataNet to secure its network against roaming fraud<br />

and meet the GSM Association’s new Near Real Time<br />

Roaming Data Exchange (NRTRDE) standard.<br />

“We were looking for a single-source supplier<br />

who would work closely with us and who would<br />

ensure all data records between VimpelCom operators<br />

and their many roaming partners around the globe<br />

would be cleared in a rapid, accurate and cost-effective<br />

manner – all while supporting international standards<br />

and VimpelCom Group business rules,” Evgeniy said.<br />

“We are dedicated to ensuring that our customers<br />

continue to receive the highest quality service, and<br />

I’ve no doubt <strong>Syniverse</strong> will play a significant, integral<br />

role in our endeavors both today and in the future.” J<br />

“We are dedicated<br />

to ensuring that our<br />

customers continue<br />

to receive the highest<br />

quality service.”<br />

Evgeniy Ryabov<br />

Head of Roaming<br />

VimpleCom Group


“What is the future of<br />

cellular communications?”<br />

New York Times


7<br />

A L O O K I N T O T H E F U T U R E<br />

In this article, I will answer the question: “What is the future of cellular communications?”<br />

And here is the answer: Nobody knows. The end.<br />

No, seriously. Anyone who tries to predict the future of technology winds up looking like an idiot.<br />

But from my catbird seat as a tech reviewer, I’m probably in as good a position as anyone to see the<br />

trends from the consumer’s point of view, and I’m willing to make two bets. I may still wind up looking<br />

like an idiot, but at least I stuck my neck out.<br />

My first massive prediction is that the Internet will play a much bigger role in cellphone calls. I’m<br />

not talking about VoIP, although of course that’s an intriguing development (and one that, I’ll bet, keeps<br />

cell executives awake at night).<br />

No, I’m talking about the power that comes from adding the Internet to the call processing.<br />

I’m thinking of voicemail transcription services like SimulScribe ® , CallWave and SpinVox, which<br />

turn your voicemail into typed text that comes to your email box or your cellphone as text messages.<br />

First, this spares consumers the infuriating time drain of listening to the Ambien-dosed airtimeeater<br />

woman who says, “You have. Eleven. New. Messages. You have. Two. Saved messages. To listen to<br />

But from my catbird seat as a<br />

tech reviewer, I’m probably in<br />

as good a position as anyone to<br />

see the trends from the consumer’s<br />

point of view, and I’m willing<br />

to make two bets. I may still<br />

wind up looking like an idiot,<br />

but at least I stuck my neck out.<br />

your messages, press 1. When you are finished,<br />

you may hang up, or press 5 for more options.<br />

I will now read the Manhattan White Pages.”<br />

(Yes, I know this pointless message is a terrific<br />

ARPU generator for carriers. But I’m not a carrier,<br />

so I’m allowed to say how much I hate that<br />

message. And don’t even get me started on the<br />

recording that says, “To page this person, press<br />

5.” Page him!? What is this, 1975?)<br />

The second advantage is you can read<br />

message transcripts in a fraction of the time<br />

you’d spend listening to them. You have random<br />

access to your messages, too; you don’t have to<br />

sit through five chit-chatty messages, unaware that Message 7 is a time-critical bit of urgency from your<br />

boss. You don’t have to take notes as you listen, either. The notes have already been taken for you. Plus,<br />

text is searchable, sortable, copyable, pastable, printable and forwardable. It’s an awesome thing to have<br />

a “find” command for your entire back-catalog of voice messages.<br />

Another great Internet-plus-cellular breakthrough is GrandCentral, a suite of services that Google<br />

bought last year.<br />

The central problem solved by GrandCentral is that so many people have more than one phone<br />

number these days: home, work, mobile, hotel room, vacation home, yacht. And with great complexity<br />

comes great hassle. You have to check multiple answering machines. You miss calls when people try to<br />

David Pogue<br />

Columnist<br />

New York Times<br />

David Pogue, personal<br />

technology columnist<br />

for the New York Times,<br />

was a keynote speaker<br />

at SOLUTIONS 2007,<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong>’s annual<br />

customer conference.<br />

The Emmy award-winning<br />

tech correspondent<br />

for CBS News and<br />

National Public Radio<br />

commentator also is a<br />

bestselling how-to author<br />

with more than 3 million<br />

books in print. Learn<br />

more at davidpogue.com.<br />

reach you on your cell when you’re at home (or the other way around). You send around Cont. on page 10


8<br />

S Y N I V E R S E D A T A N E T U P D A T E<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet named best roaming product by GSMA,<br />

gains momentum as industry-leading roaming fraud solution<br />

October 2008 – a month circled on the calendars<br />

of GSM operators worldwide – marks the GSM<br />

Association’s (GSMA) guideline for member operators<br />

to implement Near Real Time Roaming Data Exchange<br />

(NRTRDE), a new set of fraud detection standards<br />

designed to combat international revenue share fraud.<br />

“The criminals who participate in this type of fraud<br />

have been successful because fraud detection and<br />

resolution are hindered by the length of time it can<br />

take for a visited operator to notify the home operator<br />

of roaming activity,” said Eugene Bergen Henegouwen,<br />

executive vice president of <strong>Syniverse</strong> EMEA. “With<br />

NRTRDE, operators can close the loopholes being<br />

exploited by fraudsters.”<br />

Closing the window on fraud<br />

Currently, call data records (CDRs) that track<br />

subscribers’ roaming activities are exchanged with the<br />

home operator within about 36 hours. NRTRDE standards, however, require the visited network to forward<br />

CDRs to the subscriber’s home operator within four hours of a call’s end. If the visited operator is unable<br />

to get this information to the home operator within the deadline, the visited operator is held liable for any<br />

fraud associated with those calls.<br />

As the October date quickly approaches, <strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet – the company’s award-winning NRTRDE<br />

solution – already is helping operators worldwide to meet the new standard and ensure they have the best<br />

available tool to combat roaming fraud. Named the “Best Roaming Product or Service” at the GSMA’s 13th<br />

annual Global Mobile Awards announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, <strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet provides<br />

more than simple NRTRDE compliance.<br />

Taking fraud protection a step further<br />

Daniel Jarjoura, product manager for DataNet, said the <strong>Syniverse</strong> solution beats the GSMA’s<br />

four-hour time requirement by streamlining the process for exchanging roaming data records between


9<br />

operators and their roaming partners.<br />

“When dealing with roaming fraud, time is money,” Daniel said. “It is our mission to help operators<br />

avoid potential revenue loss by staying one step ahead of fraudsters.”<br />

He said <strong>Syniverse</strong> listened to customer feedback and has developed a number of value-added services<br />

(VAS) that make DataNet an even more robust solution.<br />

The pseudo-rating service, for example, allows DataNet to rate incoming NRTRDE files so that<br />

operators can more quickly estimate potential fraud losses. Another interesting VAS is IMSI splitting.<br />

This service allows a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) to better monitor subscriber traffic and<br />

endorse liability in case of fraud. Additional services include HUR generation for the visitor and home<br />

operators, liability GUI, revenue assurance, and roaming agreement management.<br />

To complete its comprehensive suite of fraud prevention services, <strong>Syniverse</strong> also offers<br />

FraudX ® , a knowledge-based software application that uses artificial intelligence to identify potentially<br />

fraudulent activity.<br />

Contributing to industry standards development<br />

Customers also benefit from <strong>Syniverse</strong>’s leading role in the creation of industry standards. <strong>Syniverse</strong><br />

representatives chair both the GSMA Transferred Account Data Interchange Group (TADIG),<br />

which is responsible for NRTRDE technical specifications, and the NRTRDE Interworking Group<br />

“It is our mission<br />

to help operators<br />

avoid potential<br />

revenue loss<br />

by staying one<br />

step ahead of<br />

fraudsters.”<br />

Daniel Jarjoura<br />

Product Manager<br />

(NRTIG). The company also is a member of the NRTRDE Steering Committee and is the official<br />

author and editor of key NRTRDE technical specifications. In addition, <strong>Syniverse</strong> participates actively<br />

in fraud forums and organizes regional workshops around the world.<br />

Eugene said he credits a combination of industry leadership and in-house expertise for the success<br />

of <strong>Syniverse</strong> DataNet as well as its selection by the GSMA as the best solution for mobile operators<br />

striving to combat the risk of roaming fraud. Already the company has begun implementing the solution<br />

globally with more than 65 GSM operators.<br />

“The clock is now ticking on what is the most important anti-fraud measure for operators in<br />

years,” said Eugene. “As subscriber roaming increases, now is the time for operators to take the offensive<br />

by quickly implementing NRTRDE. Without a doubt, NRTRDE is the most effective way<br />

available to keep ahead of the fraudsters and combat the potential loss of billions in roaming revenue<br />

around the globe.” J


10<br />

Pogue Cont. from page 7 email at work that says, “On Friday from 5 to 8:30, I’ll be on my cell; for the rest of the weekend, call<br />

me at home...”<br />

Instead, GrandCentral issues you a single, new uninumber – and when someone calls it, all your<br />

phones ring. You get the call wherever you are.<br />

More interesting to me, though, is the fact that GrandCentral works by intercepting your call and<br />

routing it through the Internet. Once they’ve got your call, they can process it in all kinds of cool ways.<br />

For example, all messages now land in a single voicemail box, which you can access on the web, if you<br />

like, or even download them as audio files to preserve for posterity.<br />

Furthermore, when you answer a call, GrandCentral’s recording lady tells you the caller’s name,<br />

All of this is<br />

only good news<br />

for consumers<br />

like me, of course,<br />

but by extension,<br />

it’s good news for<br />

carriers.<br />

and then offers you four ways to handle the call: “Press 1 to accept, 2 to send to voicemail, 3 to listen<br />

in on voicemail, or 4 to accept and record the call.” If you press 3, the call goes directly to voicemail<br />

– but you get to listen in. If you feel that the caller deserves your immediate attention, you can press<br />

* to ‘pick up’ and join the call. This subtle feature can save you time, cellular minutes and, in certain<br />

cases of conflict-avoidance, emotional distress. If you hit 4 instead, GrandCentral records your<br />

conversation. You can immortalize the historic calls of your life, or just create a replayable record of<br />

driving directions. GrandCentral also offers ringback music, custom greetings for each caller in your<br />

address book, auto-blocking during certain hours of the day, telemarketer filters and even the ability<br />

to hand off a call in progress to another phone (say, from your home line to your cell phone as you<br />

walk out the door). All for free.<br />

I’m aware some carriers already offer some of these features. But nobody knows about them,<br />

they’re too expensive and their benefits have never been clearly articulated to customers. GrandCentral<br />

shows the success that can come with good, clean design and a sense of fun.<br />

The second great cell revolution won’t exactly make me seem like Nostradamus since everyone is<br />

already painfully aware of the iPhone Effect. I’m not talking about specific iPhone features or design elements,<br />

although those are revolutionary enough. No, I’m referring to the way the iPhone came about<br />

– the way Steve Jobs offered carriers exclusivity in exchange for giving up all design control.<br />

“We’ll make you the exclusive iPhone carrier,” he said (I’m paraphrasing here), ‘”but you won’t even<br />

see the phone until it’s about ready to ship. You’ll get no veto power, no micromanagement, no design<br />

control. You’ll just be lucky to carry our phone.”<br />

Cingular/AT&T agreed (its CEO didn’t even see the phone’s design until two weeks before it was<br />

shown to the public), and the rest is history. That history includes the Great Carrier Epiphany of 2007,<br />

which was a gigantic relaxing of control by cell carriers. First, Google announced an open cellphone<br />

software platform called Android and, incredibly, several major carriers joined its alliance. Then Verizon,<br />

traditionally a conservative company when it came to design control, announced it would welcome<br />

all phone brands and models to its networks.<br />

All of this is only good news for consumers like me, of course, but by extension, it’s good news for<br />

carriers. More than ever, cell phones are where the action is: the growth, the explosion, the excitement.<br />

People don’t talk about their new PCs anymore; they talk about their new phones.<br />

And in the new era of snap-on, Internet-based calling features and an exploding design freedom<br />

for handset hardware and software, the enthusiasm has only just begun. J


11<br />

C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E<br />

Explore possibilities, exchange ideas, expand knowledge<br />

at SOLUTIONS 2008<br />

Linda Cont. from page 3<br />

ers. It really is a win-win<br />

situation!<br />

How do telecommunications professionals<br />

around the globe find time and opportunity<br />

to increase their expertise and share experiences?<br />

For <strong>Syniverse</strong> customers, the answer is as simple<br />

as SOLUTIONS 2008, the premier customer<br />

conference for global mobile operators.<br />

“For more than 20 years, SOLUTIONS has<br />

provided insightful and thought-provoking content<br />

as well as the best possible educational and<br />

networking opportunities,” said Tony Holcombe,<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> president and CEO. “This year the tradition<br />

continues with an exceptional agenda that<br />

offers our customers the opportunity to explore<br />

possibilities, exchange ideas and expand their<br />

knowledge in a completely stress-free, pleasant<br />

business atmosphere.”<br />

Taking place June 16 through 18 at the beautiful<br />

Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club in<br />

St. Petersburg, Florida, SOLUTIONS is designed<br />

for all levels of telecommunications professionals<br />

worldwide, especially those in middle to upper-level<br />

positions, including managers, managing directors,<br />

vice presidents and CEOs.<br />

In addition to having a wide variety<br />

of breakout sessions, roundtable<br />

discussions and interactive activities,<br />

SOLUTIONS also features two<br />

exceptional keynote speakers. Michael<br />

Eisner, former CEO of The Walt<br />

Disney Company, will talk about<br />

innovation. Tom Burgess, founder of<br />

Third Screen Media, will discuss the<br />

future of mobile advertising.<br />

SOLUTIONS also provides a<br />

wide variety of networking opportunities.<br />

In fact, many past attendees have<br />

said one of the most beneficial aspects<br />

of the annual conference is the personal and business<br />

connections made with peers from around the globe.<br />

“We’ve worked extremely hard to ensure we<br />

provide the most worthwhile experience possible,”<br />

Tony said. “I’ve no doubt that the unique combination<br />

of networking and learning opportunities mixed<br />

with a relaxed environment will result in a valuable<br />

opportunity for all of us to work together and learn<br />

from each other.” J<br />

SOLUTIONS is exclusively for <strong>Syniverse</strong> customers and<br />

prospective customers who have signed a nondisclosure agreement<br />

with <strong>Syniverse</strong>. For more information, contact your <strong>Syniverse</strong> sales<br />

representative or visit www.solutions.syniverse.com.<br />

Synergy: What do you<br />

hear from customers about<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong>?<br />

Linda: Customers<br />

frequently tell me our<br />

quality and flexibility enable<br />

them to simplify the<br />

complexity of a fast-paced,<br />

constantly changing<br />

environment. They appreciate<br />

being able to use our<br />

solutions to extend their<br />

own business models and<br />

address new ideas in a rapidly<br />

evolving marketplace.<br />

Synergy: What makes it<br />

special to be a part of the<br />

<strong>Syniverse</strong> team?<br />

Linda: Definitely the people!<br />

We have some of the<br />

best and brightest in the<br />

industry, with many levels<br />

and areas of expertise. I<br />

love showing new customers<br />

the abundance of<br />

knowledge and experience<br />

we have to offer. When we<br />

bring our vast talent and<br />

innovative ideas together<br />

with our customers, everyone<br />

wins.<br />

Synergy: What is your<br />

favorite part of the job?<br />

Linda: I love that there<br />

always are new prospects<br />

and new opportunities to<br />

be found. I enjoy being the<br />

interface to help potential<br />

customers realize ways<br />

to improve their business<br />

and increase revenue. It<br />

always is exciting to work<br />

with those who are on the<br />

industry’s cutting edge and<br />

are using technology to<br />

drive new, intriguing business<br />

models.


S Y N I V E R S E W O R L D W I D E H E A D Q U A R T E R S<br />

See you at the<br />

following events . . .<br />

Fraud Forum #43<br />

May 14-16<br />

Budapest, Hungary<br />

Corporate<br />

Headquarters<br />

8125 Highwoods Palm Way<br />

Tampa, FL, USA 33647-1776<br />

+1 813 637 5000<br />

CDG IRT<br />

May 21-23<br />

Beijing, China<br />

GSMA Mobile Innovation<br />

Marketplace – Americas<br />

June 3-4<br />

Atlanta, Georgia, USA<br />

SOLUTIONS 2008<br />

June 16-18<br />

St. Petersburg, Florida, USA<br />

CDG IRT<br />

September 3-5<br />

Vancouver, Canada<br />

CTIA IT<br />

September 10-12<br />

San Francisco, California, USA<br />

CALA<br />

Headquarters<br />

Thames 91<br />

1st Floor, Office 1<br />

San Isidro<br />

CP: B1609JUA<br />

Buenos Aires<br />

Argentina<br />

+54 11 4765 8687<br />

EMEA<br />

Headquarters<br />

Regus Zen Building<br />

Newtonlaan 115<br />

Utrecht, 3584 BH<br />

The Netherlands<br />

+31 30 210 6511<br />

Asia Pacific<br />

Headquarters<br />

27/F, 248 Queen’s Road East<br />

Wanchai<br />

Hong Kong, China<br />

+852 2893 3776<br />

Simplifying complexity,<br />

delivering possibilities<br />

www.syniverse.com<br />

© 2008 <strong>Syniverse</strong> <strong>Technologies</strong>, Inc. All rights reserved. <strong>Syniverse</strong> and the <strong>Syniverse</strong> logo are service marks and FraudX is a registered trademark of <strong>Syniverse</strong><br />

<strong>Technologies</strong>, Inc. SimulScribe is a registered trademark of SimulScribe LLC. To subscribe to this magazine, email synergy@syniverse.com.

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