NetSpira Networks and Starent Networks team to provide enhanced charging solution for 2.5G and 3G Networks

23 February 2004 - Cannes, France

NetSpira Networks and Starent Networks Corporation today announced their partnership to deliver an enhanced charging solution for mobile operators. The enhanced charging solution enables mobile operators to address various target segments with specific services and with meaningful pricing schemes, for both prepaid and postpaid customers. This in turn provides mobile subscribers more service options with more attractive and clearer pricing structures.

The solution combines the Starent Networks packet data platform and NetSpira's deep packet inspection solution to offer a complete and customizable enhanced charging solution for mobile operators worldwide. This solution allows the mobile operator to align service pricing with the intrinsic value of the content, while at the same time keeping a tariff structure that is simple to deploy and easy to understand.

Lucent Worldwide Services is acting as network integrator and supplier of services for the solution.

Enhanced Charging Service

The enhanced charging service provides several benefits to both the mobile operator and to their subscribers. These include:

• Superior performance -The Starent Networks ST16 Intelligent Mobile Gateway provides pace-setting capacity, throughput and call transaction rates.
• Carrier class - The solution leverages on the availability and redundancy features of the Starent ST16:
• Carrier-class, high availability platform with no single point of failure - 1:1 or 1:N built-in redundancy for hardware and software resources
• Checkpointing, fault containment and state replication for enhanced software redundancy
• Hot-swappability
• Premium service billing - Through deep packet inspection, the mobile operator is able to offer and appropriately bill for premium or exclusive services. While the subscriber only pays for the content they want and only when they use it.
• Content insertion - Content insertion provides interactive billing opportunities. For example, content insertion may be used to remind pre-paid subscribers that their balance is running low, or to inform subscribers on prices of premium paid content, or to give instructions or insert ads.
• Partner billing - The enhanced charging service also increases the mobile operators' ability to work with strategic content partners through reverse charging or shared billing plans. Thus allowing the content provider to subsidize or even fully fund transactions with subscribers over the mobile operator network.
• Simplified management - The solution offers a central provisioning and billing point for all services, simplifies configuration and management, while accelerating the deployment of services.
• Accurate billing - With the enhanced inspection of each transaction, subscribers will not pay for packet retransmissions, failed sessions, double charging events or other session related billing issues.

The enhanced charging solution can be deployed on CDMA, GPRS or UMTS networks, currently the only solution to do so. Additionally, the next generation packet solution positions the mobile operator for a smooth migration to a IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, where voice, data and multimedia services are carried over the packet core network.

"Working with NetSpira on an enhanced charging solution allows us to offer carriers significant competitive differentiators, while positioning them for future network technologies and unique service offerings," said Ashraf Dahod, president and CEO, Starent Networks Corporation.

"We believe that our joint solution delivers the most advanced charging capabilities in the market on the very sound architectural foundation of the ST16 platform it is a best-in-class team", said Jose Lopez, president and CEO, NetSpira Networks.

About NetSpira Networks

NetSpira Networks is an innovative and experienced company focused on enabling content-based charging and services in IP-based mobile networks, such as GPRS, UMTS and CDMA networks. Its flagship software product, NetSpira ECS, which has now been integrated into the Starent ST16 platform, is deployed and in commercial service in Vodafone, Telefónica Móviles and Optimus (part of Orange group). NetSpira Networks is headquartered in Madrid, Spain and has a technical office in Barcelona and a commercial office in London, U.K and Helsinki, Finland. For more information, please visit the corporate web site at www.netspira.com.

About Starent Networks

Starent Networks designs and develops next generation intelligent mobile infrastructure equipment for 2G, 2.5G and 3G wireless networks. Starent Networks' solutions provide voice, always-on high speed packet data and integrated voice/data capabilities to mobile operators, facilitating the delivery of unique services and a rich user experience. Starent Networks has deployed the ST16 Intelligent Mobile Gateway product line to customers worldwide including Asia, North America and South America. The company is processing 30 patents on its innovative technologies. The privately held company is headquartered in Tewksbury, Mass. with offices in Beijing, Chicago, Cape Cod, Mass., Kansas City, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Pune, India and Walnut Creek, Calif. Starent Networks was founded in August 2000. For more information, visit www.starentnetworks.com.

For more information about Lucent Worldwide Services, please visit http://www.lucent.com/lws.