17th June 2004 - Portal Software Inc. today announced that its flagship billing solution has been deployed by BT Openzone, BT Group PLC's Wireless Broadband business. With Portal’s billing solution, BT is now able to launch a self-sign-on option for its Wireless Broadband service and automate provisioning for BT Openzone’s corporate licensees.

The Portal solution has been deployed as a link between BT Openzone’s provisioning and billing systems, which in turn has enabled BT to let individuals sign up online for the WiFi service. Portal’s solution has also made it possible to automate a manual provisioning of services for BT Openzone corporate license customers.

“Thanks to Portal, BT Openzone now has automated provisioning for customers,” said Chris Clark, CEO, BT Wireless Broadband. “In addition, the Portal solution enabled us to launch the self-sign-on facility.” BT opted for Portal, he added, because “it is an industrial-strength product in the right marketplace and offered the best time to market.”

Alan Laing, Portal’s vice president and general manager, Europe, Middle East, and Africa commented, “We are delighted that our solution has enabled BT to automate provisioning for its BT Openzone corporate customers while also making it possible for individuals to sign up online for the service. The fact that the supplementary code required less than six months from drawing board to going live is another source of satisfaction to us, as it keeps BT ahead of its competitors in terms of meeting customer requirements and launching new offerings on its WiFi service.”

About Portal Software, Inc.
Portal Software provides flexible billing and subscriber management solutions to enable organizations to monetize their voice and digital transactions. Portal’s convergent billing platform enables service providers to charge, bill, and manage a wide range of services via multiple networks, payment models, pricing plans, and value chains. Portal’s flexible and scalable product-based solutions enable customers to introduce new value added services quickly, providing maximum business value and lower total cost of ownership. Portal’s customers include thirty-five of the top fifty wireless carriers as well as organizations such as Vodafone, AOL Time Warner, Deutsche Telekom, TELUS, NTT, China Telecom, Reuters, Telstra, China Mobile, Telenor Mobil, and France Telecom.

About BT Openzone
BT Openzone provides access to the Internet and the ability to get secure and fast connection to corporate networks while working "on the pause" away from the office. Users with a laptop and a Wireless LAN access card and software can access data at speeds of up to 500 kbps (almost 10 times faster than a standard 56K modem), enabling them to send and receive large quantities of information at broadband speed. Users need to be within range of a BT Openzone site (approx 100 metres) - zones will be badged with the BT Openzone logo. Anyone with a WiFi enabled device, such as a laptop using Intel Centrino mobile technology, can instantly access WiFi hotspots.

Back to News Reports