Just launched on the Grameenphone network in Bangladesh, mobile reverse-charging on Sicap Pay4Me software constitutes a convenient, real-time solution for customers to bridge the credit gap. By making mobile services very flexible, Sicap software is helping Grameenphone achieve both customer service and revenue objectives.
With almost 16 million customers, Grameenphone is a clear leader in the Bangladeshi market where a total of six operators contend for the loyalty of the 32 million current mobile users. However, with a mobile penetration rate still below 25%, growth potential in Bangladesh is strong, providing service is affordable. Grameenphone is intent on attracting new customers by means of an attractive Sicap-designed payment service for lower-income segments of the population and for family use. To promote the service, Grameenphone is running an advertising campaign showing parents taking reverse charge calls from their children.
The Sicap software tool uses cost-free USSD string requests. Called "Pay4Me", it allows prepaid subscribers to initiate reverse charging calls with pre or post-paid friends when they temporarily run-out of credit. Call-back is ordered by the customer through a USSD sequence or by dialling a call-initiated prefix. The intended receiver of the call is asked to accept reverse charges. For prepaid subscribers this means that they can make calls even when out of credit, as USSD is not charged for. Moreover, all handsets, even the most basic models, support USSD, so service availability is never an issue.
The Pay4Me system can be extended to handle reverse charging calls to and from other networks. This means that family and friends abroad can support the cost of keeping in touch. It also means that collect calls are possible even while roaming.
Call detail records (CDR) are automatically generated with all information necessary for proper billing and collection by Grameenphone. An advanced option for operators is the automatic trigger of Pay4Me calls when the prepaid billing system detects a call attempt from a subscriber with insufficient balance. To date, an average one million requests per month are handled from customers willing to reverse the charges for their mobile friends.
According to Shibly Zaman, from the Commercial Division of Grameenphone, "the simplicity of managing services in our network and the business advantages of ensuring service continuity are ultimately perceived by customers as tangible service benefits. Sicap Pay4Me helps us both increase ARPU and gain in brand image".
Sicap Asia Sales Manager Giovanni Fabio added "Sicap has sound experience in South East Asia and intends to work closely with Grameenphone to meet service challenges in the most efficient and cost-effective manner".
About Sicap.
Focused on customer satisfaction and service continuity, Sicap software enables Telecom, IT, Media and Entertainment (TIME) players to achieve real time converged business on sustainable software. Dynamically recharging subscriber accounts, encouraging loyalty, or updating terminal and SIM configurations are all domains in which our ongoing support makes sure we deliver the latest that mobile technologies have to offer.
For further information about Sicap, please visit www.sicap.com
About Grameenphone.
After over 10 years of operation in Bangladesh, Grameenphone is now the leading telecommunications service provider in the country. It is a joint venture enterprise between Telenor (62%), the largest telecommunications service provider in Norway with mobile phone operations in 12 other countries, and Grameen Telecom Corporation (38%), a non-profit sister concern of the internationally acclaimed micro-credit pioneer Grameen Bank.
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