ICL sells telecoms OSS product business to Intec to focus on services

ICL and Intec form new partnership to address world markets

ICL, and Intec Telecom Systems, a major global supplier of Operations Support Systems (OSS), announced today that they have signed a multi-million pound agreement for the sale of ICL's mediation product business and interconnect billing product business, to Intec. This agreement enables ICL to focus on providing consultancy, integration and professional services, such as training and support, to the telecoms market by transferring its product commitments. It will further strengthen Intec's leadership in interconnect and mediation as it increases its market share by adding around 30 telecoms companies to its customer base.

ICL has also entered a global distribution partnership with Intec in a drive to continue offering its clients choice and best-of-breed technology. Under this new alliance ICL becomes a strategic Intec partner, able to integrate and support Intec's range of software products including its interconnect and mediation products, InterconnecT and Inter-MediatE.

With over 150 InterconnecT and 120 mediation installations worldwide, Intec is a recognised leader in the OSS market. The acquisition of the billing (SIMS) and mediation (Prospero) products from ICL enables Intec to add around 33 major operators, such as Omnitel, Vodafone and KPN, to its customer base. Intec will provide ongoing support for the ICL products, with a defined migration strategy to next-generation software.

Clive Keyte, telecomms director, ICL, says: "With our proven skills and expertise in interconnect and mediation, we will continue to offer world-class Systems Integration services, which combined with Intec's technology will provide fixed, mobile and IP/next-generation operators with a compelling solution. Our current SIMS and Prospero clients are assured of a secure future and we guarantee that we will offer them the best possible solutions to their ongoing interconnect and mediation needs".

"This agreement is a win-win situation for Intec, ICL and our mutual customers. ICL can focus on its growing solutions integration business, while Intec will have additional market share in OSS products. Customers also win, because they will now have a clear forward path into next-generation mediation and billing technology, with no concerns over vendor support, and product scalability and functionality," said Intec's chief executive officer, Kevin Adams.

Over the past decade ICL has developed a proven track record of delivering complex mediation and interconnect solutions to some of the largest telecoms companies in the world. Offering both IPR products and SI services requires a combination of very distinct capabilities. ICL has chosen to focus on pure service provision in the light of its success in consultancy and integration in the last two years. The deal with Intec will further enable ICL, as part of the Fujitsu group, to provide competitive solutions to the marketplace.