One of the more controversial projects in recent years has been the WiMAX (News - Alert)-powered Xohm mobile Internet service from Sprint. After talk that it would never get off the ground, a soft launch of Xohm began in early 2008 in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., in preparation for commercial WiMAX service launch beginning later this year in select U.S. cities.

 

To pull off this grand expansion of its WiMAX network, Sprint has expanded its WiMAX services ecosystem of partners. Sprint already has multi-year agreements with Amdocs (builds and maintains the Xohm Internet portal, provides customer relationship management, service activation and provisioning, and billing operations), SwapDrive of Washington D.C. (a hosted storage solution where Xohm subscribers can secure, organize, manage and access all their user-generated digital content though the Xohm portal from any device with a supported browser), eTelecare Global Solutions of Scottsdale, Arizona (voice and e-support customer care services) and McAfee Inc. of Santa Clara, California (online security products for PCs used on the Xohm WiMAX network).

 

And now, Sprint has selected Nokia Siemens Networks (News - Alert) to implement for Xohm an innovative Subscriber Data Management (SDM) solution that will simplify operations and provide a more individualized service to enhance the customer experience. The solution, which includes the Apertio One-NDS (News - Alert) (Network Directory Server), will enable Sprint to operate a Subscriber Profile System (SPS) based on a single, real-time common subscriber database, eliminating the inefficiencies of multiple databases and reducing administration and cost. Additionally, the capability to efficiently integrate new applications by plugging in extensions to the core data model on short notice without service interruption gives Sprint greater agility to adapt to changing markets.

 

The platform also will support a host of IP and IMS-based services and applications over the XOHM WiMAX network.

 

“Providing a personal experience to our customers is a top priority,” said John Daley, VP Customer Management for Sprint’s XOHM business unit. “Implementing the new database, coupled with our dedicated customer service, will enable Sprint to achieve this goal and help to further position our services at the forefront of the industry.”

 

“In today’s market, it is now essential for service providers to offer their customers a highly personalized and prompt communication experience,” said Sue Spradley, Head of North America for Nokia Siemens Networks. “As Sprint paves the way for 4G, we are pleased they have chosen our one-of-a-kind solution to manage and unify their subscriber data.”

 

The Apertio (News - Alert) One-NDS (Network Directory Server) is a leading real-time database for the telecom market, with over 46 customer references worldwide. The solution also includes subscriber provisioning and operations and management functions that make it easy and cost effective to operate. Apertio was recently acquired by Nokia Siemens Networks.

 

Nokia Siemens Networks also will provide maintenance and system integration services.