The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008 - (Page 19)

CALLING CARDS September 15 · 2008 - 19 due diligence to establish with reasonable certainty that its resale customers have made the required contributions, the wholesaler should then be liable for its customers’ contributions. AT&T also believes that the “rule” is not the equivalent of policing a customer’s activities, but merely providing adequate assurance that USF obligations have been fulfilled. In its comments, AT&T skewers IDT, stating that – “Based on experience and IDT’s silence… AT&T doubts that any of IDT’s retailers have provided it with reseller certifications and/or are listed as current contributors on the Commission’s web site, and AT&T suspects that many, if not most, of IDT’s distributors are considered de minimis for contribution purposes… If AT&T’s suspicions are correct, IDT erred in reporting almost all of its prepaid calling card revenue as carrier’s carrier revenue and the Commission should deny IDT’s appeal. If true, the result of IDT’s actions were not only to have shifted contribution costs to other providers of interstate telecommunications but to have placed prepaid calling card competitors like AT&T, which did contribute to the fund based on its resold prepaid calling card revenues, at a significant competitive disadvantage.” certifications from its wholesale customers and has no other basis to conclude that its resellers are contributing to the fund, then any reseller certification that IDT may have provided to an underlying carrier for services that IDT incorporates in its prepaid calling card service was at best inaccurate, and likely fraudulent.” NetIQ Extends VoIP Management to Microsoft Office AppManager Provides Foundation for Unified Communications HOUSTON, TX (September 9, 2008) NetIQ Corporation, an Attachmate business, has announced the availability of complete Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) lifecycle management for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. With this module, NetIQ now provides event monitoring, service performance and availability reporting for all industry-leading VoIP platforms. As enterprises leverage VoIP implementations, messaging platforms and alternate forms of real-time communication, NetIQ AppManager software provides the needed foundation for enterprises pursuing unified communications to further reduce IT expenses and boost enterprise productivity. As communication patterns increasingly rely on multiple forms of real-time interaction and instant access to voice and data applications, IT is pressed to deliver more complex services while continually ensuring their 24x7 availability. NetIQ AppManager for Microsoft Office Communications Server module enables IT administrators to: * Manage server performance through real-time monitoring and alerting on server health, including CPU, memory usage and hard drive disk space across Office Communications Server 2007. * Determine server performance thresholds and demonstrate service delivery by establishing performance baselines that allow for more accurate capacity planning. * Track application performance with call and messaging session activity and failure metrics for aggregated reporting. “By extending enterprise monitoring and management to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, NetIQ furthers its breadth and depth of expertise in Microsoft technologies and, more importantly, helps customers to proactively manage voice quality and confidently deploy Microsoft unified communications technologies in the enterprise,” said yancey Smith, director of UC Product Management at Microsoft Corp. “We look forward to exploring how our relationship with NetIQ spurs innovation and drives enterprise-wide adoption of this next generation of business communications.” NetIQ AppManager for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 is available worldwide today. List pricing starts at $1,500 per managed server. Source: NetIQ (www.netiq.com) The FCC requires all interstate communications carriers to contribute a portion of interstate and international end-user revenues to fund Universal Service and support other programs, such as the Telecommunications Relay Services fund. “Based on IDT’s appeal, it is clear that IDT is not contributing directly to the fund based on the majority of its prepaid calling card revenue. If (as appears likely) IDT has not obtained reseller Impact on the Wholesale Telecommunications Industry The IDT and GX petitions shine a bright spotlight on the telecom industry’s uncertainty regarding over the application and consequences of noncompliance with the “carrier’s carrier.” Until the issues are properly vetted before the full Commission and, more likely than not, litigated before the D.C. Circuit, carriers are left to deal with this uncertainty created on their own. Presently, neither USAC nor the FCC has altered the contribution obligations of either prepaid calling card providers or wholesale carriers in the wake of these petitions. Indeed, GX has informed the FCC that USAC continues to invoice GX for the disputed amounts, despite GX’s notification to USAC of its intent to appeal USAC’s findings. The FCC has, however, requested public comment on IDT’s petition, so industry participants will have some opportunity to make their voices heard on these important issues. At this point, it is difficult to speculate on the ultimate outcome of these two petitions. Affected industry participants should be aware of the issues and should consult with their legal counsel to evaluate current and prospective business and regulatory compliance practices in light thereof. Jonathan S. Marashlian is a partner at Helein & Marashlian, LLC, The CommLaw Group, a Washington, D.C.-area law firm specializing in federal and state telecommunications and technology matters. He can be reached at jsm@commlawgroup.com. Transverse Launches OSS/BSS Open Source Platform Extends Open Source Computing to Telecom SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 9, 2008) Transverse, LLC., a provider of open source business solutions, has launched their innovative open source OSS/BSS platform called Business Logic Execution Environment and Platform, or blee(p). The blee(p) solution extends the open source computing to telecom operational support systems. Conceived by an experienced group of telecom operational support systems (OSS) industry professionals, Transverse has developed and deployed a new model for delivering complex back office support systems. Transverse’s business model centers around the design, deployment, and support services for its platform. “It is not a question of if telecom companies adopt open source in the back office, but rather when. They want open source throughout their operations, not only at the handset, but also in the back office,” says James Messer, president and chief executive officer at Transverse. “We have a world-class group of experienced OSS professionals who are committed to giving operators the freedom to select and use software without predatory vendor lock-in.” Transverse says that blee(p) takes advantage of the newest technology innovations and the most advanced open source projects to deliver an end-to-end telecom back office that is flexible and adaptable to the rapidly changing needs of carriers. It is designed as a fully integrated set of business management services for back office systems. blee(p) services are grouped into business domain structures that provide more than 2100 services via meta-domains. Utilizing service oriented architecture (SOA), these domains are easily extended through a plug-in framework, allowing a limitless number of business solutions to be assembled in days, instead of weeks or months. Capabilities of the blee(p) telecom solution include: • Multi-Service Billing and Customer Care Solutions • Order and Service Management Solutions • Real-Time Service Delivery Solutions • On-device Portal Solutions • Broad ERP Applications • Consulting Services • Documentation & Training • Post Deployment Support & Maintenance “We are poised to disrupt the market with this approach by offering open, feature-rich, low-cost business solutions,” said Chris Couch, chief operating officer at Transverse. “Our open source model and open architecture ensures that our products are agile and flexible, and are supporting changes in our customers’ business in significantly less time than with closed, and proprietary systems.” Source: Transverse (www.gotransverse.com) Calling Cards in Brief Numerex has selected Highdeal Transactive as their billing platform for their suite of Xpress network service capabilities. The Highdeal Transactive suite, which is in production, provides Numerex’s network service business unit with unconstrained pricing and packaging flexibility. Transactive is integrated with other internal application and transaction servers to deliver realtime prepaid and postpaid billing, including the use of SMS-based tokens. Numerex – www.numerex.com Highdeal – www.highdeal.com in cash. Jonas will receive 1,704,545 shares (all of which will vest on January 5th, 2012) based on the stock’s September 3rd, 2008 closing price of $1.32 per share. “The market’s valuation of IDT is absurdly low,” Jonas said. “The company is on track to achieve operational profitability in fiscal 2009. Our core businesses are generating positive cash flow, and we are incubating several ventures that have the potential to generate truly remarkable returns for our shareholders.” IDT – www.idt.net IDT Corporation (NySE:IDT; IDT.C) has announced hat its founder and Chairman, Howard Jonas, has elected to receive his base compensation in the form of IDT stock rather than cash. Under the agreement between Jonas and the Company, Jonas - who is entitled to annual base salary of $856,000 but has been accepting only $750,000 - will be paid his base compensation for calendar years 2009 through 2011 in IDT Common Stock (NySE: IDT-C) rather than iBasis, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBAS), a KPN affiliate, has completed the repurchase of $1 http://www.netiq.com http://www.allstatecentral.com http://www.gotransverse.com http://www.allstatecentral.com http://www.numerex.com http://www.idt.net http://www.highdeal.com http://www.allstatecentral.com http://www.ibasis.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008 ISOs Hold Key to Growth in Prepaid Industry Contents From the Publisher: The Show Goes On Regulatory Rundown: Early Fall Regulatory Beat 5 Minutes With Brian Rudolph, Co-owner, Krush Communications TPPEXPO’08 Spotlight Dateline Expo: Prepaid Wireless Update 2008 Wireless in Brief MetroPCS Available at Best Buy Western Capital Resources Inc. to Acquire PQH, Inc. TracFone Launches SafeLink Wireless Prepaid Wireless Roundup CIT Secures Financing for Prepaid Wireless Company MetroPCS Premiers Loopt Social-Mapping Services Virgin Mobile USA Reports Financial Results Dateline Expo: Prepaid Calling Card Update 2008 Inc. 5000 Recognizes Viscom International USAC’s “Carrier’s Carrier” Rule Comes Under Attack NetIQ Extends VoIP Management to Microsoft Office Transverse Launches OSS/BSS Open Source Platform Calling Cards in Brief Dateline Expo: Prepaid and Alternative Payments Update 2008 NETELLER and TransSend to Offer Cards Payments in Brief U.S. Treasury Introducing Direct Express Debit Card Visa Launches New Mobile Payment Services SCX Global Acquired by Rev Worldwide Metavante Selected by Corporate Network eCom ACE and NetSpend Launch March of Dimes Card AccuPOS Announces AccuCount Software Springbok Offers Private Label Prepaid Cards Prepaid 101: ATMs and Prepaid NACS Releases State of the Industry Report PaySpot to Distribute Futura Cards Hypercom Lands Element Payment Services Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008

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