Megisto Systems' mobile subscriber service enhances wireless data networks - New Products & Services - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Wireless Internet, Jan, 2002

Megisto Systems, makers of core network infrastructure for advanced mobile services, announced its mobile subscriber services (MS S) architecture. MSS is a subscriber- and service-aware core network infrastructure that enables mobile operators to create new kinds of services and effectively bill for them, increasing their revenue-per-user. Traditional products built for the Internet use fixed information from the packet header or the access link to identify a customer--information not available in a mobile network. Megisto's products anchor the mobile subscriber and have knowledge of the subscriber's identity, activity, and usage - the key state information required to deliver the advanced services of interest to mobile subscribers.

Unlike routers and subscriber management systems built for conventional fixed Internet, MSS was designed from the ground up to manage this state information and to effectively process mobile subscriber data traffic. The MSS also offers a powerful set of mobile service interfaces to present state information to external service- and application-platforms that offer advanced services.

With secure mobile connections, enterprises can implement a host of high-value services such as mobile sales force automation, inventory tracking, and remote power control and monitoring. For consumer subscribers, carriers will be able to offer automatic news updates, investment alerts, peer-to-peer gaming, even remote home monitoring. Carriers will be able to support a variety of billing services to suit individual customer preferences, including prepaid billing, billing for access to WLANs, and subsidized billing.

A powerful feature of the MSS architecture is Universal Mobility, which enables another new service, WLAN roaming. Mobile operators can increase revenues by augmenting their 2.5G and 3G networks with high-capacity, low-cost WLAN access using 802.11b/WiFi in high-density locations such as airports, convention centers, and coffee shops. Universal Mobility ensures that users receive consistent network services from a single mobile operator regardless of the access network technology and removes the need for users to be "network aware" before they can take advantage of high-capacity hot-spot services.