Azur Gabon Extends Billing Contract With Redknee

Redknee, a provider of billing and charging software and solutions, has received a new contract for an extended implementation of its converged billing and airtime-selling solutions by Gabon’s newest mobile operator, USAN Gabon (Azur).

Redknee says its turnkey solutions deliver a functionally rich platform that extends beyond basic rating, charging and billing models, enabling operators to differentiate their service offerings and launch creative promotions and incentives to their customers. A key feature is Redknee's Airtime Reseller, which enables voucherless, pre-paid wireless airtime top-up.

Azur is a subsidiary of Bintel, which is registered in Dubai but headquartered in Bahrain, and has a focus on emerging markets, with subsidiaries in the Central African Republic, Somaliland, Gabon and The Republic of the Congo, and it also holds a majority stake in Swiss-based firm Telesonique.

Bintel Goes Live In Gabon as Azur Brand

Gabon's fourth mobile operator Azur (the brand name of USAN Gabon) launched commercial GSM services in the capital Libreville on 8 October, reports Gaboneco.

 

A subsidiary of Middle Eastern firm Bintel, Azur launched over a network of 35 base stations with a capacity of 100,000 lines, whilst it aims to expand to Port-Gentil and Franceville in the next few weeks, before rolling out services nationwide next year.

Azur is aiming to pick up subscribers by undercutting existing operators' pre-paid domestic and international call tariffs. At the end of June 2009 Gabon had over 1.4 million active cellular subscriptions, split between Zain (56%), Libertis (36%) and Moov (8%).