PORTAL CONTRACTED, PARTNERS

Covad Communications, a provider of broadband access, has selected and implemented Portal Software Inc.’ s Infranet as the billing component for its digital subscriber line (DSL) service. Covad plans to use Infranet to help provide its national subscriber base instant account creation, to launch new products and services, and to manage multiple pricing plans for home and business users, company officials said.

In other news, Portal and NightFire Software Inc., a provider of systems to automate service management for communications service providers, have partnered to provide an integrated service management and billing system to their customers. The two companies will combine NightFire’s SupplierExpress and forthcoming order management products with Portal’s Infranet software. The joint system is designed to automate the order and billing process for advanced broadband communications services such as DSL.