As mobile data services become more sophisticated, users’ ability to control and manage them must do likewise. Bridgewater Systems today released a new policy management solution that gives iPhone and BlackBerry users that sophistication.
Bridgewater’s new myPolicy solution for the Apple iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry will allow subscribers to personalize and manage mobile data usage, set limits and notifications, receive special offers. To everyone’s relief, it may also help eliminate the bill shock problem that has led to lawsuits around the country.
Bridgewater is working to add other smartphones to the list of those it supports. It already manages, authenticates and brokers the applications on Verizon’s V-Cast service.
“The objective is to revolutionize how service provider engage and interact with their mobile subscribers by empowering them to personalize and manage their mobile data usage and the services they have attached to that usage,” said David Sharpley, senior vice president at Bridgewater Systems.
With myPolicy, users will be able to track real-time data, SMS and applications usage, as well as voice and roaming charges; set limits, the notification of those limits, and roaming controls to manage mobile usage and prevent bill shock; receive special offers in real time such as day passes for new applications, roaming passes for subscribers who are traveling, bandwidth top-ups, or free SMS with mobile advertising.
For mobile operators, myPolicy comes with software development kits that allow them to brand, customize and extend the application for their specific requirements. They also can leverage subscriber assets such as preferences, location, billing and behaviors to increase app store brand awareness. There also is a myPolicy Broker module that brokers requests between the myPolicy application and the Policy Controller to present the appropriate information to the subscriber according to their preferences, and a Policy Controller that applies real-time network, application and subscriber rules such as updating usage information, providing subscriber context, and enforcing limits.
Bill shock has become a real problem, Sharpley said. “When people don’t know what something is going to cost, like when they go into another country, they just shut their phones off,” he said.
In addition to lost revenue when people aren’t using their phones, operators lose on both ends when customers are surprised by bills and call in for an adjustment. Not only do they lose that revenue for services rendered, “They still have to pay the roaming partner or whoever originated the charge, so it’s a double whammy,” Sharpley said. “It’s better to not have it happen.”
Peter Mottishaw, principal analyst at Analysys Mason, said there has been a rapid take up of mobile data services in the last two years, driven by the introduction of more usable smartphones, but that users remain concerned about unexpected charges and bill shock and are looking for ways to personalize and control their mobile data usage and experience.
“They want to monitor their roaming usage while travelling, receive notifications when they are near their monthly bandwidth limit, know how much data an application is using, and receive timely offers. Mobile operators who can meet these requirements will be rewarded by loyal customers and increased take up of mobile data services," Mottishaw said.
