FASTWEB wanted the ability to facilitate advanced discounting, hierarchies and multiple payments for its communications services customers. FASTWEB expects these features will allow it to expand its customer base and grow its revenues, by providing more flexible service offerings, product promotions and service bundling. The new Oracle implementation allows FASTWEB to achieve these business objectives. FASTWEB first adopted Portal Software's platform (now Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management) six years ago because it needed a solution to help it manage complex orders from customers who wished to purchase multiple services, such as Internet access, video and voice.

"FASTWEB is committed to providing its customers with the unique services they demand," said Ersilio Albrici, BSS Director, FASTWEB. "Billing and revenue management for complex, convergent services is a challenging undertaking. Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management allows us to bring services to market more quickly and lower our costs by maximizing revenue streams across many different variables, including customer type, service offering, payment method and geography."

FASTWEB selected Oracle and DARTS Engineering, a local systems integrator, to complete the implementation. The company chose the implementation team for its efficient engagement model, under which Oracle designed the target architecture and drove the implementation of the upgraded product's most innovative features. DARTS provided critical knowledge and support of the already installed application.

With Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management, FASTWEB can start using the product's new features, including thresholds discount, hierarchies of account, bundling and complex promotions. These new features will enable FASTWEB to launch new product offers more quickly. In addition, the application comes with more out-of-the-box functionality, allowing FASTWEB to minimize customizations and subsequently reduce cost of IT ownership as well as time to market for new services for its one million customers.

"We are pleased to play a key part in FASTWEB's success as they expand their business throughout Italy," said Bhaskar Gorti, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Oracle Communications Global Business Unit. "FASTWEB is a solid example of how broadband companies can recognize tangible business value using Oracle's end-to-end applications for the communications industry."

FASTWEB is a longtime Oracle customer, using Siebel applications for customer relationship management and the Oracle Database to manage its back-end business information.

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