MACH Names Three New Operator Customers as Momentum Grows for Inter-Standard Roaming Solution

LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MACH, the leading provider of cloud-based managed communication services, today announced that three new operators and members of the Competitive Carriers Association (formerly known as the Rural Cellular Association) have selected its award-winning¹ Inter-Standard Roaming (ISR) solution to enable international roaming for their post-paid subscribers. In doing so, Thumb Cellular, Chat Mobility and NorthwestCell stand to increase revenue levels, subscriber satisfaction and market competitiveness against larger operators.

“We are very excited to be working with MACH and are pleased to begin rolling out our international roaming services”

Network operators around the world are striving to deliver worldwide connectivity for their subscribers. By implementing MACH’s ISR solution, Thumb Cellular, Chat Mobility and NorthwestCell will command a greater share of revenues that would otherwise be spent on technologies such as local pre-paid GSM SIM cards or a second mobile handset. The operators will also be able to further enhance customer retention and reduce churn by delivering a full portfolio of voice, SMS and data services and applications to customers wherever they are in the world, through one device and with one bill.

“We are very excited to be working with MACH and are pleased to begin rolling out our international roaming services,” said Robert Mauer, CEO of Chat Mobility. “The deployment of MACH’s proven Inter-Standard Roaming solution will allow our existing customers to roam freely when abroad on one single device, avoiding costly handset rentals. Using MACH’s innovative technology, Chat Mobility and NorthwestCell will be able to expand their roaming footprint and also enhance the voice and data experience for roaming subscribers”.

Paul Picklo, General Manager at Thumb Cellular, added: “One of the biggest reasons for choosing MACH was the simplicity of a single-contract solution which gives our subscribers the capacity to roam almost anywhere in the world under one agreement, without the need for time-consuming deals with additional carriers. This service is something that will benefit our customers not only in the short term, but also in the long term as we continue to add to our services portfolio and move into the 4G arena.”

Brian Moore, Regional Vice President Sales, North America at MACH, concluded: “We are very proud to serve Thumb Cellular, Chat Mobility and NorthwestCell, and to continue to build MACH’s momentum in the North American marketplace. MACH has always been passionate about supporting smaller operators with innovative and collaborative solutions that enable them to compete against major players in an increasingly complex industry. Our award-winning ISR solution perfectly complements the operators’ visions of enabling subscribers to stay in touch with those at home and access the Internet from anywhere in the world. During the past year, we have seen much excitement with our ISR solution in other CDMA-dominated regions of the world. This deal marks one of the first post-paid ISR contracts in North America and is an important win for MACH, highlighting our continued expansion into the region. MACH’s competitive prices and portfolio of innovative real-time solutions are leading to numerous successes with other customers across North America.”

Part of MACH’s M Serve portfolio of real-time, value added services, the cloud-based Inter-Standard Roaming Solution provides seamless access to international roaming on GSM and high-speed 3G networks and other wireless technologies, offering a cost-effective extension of network coverage and reducing customer churn. It offers an efficient and value added approach for CDMA operators, unlocking new revenue opportunities, and providing service continuity for their customers as they travel.

-ENDS-

About Thumb Cellular

Thumb Cellular is Michigan’s leading provider in cellular wireless service, carrying 3G smartphones, cell phones, voice and data plans. Thumb Cellular began selling service in August 1991, with one office located in Pigeon, four towers and five employees. Today, Thumb Cellular has four office locations (Bad Axe, Caro, Pigeon, Sandusky), over 40 full time employees and 45 cell sites. The success of Thumb Cellular is largely due to its emphasis on customer service. Customer satisfaction remains paramount at every level of the operation. A host of customer care representatives, sales executives, key account managers, and other employees remain poised to serve customers with help on product selections and account services. In addition to voice services, over the last two years Thumb Cellular has deployed a complete 3G data network, operating a total EVDO REV A network. This has allowed deployment of such devices as BlackBerry Smartphones, Android devices, high-speed air cards and most recently a residential broadband service offering.

About Chat Mobility

Serving south central and southwest Iowa with cellular service, where every rate plan is nationwide and includes unlimited incoming minutes, unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited mobile-to-mobile. For more information, visit www.chatmobility.com or call 800-944-5526.

About NorthwestCell

Formerly known as Northwest Missouri Cellular, NorthwestCell offers nationwide service, bundled single and family plans, along with youth and senior plans. Phone selection includes Android, BlackBerry, and Windows mobile smart phones, as well as enhanced, military grade, and feature phones. NorthwestCell offers a 3G data network, carryover minutes, free incoming text messages, nationwide mobile to mobile and nights & weekends starting at 7pm. It has been serving customers in Northwest Missouri for over 20 years.

About MACH

MACH is the leading provider of cloud-based, managed communications services for monetizing mobile data, simplifying interoperability between networks, optimizing wholesale processes and protecting revenues. It is fast becoming the provider of choice for real-time, value added services that are essential for communications service providers around the globe to enhance customer experience, optimize wholesale processes and monetize their businesses in 3G and 4G mobile ecosystems. With its long heritage in data and financial clearing, settlement and hub based connectivity models, it provides its 650 operator customers with state-of-the-art tools needed to align business processes. Headquartered in Luxembourg, MACH has offices in 12 countries. Its customers include Orange, Telefonica, T-Mobile, Telus, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft, as well as enterprise messaging customers like KLM. For more information, visit www.mach.com, follow MACHconnects on Twitter or read The MACH Blog.

¹ Winner of the 2011 Global Telecoms Business Innovation Award for first pre-paid inter-standard roaming data trial.