OpenSmartflex™ provides an array of rules-based tools to promote successful customer care:

• Multi-level service plans to target a variety of market segments, such as consumers, small business, and corporate customers.

• Convergence transparent to the customer by associating multiple contracts with a single customer, and multiple products with a single contract.

• A single view of the customer account information for customer care personnel, including active products, withdrawn products, suspended products, contracts and portfolio information, as well as billing, payments, and pending procedures.

•  Convergent account statements via the web.

• The user can design product and service sales plans according to the purchasing capacity of each market segment. This feature can optimize customer acquisition by targeting overlooked submarkets and uncovering unmet demand.

• Differential performance targets for requests and damage reports according to commitments based on customer type (government, business and residential, for example).

• Application of special rates and discounts, as well as tax-exempt policies, by customer.

• Definition of service suspension policies according to type of customer, and management of exceptions for special customers.

• Definition of uncollectible recovery programs for a single customer or group of customers.

• Assignment of payment deadlines for overdue accounts.

• Management of unique procedures to satisfy customer needs: service requests, complaints, billing claims, damage reports, authorizations for partial payment of account statements, and printing of duplicates.

• OpenSmartflex™ permits the user to define flexible sales plans and financing plans for installment payments for new services or existing customer debt.

• Increased market share.

• Higher uncollectible recovery levels obtained through partial debt payments and different customer financing plans.

• Timely identification of uncollectible revenues, coupled with realistic payment plans for customers to reduce debt, reducing losses and maintaining consistent revenue flows.

OpenSmartflex™ Rating and Discounting permits the user to define and implement business rules instantly for price plans and discounts that meet rapidly changing market opportunities.

Rating

• OpenSmartflex™ makes it possible to calculate consumption or usage of multiple services by defining the business rules for each of them.

• Multiple criteria define the applicable rates: customer, event duration, call origin and destination for telephony services, bandwidth contracted by customer for data transmission services, time of the year, special dates and time of day, and other user-defined criteria.

• The user can rapidly launch rate plans, discounts and promotions, crossed discounts, package plans, special plans, one-time rates and permanent rates, all using business rules.

• In accordance with pricing strategies, the user can define and edit the formulas and conditions that calculate consumption and usage.

• OpenSmartflex™ facilitates the implementation of a variety of pricing plans, such as corporate plans, unit-based pricing plans, plans that offer special rates to most-frequently-called numbers, and plans offering discounts according to volume.

Billing

• OpenSmartflex™ includes a multi-level billing structure that records the active contracts for each customer, the services included in each contract, measurement devices for each service, and the appropriate unit of measure.

• The user can define a unique billing process for each type of service.

• The system performs its calculation and settlement of customer consumption or usage by applying the rules appropriate to the account against measurement device readings.

• Billing rates and billing plans define the calculated invoice amounts.

• Invoices can include the billing of services calculated by the system itself and billing of services provided by third parties with which the company has agreements in place.

• The system can include recurring and non-recurring charges, discounts, promotions, taxes and interest calculations for late payments.

• Payments are computed according to the type of consumption or usage against the appropriate measurement device, such as consumption of active, reactive and demand energy for power services; Internet usage for added value services; and minutes of use for telephony services, and more.

• Reduced implementation and operating costs to calculate and bill for multiple services in a single platform.

• Increased cash flow and higher profits following the timely introduction of price and discount plans that create incentives for increased customer usage.

• Customer retention and maximization of network use according to price plans, discounts and attractive offers to targeted customer segments.

• Rapid and flexible compliance to regulatory changes through the ability to define any type of tax or charge that may be required.

• OpenSmartflex™ supports a convergent collections process with a multi-level structure.

• The system can accept complete and partial payments using numerous means of payment.

• The system can generate different account statements for services grouped in the same contract.

• The solution includes the management of agreements made with collection entities:

  - Detailed record of payments collected by the entity
  - Payment coupons sent
  - Payments / deposits made

• The collection component includes the definition and calculation of commissions for payment / collection entities.

• The flexible file format definition enables the service provider to apply automatic debits to customer accounts and update balances and payments made.

• The system can monitor payments reported to the service provider by collection entities and detect surpluses or shortfalls.

• Users can perform service suspension, re-connection, withdrawal and re-installation policies for each type of service offered by the company.

• User-defined rules can generate suspension orders due to non-payment and reconnection orders based on payment of past due accounts.

• A single account statement can group the charges originated in different contracts.

• A subscriber may cancel the pending accounts of another subscriber and maintain their detailed balances separately.

• Reduction of uncollectible revenues and increased cash flow.

• Revenue flow integration, synchronizing billing, accounts receivable and collections processes.

• Agreements can include special rates and discounts for each operator.

• Settlement terms are defined according to each settlement plan.

•The system defines flexible, rules-based criteria used to negotiate with other operators:

  - Nature of the traffic (incoming, outgoing)
  - Routes used
  - Services
  - Power stations
  - Settlement formulas.

• The system produces an individualized settlement account for each partner.

   - Amount
   - Duration
   - Average, minimum and maximum monetary amounts

• Typical consumption patterns are grouped according to customer profiles.

• The system generates alarms for early detection of possible fraud when a customer's consumption exceeds ranges defined in the customer's profile.

• Less congestion in service centers due to customer complaints over amounts billed.

• Increased customer satisfaction thanks to error-free account statements.

• Open@web creates a historical record of customer care activities for analysis and follow-up. The customer can conduct business at a convenient time without traveling or waiting on hold for telephone service. Most customer transactions are possible online:

  - Service Requests
  - Complaints and Trouble Reporting
  - Online Information on Billing and Pending Procedures

• OpenSmartflex™ supports the definition, management and control of work activities to complete a process.

• The user-friendly interface makes the workflow data accessible to managers and non-technical personnel.

• The system presents a graphical view of business processes performed in real time, with activity flow detail, parallel and sequential tasks or lateral work flows.

• Critical activity detection and notification of time taken to perform each activity.

• Reduced operating costs through automation of administrative tasks.

• Increased productivity resulting from the uniform execution of processes and activities in the entire company.

• Reduced operating costs due to greater control of business process progress, supported by graphical monitoring of workflow execution.

• The system can assign work automatically, based on the tasks performed by each work group, skills required, schedule, availability of resources, and work location.

• The schedule can vary according to time of day and allowable dates, with the option of managing exceptions when required.

• Users can define activities and assign them automatically to groups or flexibly according to company needs and policies.

• The system can automatically assign routine service activation and deactivation processes by generating orders sent directly to the network element involved.

• Improved customer service levels

• Cost efficiencies through automated application of appropriate resources, and materials, and tools.

• OpenSmartflex™ provides updated customer information on the status of all services:

  - Active Services
  - Services suspended
  - Services withdrawn

• OpenSmartflex provides a consolidated view of customer information:

  - Network elements associated with each service
  - Trouble reporting
  - Billing and payment information
  - Customer-requested service modifications

• OpenSmartflex™ keeps updated inventory information for each network element and optimizes the repair and service provisioning processes.

• Graphical visualization tools make it possible to consult and manage the following:

   - Network infrastructure
   - Elements
   - Connections
   - Availability

• Users have complete inventory control of all network elements, including management of their capacity and availability.

• Users can define physical, virtual, projected and real network elements and perform automatic network inventory updating in real time.

• The system maintains an updated inventory of the existing and planned network.

• Graphical tools facilitate network element creation and maintenance processes.

• The inventory supports the management of expansion and network modification projects.

  - Internal network planning, network design and network construction processes.

  - Agile network planning, design and management processes.

  - Operating cost reductions achieved by managing the projected and actual company network in a single platform.

  - Greater commercial efficiency through coverage of unmet demand with the introduction of new infrastructure expansion projects.

• Technology investment reduced by modeling network elements and connection rules without additional specialized information systems.

NetVisual Manager is a graphical tool that makes it possible to view the network geospatially over a geographical map.

• The tool makes it possible for the network planning and network design processes to integrate with the maintenance, network element provisioning and network inventory processes.

• The output of the component includes a series of reports depicting key business performance indicators and results according to geographical areas of interest.

• The system consolidates network information through easy visualization and integrated management of infrastructure operations from a single platform.

• Users can access the NetVisual Manager tool with advanced technology such as:

  - CAD/GIS Tools
  - Thin-client computers
  - Mobile devices such as PDAs.
  - Object-oriented design and programming

• Increased revenues and higher profitability through greater integration of the provisioning and service delivery processes.

• Increased productivity and efficiency in network planning, network design and network maintenance processes.

• Business intelligence applied to decision-making.

• Rules-based programming of repair groups, including control of materials provided and estimated resolution times, enables the automation of many tasks, and ensures consistent problem resolution in accordance with company standards.

• Process automation of the activities associated with each type of damage enables management to assign priorities and consider service problems in the broadest possible context.

• The system provides preventive maintenance scheduling for network elements and assignment of repairs for reported system failures.

  - Increased management control of activities, labor, and materials inventory from the automation of administrative processes.

  - Improved performance measurement for each technical group, including inter-group comparisons and best practices development.

• Improved customer satisfaction due to reduced repair times.

• OpenSmartflex™ automates the process of searching for and assigning network elements.

• The system can determine the availability of assignment routes or element sequences, analyze their suitability for use, and activate them as needed.

• Users can define network elements and routes for provisioning any type of service for any line of business.

• Business rules govern the analysis at each stage of the route, by applying conditions such as element capacity, color, model, brand or any other defined by the service provider.

• The definition of network elements available for service implementation includes a system guide.

• The system stores historical information of successful and failed provisioning efforts useful to management for subsequent analysis and for potential redefinition of expansion strategies.

• Targeted and profitable market development strategies drawn from historical and detailed unmet demand information.

•  Administrative process cost reductions due to the automatic provisioning of network elements and to the online updating of the inventory.

• Reduced customer response times for service installations or modifications of contracted services.

OpenSmartflex™ automates service activation, deactivation, termination, reconnection and the gathering of communications records from service platforms or network management systems.

• The rules-based architecture permits flexible configuration of commands specific to each platform.

• Automatic generation and delivery of pending orders.

• Automation and integration of the Service Mediation component with the Network Inventory Management, Network Provisioning and WorkForce Management components ensures automated network inventory updating processes once services have been activated or deactivated.

• Translation of orders into commands understood by the network element or management system to which they are directed.

• Delivery of commands to communications interfaces in charge of re-routing commands to network elements via TCP/IP or RS/232 or to the network management system.

• Increased customer satisfaction and improved revenues from reduced service maintenance and delivery cycles, a stronger corporate image and competitive advantage.

• Increased operations productivity through automated service activation and deactivation, gaining greater efficiency and economies of scale in network operations, service terminations and reconnections, billing and customer service.

OpenSmartflex™'s System Tools provide overall control to service all of the solution's components:

• The service provider can define all security policies to access or restrict access to information stored in the database.

• The service provider can define security policies to restrict the ability to execute specified sensitive functions.

• System Tools manage the interfaces between OpenSmartflex components and other systems via standard interface configurations.

• Tools enable administrative personnel to define and maintain controls for the assignment, validation and updating of security codes.

• The tools enable the service provider to define information control and storage policies through the creation of audits and historical data for tracking and analysis.

• OpenSmartflex™ rapidly detects system failures through graphical viewing tools that record in detail the processes that led to the failure, and identify the restart of performance at the termination point once the problem has been corrected.

  - Rapid interaction with third party systems, reducing integration costs and errors introduced in manual system interfaces.
  
   - Increased productivity.

  - Greater information technology productivity through built-in system contingency, recovery and control processes.

  - High level of information protection via security and auditing mechanisms that restrict access to application options and to stored information.