CBAN members pioneer collaborative innovation via blockchain

Communications Business Automation Network Limited (_CBAN), an organisation set up by leading global ICT Service Providers to accelerate and oversee the adoption of automated settlement in the communications industry, announced today that it is launching the Data on Demand Blockchain for Connectivity commercial settlements.

Today ICT provider processes are formed from multiple legacy systems designed one at a time. Multiple partners in a transaction keep their own separate records using their own proprietary data model. Resources are wasted on both sides to update and reconcile each other's records and there is no unified data model or process that can tie operations and commerce together. This results in increased manual effort across all parties, data quality challenges, and payment disputes that lead to cash flow delays, and supplier and customer relationship stress.

In this context, blockchain emerged at an increasing pace in the financial sector across banking, insurance and trade finance, as partners working together can use the technology to create a shared, distributed ledger which has a confidential merged record of company transactions. For the ICT sector, not only will this improve efficiency, quality and speed of internal processes, it will also strengthen its global ecosystem and help to build the partner’s working relationships and supply chain management.

Colt Technology Services, Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier, PCCW Global and Vodafone are pioneering a collaborative innovation using a blockchain solution that will play a key role in the ICT transformation, to establish a fully digitalised quote-to-cash service delivery process. We will drive standardisation across the network in collaboration with _CBAN and in close relation to GSMA, MEF, ETSI and other SDOs. This includes leveraging ClearX’s blockchain solution to ensure real-time service between the partners’ inventories which allows timely and precise settlement.

ICT providers will continue to explore emerging technologies to establish new opportunities for their products and services and to continue to improve their customers’ experience. This decentralised approach will also help to cloudify the ICT market, which will make on-demand services easier for customers.

Gary Carr, Chief Financial Officer of Colt and member of the board of _CBAN said: “Digitalisation is revolutionising the way we interact with our customers and providers. Blockchain allows us to simplify the relationship between carriers and focus our efforts on delivering the best experience for end users. _CBAN is driving the standardisation of blockchain across the industry and this latest innovation delivers financial, operational and customer experience improvements from day one.”

Bertold Frech, VP Business Steering & Marketing of Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier and member of the board of _CBAN, said: “Digitalization of carrier services is key for improved customer experience and efficient processes in the telco industry. Blockchain-enabled settlement is a pivotal element in the end-to-end digitalization journey. _CBAN activities enable the creation of common standards in the important settlement domain and create a Proof of Concept for the industry.”

Marc Halbfinger, CEO of PCCW Global and member of the board of _CBAN said: “We are delighted to collaborate with other _CBAN members to pioneer the use of blockchain technology for the automated settlement of network services. This technology innovation is crucial for delivering end-to-end automation, which is fundamentally transforming the telecoms industry by reimagining how our customers provision and pay for services.”

Diego Massidda, CEO of Vodafone Carrier & Partner Services, said: “We are excited to be working with our _CBAN partners and leading blockchain technology provider ClearX, to create a shared, distributed ledger model. The solution allows businesses to establish greater data integrity, improving quality and ultimately efficiency for customers. It paves the way towards a fully digitised quote to cash journey, making service delivery automation an attainable goal, which is very much needed in an ever more dynamic business environment; where our customers demand greater flexibility and agility from their communications providers. The success of this innovation will also provide a boost for new business partnerships to support new services needed for technologies such as 5G, Edge Computing and the Internet of Things ecosystems.”

Eran Haggiag, Co-founder & CEO of ClearX said: “We are excited to bring our state-of-the-art blockchain based platform to elevate the data market together with the innovative CBAN members. This enables carriers to access a new environment that will allow transacting automatically and serving customers better and much faster than before. Excited to see how far we can go when working together.”