Ucell Monetizes 5G with Nexign Converged Charging
Nexign and Ucell, the largest communications service provider (CSP) in Uzbekistan, have successfully tested Nexign Converged Charging solution in 5G Standalone (SA) networks. Ucell was one of the first CSPs in the country to deploy 5G SA technology. Nexign Converged Charging System (CCS) will provide real-time charging and balance management across 4G and 5G networks. It interoperates with solutions from Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE in a multivendor 5G core network environment. Nexign's CCS also seamlessly integrates with Nexign BSS, the full-stack digital BSS platform that Ucell uses to serve more than 8 million subscribers.
One of the tested cases was online charging for fixed wireless access (FWA) services. Uzbekistan is a promising market for developing FWA technology, as more than half of the population lives in rural and hard-to-reach areas where the deployment of fiber-based broadband access is not cost-effective. During the pilot, Nexign and Ucell implemented registration and session launch for FWA subscribers using customer premises equipment (CPE) from different vendors. The smooth 4G/5G switchover charging scenarios were successfully tested as well.
The new 5G SA infrastructure will allow Ucell to offer flexible pricing models to its B2B and B2C customers, with a slice-based control of QoS parameters and advanced SLAs. The new scenarios will guarantee users a high-speed experience and ultra-low latency.
Uzbekistan is one of the fastest-growing telecom markets in Central Asia, and Ucell is one of Nexign's most innovative customers here. We believe our solutions will help Ucell realize the potential of 5G SA networks among the first in the country. CSPs could explore innovative business scenarios and extend market reach across industry verticals and diverse customer types. Using Nexign Converged Charging, Ucell can now personalize mobile plans for B2C and B2B customers with different connectivity requirements, as well as monetize bundles of telecom and partner services.