Blockchain technology focused firm Clear and well-known telecom technology provider Tomia has entered into a partnership to offer a roaming administration, harmonization and settlement platform.
Between Clear and Tomia exists overlap of clientele and that has possibly led to the partnership.
At the beginning of 2020, Clear successfully completed Series A offering for $13 million, with the backing of Telefónica and Deutsche Telekom, in addition to HKT and Singtel.
The company also conducted numerous trials with support from Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Vodafone.
In the meantime, Tomia was developed in 2019 by combining Starhome Mach and Telari and takes pride of having AT&T, Telefonica, 02, Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Orange, SoftBank, and Vodafone as clients.
To understand the solution, there is a need to have an in-depth knowledge of what happens when a roaming call is made. The time in minutes spent by a customer on a roaming network is documented by Telecom companies.
The data is then reconciled with their roaming associates before making or receiving payments. Blockchain can likely simplify the procedures and smart contracts can speed up and mechanize the settlement between telecom firms.
However, in addition to management of roaming, supply chain of telecom firms includes app developers, cloud, banks, on-line stores and many more. The arrival of 5G will increase the complexity of telecom supply chain.
Tomia already owns deal administration and settlement apps, which is now being made compatible with multiple blockchain platforms that are built by several parties. As of date, the dearth of compatibility has impeded the reconciliation and settlement procedures.
Eran Haggiag, Co-Founder and CEO of Chairman of Clear “Our partnership gives expression to our commitment to working side by side and sharing expertise and insights in order to cultivate new solutions that will automate the entire wholesale roaming settlement process, right the way through, from agreement management to settlement stage.”
It was one of the foremost real-life use scenarios studied by CBAN, the Communications Business Automation Network. Ensuring interoperability of distributed ledger technology (DLT) is one major intention of CBAN.
Marco Limena, CEO of TOMIA, explained the benefits of the platform in terms of cost reductions and capabilities:
“Automated settlement solutions that drive partner collaboration and dispute automation processes are something the telecommunications industry has wanted for some time. System upgrades like these are increasingly important at a time when the industry is undergoing significant change, and telecoms providers seek to drive connectivity through new innovative technologies like 5G.”
