Phone Plus Prepaid: Adds, Moves& Changes

Posted: 12/2002

Adds, Moves& Changes

* Boston Communications Group
Inc. (bcgi), a transaction-processing solutions provider for real-time
wireless subscriber management and payment services, will acquire the assets of Infotech
Solutions Corp., a privately held provider of wireless services billing
software, for cash, plus certain additional payments, contingent on the
achievement of specified revenue targets over a three-year period. The boards of
directors of both companies have approved the acquisition, which is expected to
occur during the fourth quarter of 2002, subject to various closing conditions.

bcgi will use Infotech Solutions’
technology to create a suite of solutions for wireless carriers that handles all
aspects of postpaid, prepaid and hybrid subscriber management. Functionalities
will include point-of-sale capabilities, inventory management, real-time
transaction processing for voice, data and m-commerce, proactive voice
messaging, Web-based customer care and payment processing.

* 9278 Communications Inc.
has completed its acquisition of Camcom LLC, a distributor of prepaid phone
cards in the state of Virginia. Over the course of the last year, 9278 has
expanded into the global arena with branch offices in Canada and the United
Kingdom. Domestically, there are new 9278 branch offices in Orange County,
Calif.; Dearborn, Mich.; Patterson, N.J.; and Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

* U.K.-based Opensoft Ltd.
launched its U.S. operations in September, bringing distributors another option
for prepaid traffic. The company will offer products that involve local access
origination from Western Europe back to the United States. "Opensoft has a
PoP [point of presence] in New York and can offer some of the best transatlantic
rates for toll free, local call rate and premium calls out of Europe to the
U.S.A.," says Michael Hassan, marketing manager for Opensoft’s U.S. launch.

* GTS Prepaid Inc. opened a
new distribution center, expanding the company’s physical space by 50 percent.
The new facility, adjacent to the current GTS headquarters, triples the
company’s current warehouse space and includes room for an expanded
point-of-sale activation (PoSA) department. The facility will house the
company’s entire warehouse, and allow for the continued growth.

* Telstar International Inc.
has signed a long-term lease for 23,000 square feet of office space in White
Plains, N.Y., where the company has been operating since its formation in 1995.
Telstar has begun construction at White Plains Plaza to expand its network
operations center (NOC). Telstar employs 65 people at its facility and is
actively looking to fill a number of additional technical, marketing, sales and
administrative positions.

* Puerto Rico International
Communications, a purveyor of prepaid phone cards and prepaid wireless
through more than 1,000 retail locations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands, has signed on to be a Q Comm International Inc. service bureau.
It will purchase Q Comm’s Qxpress point-of-sale terminals and license the Q Data
Center technology for an ongoing transaction fee.

* iNexcom appointed Larry
Messinger as director of enhanced services. Previously, Messinger held several
sales management positions in the prepaid industry, most recently as president
of Nuetel Telecom Inc., director of carrier services at PhoneRite International
Telecom & Trispan and president of PhoneRite Communications. In his new
position, he will manage iNexcom’s enhanced services, including switching
technologies, international terminations and bundled product offerings.