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Algeria's leading GSM cellphone player OTA has signed a multi-million dollar billing software agreement with the South African company Intec. While Algeria's and Africa's GSM market is booming, South African companies take an increasing share of the software market connected to this growth.

The deal between Orascom Telecom Algeria (OTA) and Intec is valued at over US$ 2 million, according to a press release by the South African telecom software provider. Intec is to supply OTA with its billing and convergent mediation solutions to enable the Algerian GSM operator "to effectively manage intercarrier billing and settlement."

The deal is the third large contract Intec has announced in Africa this year, demonstrating the continent's growing demand for Operations Support Systems (OSS) solutions as well as Intec's growing role in this large telecoms market.

Intec' billing system is to "offer OTA the capability to handle the growing volume of network traffic generated by new mobile and fixed line intercarrier partnerships," according to the company. Meanwhile, the convergent mediation solution is to support the billing system by "delivering a platform that can collect and process usage information from OTA's entire network."

This is to be performed by "gathering raw data from switches, routers and servers and transforming it into detailed, accurate billing information," Intec explains the basics behind the technology solution.

The implementation these systems at OTA highlights a growing trend among operators in developing markets: "Intec is benefiting from a strong OSS replacement market," adds Christian Ciupek. "Time and again Intec is being selected by leading operators to upgrade their legacy billing systems with our cutting edge technology."

OTA is poised to capture an even greater subscriber base in Algeria as the country has entered a period of economic growth. Since launching its services in 2002, OTA has become the leading GSM operator in the country with over 1.7 million subscribers. This represents over 88 percent of Algeria's entire mobile market.

With a population of over 30 million people, however, there is tremendous potential for business growth as Algeria prepares for a mobile boom. According to the latest figures published by Algeria's Information and Communication Technologies Ministry, the number of wireless phone users in Algeria will soar to 8 million by 2005 with OTA hoping to secure the majority of these new subscribers.

- Our contract win in Algeria is significant for a number of reasons, explains Peter Deane, Director of EMEA and Intec. "It positions Intec as one of the key OSS players in Africa, a continent which boasts many of the world's most underdeveloped telecoms markets. Secondly, by winning a deal with Orascom Telecom group, one of the region's most influential communications players, Intec could secure further business opportunities in other countries where the company operates."

Orascom Telecom Algeria (OTA) was founded in 2002 by the Orascom Telecoms Group, a major private conglomerate in Egypt. Operating under the brand name Djezzy, OTA is a major contributor to Orascom's scale, growth and mobile telecommunications leadership in the region.

Intec, on the other hand, has become a market leader in intercarrier billing systems since the company was founded in 1997. While the South African company has a high presence in Africa's booming cellphone market - including Egyptian and South African operators- it also counts on a large number of costumers worldwide.