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USSD Portal

WINGS USSD Portal solution can be used by a content provider for fast build out and start of USSD Portals for GSM standard mobile network subscribers.

Mission:

• Full-fledged build out of USSD Portal contents: text services, media content, interactive services;
• Self-maintaining of subscribers through USSD menu: balance checking, service management and etc;
• Aggregation of USSD services: ability to connect external providers to provide content and services by means of USSD technology.

Advantages of USSD technologies over calls and SMS

• Most people accept visual information better than audio information.
• USSD works practically on all GSM standard telephones regardless the manufacturer and date of issue;
• User-friendly: it is easier to send USSD message than to write and send SMS;
• More interactivity as compared to SMS:
  • a subscriber immediately sees the answer on his phone screen;
  • an organization of easy dialogues for the subscriber (communication sessions);
• A possibility for portal structure building (that is practically impossible for SMS);
• USSD portal structure is easily remembered by subscribers;
• Various billing methods: per-click billing, rating for menu and submenu entering, rating for choosing a specific service, rated MT SMS;
• Free-of-charge in roaming.

Examples of provided services:

• Information and entertaining services by request or subscription (news, horoscopes, stock quotes, weather forecast, anecdotes, greetings and etc.). A mobile subscriber can subscribe for the service using USSD and receive content trough SMS. In this case text content is loaded into the system as scheduled with the aid of integrated RSS loader. A user need only to point the source and set a schedule through WEB interface;
• Multimedia content catalogue (melodies, ringtones, pictures, themes, videos, games, applications and etc.). The content is chosen and ordered via USSD, the link for content loading is delivered to the subscriber's phone through SMS. It is possible to use the content which already exists in WINGS system and which is distributed via SMS, IVR and other channels. Also the system can work with the content kept in an external system.
• RBT catalogue. A subscriber can choose and set RBT via USSD menu. In order to provide this service the system integrates the operator's RBT platform.
• Interactive information and entertaining services referring to external sources (flight timetables, utility payments, name coincidence and etc.). For example, a subscriber enters a flight number via USSD menu and sends the request; the system applies to the WEB site of the airport, finds the arrival time and sends this information to the subscriber as a USSD or SMS reply.
• Quizzes -the system successively sends questions with possible answers to the subscriber who enters and sends the chosen answer number via USSD. Any time the subscriber can check the amount of earned scores and know his rank and etc. It is possible to top up an account automatically;
• Voting via USSD is an easy alternative to the popular SMS voting. Instead of sending SMS messages to a short number a subscriber can execute a simple USSD command, for example, *123*1# in order to vote for participant ¹1 or *123*2# to vote for participant ¹2.
• Prize drawings, micropayments and etc.

Several operator oriented services:

• Balance checking, notifications to top-up the balance;
• Top-up with pre-pay cards;
• Fund transfer to another subscriber's account;
• USSD banking;
• Service management, activation/deactivation of services;
• Mobile plan information, plan changing;
• "Call me back" and "Top up my account" services;
• Receiving information on new services, offers, and operator's news;
• Adding of favorite numbers;
• Sending out personalized promotional MMS.

Aggregation

USSD Portal enables to act as a USSD traffic aggregator, i.e. to allocate parts of USSD Portal to external partners and send traffic from the subscriber to the partner and back. There are two ways of working with partners:

In the first case the provided services are located in external partner systems. On the subscriber's request to use some service, the platform applies to the partner's system and provides the result to the subscriber (next menu option, content, information, switching to external service and etc.). For the integration with partners the following interfaces are accessible HTTP(s), SOAP, SMPP, SMTP, DB interfaces (direct interaction with database).

In the second case a partner may not have his own system. The partner has a restricted access to the system where he builds independently his own USSD menu branch, adjusts services and adds content.

Solution Advantages:

• High productivity and reliability of the solution;
• Flexible architecture enables to add quickly and smoothly new functionality;
• Solution is constantly developing along with clients' demands;
• User-friendly: USSD menu building is carried out through intuitive user web-interface;
• Flexible integration capabilities with different content sources: RSS, HTTP(S), SOAP, DB;
• Easy and informative statistics, complete list of reports, analytics.