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Alcatel-Lucent
8611 Usage Control
Empowering parents to manage their
children’s mobile services
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Protect children, reassure
parents and grow your business
Today, many parents and guardians want to give
their children a mobile phone for safety and security.
But concerns about how these phones are used
can prevent them from taking this step. With the
Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control application,
service providers can empower parents and guardians
to define, manage and enforce policies for how
their children access mobile voice and data services.
By addressing the conflicting concerns of parents
and guardians with this reassuring capability, service
providers can improve customer loyalty to reduce
churn and increase their number of youth subscribers
for growth in mature markets. They can also increase
their contribution to social responsibility by enabling
family safety in real time.
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Focus on the family to tap a new market
The nature of mobile subscribers is continually changing.
They are more sophisticated, more demanding and now,
much younger. In both emerging and mature markets,
this younger “tween” and teen market has become an
increasingly important source of mobile subscriber growth.
For service providers already facing competitive pressures,
this new market presents both challenge and opportunity.
While the number of potential new subscribers is very
high, parents and guardians typically don’t want their
children to have unlimited access to mobile services. They
are concerned about misuse and access to inappropriate
content. To win younger subscribers, service providers
must focus on the needs of the family as a whole. That
means meeting the needs of parents and guardians first.
After all, they are the ones paying for the service.
Improve customer loyalty to reduce churn
By offering usage control capabilities from Alcatel-Lucent,
service providers can build a trusted relationship with
parents and guardians. They will be less likely to turn to
another provider and they will want their children to use
services from the same provider.
Service providers can also improve loyalty by helping
parents and guardians stick to their budget. For example,
parents and guardians can set spending limits to ensure
children don’t chat away the family’s shared minutes or
bloat the family’s wireless bill with text messaging charges.
Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control works with virtually
any mobile phone so parents aren’t strapped with
additional device costs to benefit from the service.
Capture the growing youth market – through
their parents
There is no doubt that mobile services are in high demand
by both teens and tweens. With Alcatel-Lucent 8611
Usage Control, service providers can capture this new
market and open new channels for revenue growth by
appealing to the needs of parents. Expanding the number
of subscribers within a family increases the service provider’s
subscriber base. More subscribers mean more traffic and
more service revenue. By extending the functionality and
flexibility of basic plans with usage control capabilities,
service providers are better positioned to attract
entire families.
THE U.S. YOUTH MOBILE PHONE MARKET BY THE NUMBERS
• 49% of respondents indicate their children have mobile phones
• 23% of respondents’ children under ve years of age have a mobile phone
• 46% of parents would pay for the ability to limit voice minutes and text messaging
• 46% of parents would pay for the ability to block certain web content
• 85% of postpaid teens are on a family plan
• 53% of respondents have added their tweens from 8 to 12 years of age to the family plan
Sources : Yanke e Group, Any whe re C onsumer: 20 08 US Pe net rati on and Us age Sur vey, July 20 08; Yankee Grou p, Chasi ng Tail End s
of th e Age Spe ct rum i n Pursuit of New W ire les s Su bsc ribers , Augus t 20 08
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THE EUROPEAN YOUTH MOBILE PHONE MARKET BY THE NUMBERS
• 50% of 10-year-olds have a mobile phone
• 87% of 13 year-olds have a mobile phone
• 51% of European parents worry that mobile phone use might expose their children to explicit images
• 49% of parents worry that mobile phone use might expose their children to bullying
Source: E U Calls o n Mobile Ope rato rs t o Con tinu e to Improve C hild Saf ety Policie s, h ttp :// ww w.cellul arnews .com , Ap ril 2 0, 2 009
Differentiate with flexible, open usage control
With Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control, service providers can differentiate their offering with a
customizable service that allows parents and guardians to set personalized usage and spending limits
for their children’s mobile services. They can also provide an enriched and reassuring experience that
will help them attract and retain customers.
As shown in Figure 1, Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control includes key features for both service
providers and subscribers.
Figure 1. Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control includes key features for service providers and subscribers
Content
control
Usage limit
per service
type
control
Set usage limits per service
and change or suspend
thresholds at any time
Time
restrictions
Allowed and
blocked
numbers
Cost
Set spending limits per service
and change or suspend
thresholds at any time
Manage a weekly calendar
and define periods of time
(such as school hours) with
limited mobile phone use
Control destination of calls
and messages through a list
of allowed and blocked
numbers per user
Provide password-protected
access and management
any time and in real time
Deploy in any network:
GSM, CDMA, GPRS,
UMTS, IMS, WiMAX
Support all subscribers:
• Prepaid
• Postpaid
Send notifications using
SMS, e-mail or voice
Network-
agnostic
Controlled
entity profile
Notification
capabilities
User-friendly
web interface
Alcatel-Lucent
8611 Usage Control
Allow or disallow web browsing
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MOBILE PHONE BECOMING THE FIRST SCREEN FOR YOUTH GLOBALLY
According to newly published research from Y-pulse, youth around the world are bypassing the PC and heading
straight for the mobile phone as their rst screen for entertainment, communications and news. Globally, total
mobile consumption time is growing so rapidly, it is outpacing both TV and Internet time. For today’s youth,
a mobile phone is a part of their identity. In fact, 68% say their mobile device is their most essential personal
device, followed by their PC at 40%.
Source: T he P owerfu l Teen Market, Meg an Mi ller, Februar y 1, 2009 , ht tp: //w ww.bon nie r.com /en /con ten t/powe rf ul-teen -m arke t
Make it easy with web-based self-management
With intuitive, web-based self-management capabilities,
parents and guardians can easily and securely update each
child’s profile at any time and in real time. For example,
they can adapt restrictions to match changing behavior
patterns or to reflect a new maturity milestone. To ensure
limits stay in tune with the dynamic social lives of their
children, they can change allowed and blocked calling
lists on-the-fly for specific situations and specific people.
Figure 2 illustrates the customizable self-management
user interface provided with the application. Service
providers can also use the product’s application programming interface (API) to develop their own user interface.
Include usage control in any offering, any
network configuration
Service providers can offer Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage
Control as a standalone service or as part of a service
bundle. They can also deploy it in any network
configuration — pre-integrated with the Alcatel-Lucent
8610 Instant Convergent Charging Suite, with another
vendor’s payment platform or as a standalone application.
This flexibility makes Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage
Control ideal for service providers in both emerging
and mature markets and for service providers with
either an Alcatel-Lucent or a non-Alcatel-Lucent
payment platform.
Figure 2. Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control includes an intuitive
self-management web interface for parents
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Usage control in action: One family’s story
Like many parents, John and Marie
wanted their 12-year-old son, Sam,
and 10-year-old daughter, Sophie, to
have a mobile phone for safety and
security. But they imagined out-ofcontrol monthly bills, non-stop text
messaging and calls to other overlychatty kids. They went to their service provider’s web site and learned
about new usage control capabilities
made possible by Alcatel-Lucent.
Once John and Marie saw how easy
and cost effective it is to limit their
children’s use of mobile voice and
data services, they went ahead and
subscribed to the service. Here’s a
look at the separate profiles they
have set up for Sam and Sophie.
Figure 3. John and Marie set up customized usage control profiles for each of their children
Parents: John and Marie
Sophie: Controlled prepaid plan Sam: Controlled postpaid plan
GSM, CDMA, GPRS, UMTS, IMS, WiMAX
Elena: In Sophie’s blocked list
Sophie has a prepaid service that
includes 200 anytime minutes, 1000
night and weekend minutes and 1000
text messages. She can send pictures
and video clips with her messages,
download ringtones and send instant
messages. Payment is monthly and
her minutes roll over. Because her
parents set limits through their new
usage control service, Sophie is not
allowed to talk on the phone or send
messages during school hours. To
ensure she doesn’t chat away all her
minutes and can concentrate on her
homework, Sophie is also not allowed
to use her mobile phone to talk to her
best friend, Elena, during the week.
However, Sophie can always reach
Aram: In Sam’s allowed list
her parents, whose numbers are in the
allowed list, and emergency numbers
that are never blocked.
Sam is also not allowed to use his
mobile phone during school hours
but he is allowed talk to his best
friend, Aram, after school. Because
Sam is older, he has a postpaid
plan with more minutes and more
capabilities. He can access the
Internet for weather, headlines and
sports scores, he can download
ringtones, games, graphics and
music, and he can watch streaming
video clips. To ensure Sam does not
stay up all night surfing the Internet,
his parents have blocked his Internet
access after 9:00 p.m. every night.
With Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage
Control, John and Marie enjoy
peace-of-mind knowing Sam and
Sophie can always reach them but
are protected from inappropriate
content and overuse of mobile
services. As the kids get older, John
and Marie will use their service
provider’s intuitive web interface to
reduce restrictions and add capabilities.
Sam and Sophie love being able to
connect with their friends, chat and
share content no matter where they
are — outside school hours of course.
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DEMAND FOR MOBILE SERVICES FOR YOUTH IS HIGH
Wireless is a growing interactive platform and screen for both kids and families. Tweens today are spending
close to four hours each week using mobile web services, and that penetration increases to over 20% for
mobile teens at age 13. Penetration is even stronger with parents. With these new WAP sites, we can provide
relevant content to all of our audiences whenever they want and wherever they are.
Source: N icke lod eon /M TV N Kids an d Fam ily G rou p to L aun ch Three New Mobile We bsi tes , Ma rch 2 0, 2 00 8, h ttp:// ww w.redor bit .com
Alcatel-Lucent: A proven partner with deep experience
With Alcatel-Lucent, service providers
gain a partner with extensive experience
delivering the solutions that will allow
them to differentiate and personalize
their service offerings to attract and
retain subscribers — whether they are
in an emerging market or one that is
near saturation.
The Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control
application provides the policy
enforcement functionality within the
Alcatel-Lucent Convergent Payment
solution. The Alcatel-Lucent
Convergent Payment solution is an
industry-leading, highly configurable
solution that is deployed at more
than 215 service providers, supporting
more than 450 million subscribers
worldwide.
Service providers can add Alcatel-Lucent
8611 Usage Control capabilities to
existing prepaid or postpaid subscription plans. They can integrate the
application with their Alcatel-Lucent
payment platform, another vendor’s
payment platform or deploy it as a
standalone application. They can
also offer their customers an intuitive
web self-management platform.
With Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage
Control, service providers gain the
flexibility they need to offer a usage
control service no matter how their
service offering is structured or how
their existing systems are configured.
Alcatel-Lucent 8611 Usage Control
helps service providers:
•Increasethefunctionalityand
flexibility of basic plans by adding
an appealing usage control service
•Increasecustomersatisfactionwith
a reassuring and easy-to-manage
service for parents
•Increasethenumberofmobile
subscribers in a family
•Capturethefast-growingteen
and tween market
•Reducechurnbyofferinga
sticky service
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