Telarix to Offer Billing and Settlement Solution

    FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Futurecom -- Telarix, Inc.,
 formerly known as Emerging Technologies Group, today announced the launch of a
 new interconnect billing solution for global telecommunications carriers.  The
 new billing module in iXTools goes beyond invoicing to deliver real-time
 operational intelligence about interconnect costs, margins, and destinations,
 enabling telecommunications companies to increase revenue and improve profit
 margins.  The solution is currently in production at Embratel, a Brazilian
 telecommunications carrier, and will be generally available in December 2003.
     Unlike manual processes and standalone interconnect billing products,
 iXTools provides business intelligence and analysis on key decision making
 criteria such as revenue, cost, routes and rate offers.  Using iXTools,
 carriers can improve the speed in which they respond to customers; process and
 adopt optimal rate offers; analyze and resolve billing disputes; and improve
 the quality and accuracy of their invoicing -- ultimately making them more
 competitive and cost efficient."
     Telarix is transforming interconnect cost control and billing into a
 vehicle for increased efficiency and profitability," said Carlos Eduardo
 Vieira, Telco-Finance director of Embratel.  "As Embratel has taken a
 proactive approach to effectively manage interconnection, control costs and
 drive increased value from our interconnect business, partnering with Telarix
 was a natural fit.  We are extremely impressed with the successful
 implementation of the first phase of this project and are confident that we
 will see increased returns with the new billing module."
     "There are only a few companies building software solutions to optimize
 interconnect business processes," said David Hawley, Yankee Group Telecom
 Software Strategies analyst.  "Telarix's focus on the delivery of real-time
 decision intelligence positions them well to deliver these solutions to global
 telecommunications carriers into the future."
     The billing solution is an addition to the iXTools product suite -- a
 collection of powerful software solutions which gives telecommunications
 companies the ability to manage costs and drive profitability on their
 interconnect traffic.  Interconnect optimization is a core means by which
 telecommunications companies can control their cost, increase their revenue
 and improve margins.  The ability to gain efficiencies in this area is
 significant because interconnect costs can account for more that 50 percent of
 total revenues.
     "The increasing complexity of interconnect billing has resulted in lost
 revenue and can result in negative margins," said Hormoz Hekmat, executive
 vice president at Telarix.  "With the addition of billing to iXTools, carriers
 now have a high-value decision making tool that leverages intelligence from
 the interconnect process to realize bottom-line results.  Embratel has made
 great strides towards achieving optimal returns and has been an exceptional
 client and partner in the deployment of this product."
 
     About Telarix
     Telarix, Inc. delivers the leading Interconnect Business Optimization
 (IBO) software solution, which gives telecommunications companies the ability
 to easily manage costs and drive profitability on their interconnect traffic.
 Telarix's innovative platform, iXTools, maximizes carrier profitability by
 leveraging operational intelligence to enable real-time business decisions.
 The company's web-based tools analyze and report on traffic, rates, and
 destinations almost as quickly as the calls move across the global network.
 The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Vienna, VA.  Please
 visit www.telarix.com for more information.
 
     About Embratel
     Embratel is the premium telecommunications provider in Brazil and offers
 an ample variety of telecom services -- local and long distance telephony,
 advanced voice, high-speed data transmission, Internet, satellite data
 communications, and corporate networks.  The company is a leader in the
 country for data services and Internet, and is highly qualified to be an all-
 distance network carrier in Latin America.  Embratel's network spreads
 countrywide, with almost 29 thousand kms of optic cables, which represents
 about one million and sixty-nine thousand km of fiber optics.
 
     CONTACT:  Lisa Throckmorton of SheaHedges Group, +1-703-287-7803,
 lthrockmorton@sheahedges.com, for Telarix, Inc.; or Lyn Chamness of Telarix,
 Inc., +1-703-564-9622, lchamness@telarix.com; or Helena Duncan of Embratel
 Participacoes S.A., Public Relations, (55 21) 2121-3653,
 hduncan@embratel.com.br
 
 

SOURCE  Telarix, Inc.