Experts in blockchain, telecommunications and digital bandwidth have collaborated to demonstrate that settlement times between telecom carriers can be reduced dramatically through blockchain technology, saving hundreds of man hours per month and highlighting an important use case in this sector.
Blockchain start-up, Clear collaborated with Network provider, Colt Technology Services and PCCW Global, the international operating division of Hong Kong Telecom (HKT). According to a press release, on Wednesday, the Proof of Concept (PoC) undertaken by these companies demonstrated that inter-carrier settlement times can be reduced from hours to minutes using the blockchain. The PoC was specifically focused on the settlement area of wholesale voice minutes, as the majority of telecom operators have similar processes for these transactions.
Despite the financial importance of settlements to wholesale carriers, they still involve manual transactions which are costly for all parties, the release stated. The trial, utilizing decentralised, cryptographically enforced, immutable ledger technology resulted in tens of thousands of call records being analysed and settled within a few minutes, according to the statement. Hundreds of hours of manual work were reduced to seconds of automated verification and settlement.
Furthermore, the collaborators state that blockchain technology adds an extra layer of security and trust to transactions in an industry where sensitive and proprietary information is frequently exchanged. Fraud is rife, and dispute resolution can be lengthy and complex, the companies said.
Carl Grivner, Chief Executive Officer of Colt, said, in a statement, “It is our goal to create a more agile, customer oriented organisation, and one way in which we are doing this is by exploring the benefits of disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. Collaborating with PCCW Global and Clear is ground breaking, as we have demonstrated how blockchain can transform the way we conduct business in the telecom industry.”
Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global added, “Everyone is talking about blockchain but the use cases in the telecom industry have been fairly limited until now. Whilst this deployment is currently only at the PoC stage, through our collaboration with Colt we are eager to demonstrate how the many potential uses of blockchain across our industry can deliver value by improving the ways in which we interoperate.”
For more information on Colt, please visit www.colt.net.
To learn more about PCCW Global, please visit www.pccwglobal.com.
For more information on HKT, please visit www.hkt.com.
To learn more about Clear, please visit www.clearx.io.