The U.S.-based blockchain firm TBCASoft, Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company SoftBank and American tech giant IBM are coming together to disrupt the telecommunication industry with dedicated cross-barrier blockchain solutions.
The firms announced a strategic partnership to utilize blockchain technology for a platform specifically designed to address key challenges associated with the industry. The platform will bring industry leaders together, offer new services to telecom carriers and their subscribers, and help to develop new business models.
As per the announcement, TBCASoft is allocated with the task of bringing dedicated technology and solutions while IBM will bring its blockchain solutions along with its experience of scaling and integrating blockchain to develop distributed networks. SoftBank, from its side, will bring its telecommunication expertise.
TBCASoft and SoftBank have formed in September 2017 a global carrier blockchain consortium, the Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG), which allows carriers to utilize and implement blockchain technology with their current offerings. All three companies shared the same vision and two of them have founded the CBSG that aims to develop the next-generation global cross-carrier blockchain platform and ecosystem for telecommunication carriers.
TBCASoft has developed a cross-carrier blockchain network dedicated to addressing industry-specific challenges, open the doors of new opportunities for carriers and bring out new use cases such as cross-border payments, digital identity, and telecom supply chain. The network has already gathered 18 participants and is aiming to grow further as more advancement takes place.
the Cross-Carrier Payment System (CCPS) will be the first service launched by the consortium which will allow users to pay for their carrier services while abroad. CCPS also allows for interoperability across different telecom carriers through over-the-top (OTT) payment solutions.
Ling Wu, founder and CEO of TBCASoft, stated:
“As the global pioneer of cross-carrier blockchain solutions, we have been working closely with leading telecommunication carriers in the past 3 years under the CBSG Consortium to drive adoption of the CCPS platform. […] We believe that this collaboration will bring greater combined values to our customers, partners, and the telecommunication industry.”
SoftBank, the Japanese telecom leader, is planning to become the first adopter of CCPS and aims to launch the payment system in Tokyo in 2020. IBM has already worked with TBCASoft to bring out the most effective strategies to scale the newly developed ecosystem. The American tech giant has previously worked with 80% of the world’s telecommunication carriers and gained significant experience which might be fruitful for the consortium.
Utpal Mangla, Vice President & Partner for Blockchain, IBM Telecommunications Services, stated:
“Leveraging a telecommunications blockchain network that can enable improved cross-carrier relations, cross-carrier payment can help transform the way telecom carriers transact with partners and customers to deliver innovative payment solutions.”
