Time Warner Cable said it has tapped Mentis Broadband Solutions to integrate
the billing elements of the MSO's multiple-Internet-service-provider trial in
Columbus, Ohio.
Mentis marks the third announced vendor to participate in Time Warner Cable's
pilot. AP Engines Inc. and Portal Software Inc. are the other two.
Mentis' platform integrates Time Warner Cable's existing customer-care and
billing system with the one being used in Columbus, the companies said. Mentis
said its platform can interact with multiple billing systems and ISPs and route
customer data in real-time.
'Real-time integration to the billing system is a key component to the
success of our multiple-ISP pilot,' Time Warner Cable vice president of
networking engineering Michael Adams said in a press release.
By employing the Mentis platform, the operator has built an automated system
to provision and manage the company's multiple-ISP, high-speed-data service, he
added.
Time Warner Cable's technical trial in Columbus -- which involves 100 Time
Warner Cable and CompuServe Interactive Services Inc. employees -- is expected
to conclude by mid-2001, followed by an expanded version that could take the
service to about 50,000 homes in the area.
