Ericsson builds B/OSS bulk with ConceptWave acquisition

Swedish vendor Ericsson, which leads the infrastructure supply and service market, has announced the acquisition of Canadian B/OSS provider ConceptWave. The price paid in the all-cash deal for the firm, which has 170 staff, was not revealed.

The deal further expands Ericsson’s offering in B/OSS, which has been the subject of a number of acquisitions in recent years. In 2011 Ericsson acquired Telcordia for $1.15bn, having completed in 2010 the full acquisition of German billing specialist LHS that it began in 2007.

ConceptWave’s portfolio is geared towards order management and product catalogue solutions, which fills a gap in Ericsson’s offering. Ericsson said the solutions would allow it to “better support network operators with their handling of activities related to personalising end-user offerings and revenue management solutions.”

The deal is part of a trend that is nibbling away at the standalone B/OSS sector, with Ericsson claiming to have the most comprehensive B/OSS offering in the telecoms industry. Suppliers on the scale of large infrastructure vendors like Ericsson have the capacity to integrate B/OSS into their extensive service offerings, which specialist vendors lack the scale to provide. Large vendors can also subsidise the provision of B/OSS solutions as part of larger contracts, offering operators more purchasing power.