It’s been a couple of months since my last post. After my search around the world looking for the mysterious supplier that helped operators get more revenue  - I went for a long vacation to Jordan as I mentioned.

The last couple of months I’ve been investigating the telecom business even further and I hope to bring you some new findings  during the coming months. The search around the globe last year triggered me to get even more knowledge about this fast-moving market. It’s important to always stay ahead in this risky marketplace - which Basset has understood as well. I got an email from them last week telling me that they have conducted a market research and that they will publish their findings as several telecom reports.

“The Basset Telecom Reports provides market research and analysis of the challenges network operators are facing in the next generation networks regarding interconnect- & roaming billing, fraud management and revenue assurance. The results of the survey will be presented in the form of several reports that will be published during the coming months.”

The first of five reports is soon to be published:

Basset Telecom Report #1: How to stay ahead in a risky marketplace The telecom arena is a fast changing battle ground for different actors, combined with a rapid change in technology. Global deregulation makes the market diversed and difficult to foresee when it comes to knowing what services will be of highest demand. In addition to that different market maturity differs. The winner in this battlefield is the player who has a clear strategy for the next generation networks and can optimize its cash flow.

If you are smart you should pre-register and become one of the first that receives the reports directly when published, I did.

Send Basset an email with your contact information to reports@bassetglobal.com and they will send the reports as soon as they are being published.

Or go to www.bassetglobal.com/getmore/reports for more information

I have been nominated for International Advertising campaign in a Swedish advertising contest, the 100W. Check out : http://www.resume.se/nyheter/2010/11/16/de-ar-nominerade-i-100-wat/

Please help me put the pieces together. This is what I know about the unknown supplier:

• They have very popular solutions for telecom operators. As far as I understand the solutions are for:

- Inter-operator billing: Interconnect and Roaming.

- Revenue assurance: Fraud management and Reconcilliation

• The supplier is fast and flexible.

• They seem to be all over the world. If I add up the information from all my meetings and interviews, it could be more than 140 installations in over 60 countries. These countries I know for sure: Guatemala, Madagascar, USA, Pakistan, Austria, Laos, Malawi…  well, have a look at the list below.

• The operators tell me they get a lot more from this supplier than what they get from other suppliers.

• Their managing director has a beard.

• At least one representative speaks with some kind of accent and loves coffee. (To me, everything points to the fact that they are based in Scandinavia.)

• The company name might have the word ”asset” in it.

• They seem to like vivid colors – I know they all wear different colored polo shirts.

• Operators love them.

• Fraudsters hate them.

• They are hard to find. (If you’re not one of the successful operators.)

So far, these countries are confirmed: Ireland, Italy, Bulgaria, Holland, Austria, Andorra, Lithuania, Estonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Pakistan, Laos, Fiji, Australia, Philippines, Maldives, Taiwan, Botswana, Guinea, Jordan, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Madagascar, Chad, Gabon, Niger, Congo, Uganda, USA, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Caribbean, Costa Rica…

So, what do you make of this?

I can’t promise fortune, fame or drinks if you solve it, but who knows?

However, I do promise that I will be forever greatful!

You know how much evidence and stuff I have collected in my beat up Rimowa? It’s so full of it I had to check it at Queen Alia International going to Paris (and pay extra). I can’t even roll it any longer. I’m confident I have all the clues I need. Give me a day or two and I’m sure I will reveal the name of the mysterious supplier.

Roy Stewart might be blind. But I still had a pretty good feeling on my way back home. Maybe it would all come together now. Riding in my black jeep under the black sky. Listening to some funky darbuka beats on the radio. And drumming along at the wheel of the car. I was even singing along!