Blockchain startup TBCASoft recently announced that they have entered a strategic collaboration with IBM and Softbank in order to develop cross-carrier blockchain solutions to transform the telecommunications industry. The collaborative effort will also enable new synergies throughout the industry, nurture new and innovative business models and provide new services to telecom carriers and their subscribers.
The collaboration will leverage on the strengths of each of the companies: TBCASoft with its technology and solutions, Softbank with its telecommunications expertise, and IBM with its expertise and experience in software solutions, blockchain technology and blockchain networks. According to the initial agreement, the companies will work together to enable carriers to make full use of blockchain technology through the Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG) Consortium, which is co-founded by TBCASoft and Softbank.
TBCASoft is founded in September, 2016. According to the startup, it is currently the industry leader in building cross-carrier blockchain networks that are being used by the global telecommunications industry. One of their achievements is the creation of a cross-carrier blockchain network that presently includes 18 members. This particular network is designed to provide substantial opportunities for its industry members through the support of a myriad of industry-specific use cases, such as digital identity and cross-border payments.
One of the first applications the CBSG Consortium will launch is the Cross-Carrier Payment System (CCPS), which enables mobile and smartphone users to make local payments when traveling overseas and while roaming using their devices. This is made possible through TBCASoft’s blockchain technology, which enables the optimization of transaction records and clearing between different carriers, also known as over-the-top (OTT) payment solutions. Additionally, with CCPS interoperability across different OTT payment networks is possible, making established networks of merchants available on demand to mobile users.
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American IT company with operations spanning over 170 countries. Its Hyperledger Fabric-powered enterprise blockchain solution, IBM Blockchain Platform, is being planned for use by the blockchain startup TBCASoft to give telecom providers added flexibility by offering open technology that can be used in several cloud environments. The IBM Blockchain Platform is already seeing use in several industries: in food supply the IBM Food Trust is currently the only blockchain network to connect growers, processors, distributors and retailers through a distributed record of food system data, and in trade finance 13 European banks have worked together on the blockchain network we.trade that has transformed the way small and medium-sized buyers and sellers conduct trade.
Softbank, the Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company founded by Masayoshi Son, is one of the original co-founders of the CBSG Consortium and the first adopter of CCPS. Softbank wants to launch the cross-carrier payment system in Tokyo in 2020, which is when the Summer Olympics will be held.
The blockchain startup TCBASoft hopes that the collaborative effort with IBM and Softbank will transform the telecommunications industry, with multiple carriers around the world united through blockchain technology. TCBASoft sees their CCPS platform as an important pillar of the telecommunication transformation strategy, and believes that this venture with IBM and Softbank will result in bringing greater combined values to customers, partners and the telecommunication industry as a whole.
