DCA Services Rolls Out New, IXC-Focused Services; Product Line Helps Large Telecommunications Carriers Optimize Reseller Channels.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2004

DCA Services, Inc., a Platinum Equity Company, has implemented a suite of services focused on interexchange carriers.

DCA Carrier Strategies contains three, separate service offerings that can help interexchange carriers add value to their reseller product, protect outstanding reseller revenue, and retain resellers on their network.

"Carriers are often faced with resellers that have financial, operational, or credit challenges," said Bill Bricking, president of DCA Services. "We've designed DCA Carrier Strategies to help carriers retain these resellers while avoiding the financial risk associated with keeping them."

These three service offerings, Free Billing, Carrier Guarantee, and Reseller Rescue, encompass different steps in the interexchange carrier/reseller relationship.

Free Billing allows carriers to bundle DCA's billing services offering with their reseller per-CDR pricing, basically offering their reseller customers free billing when they sign an agreement with the carrier.

DCA has initiated a simple, affordable contract for carriers, making it easy for them to integrate the cost of billing with their per-CDR price to the reseller.

"With free billing, the carrier can offer its reseller customers a value-added, 'in-the-box' product that combines carrier services with billing services. We feel this product will ultimately help carriers increase sales by removing one more management headache, billing, from the reseller," Bricking said.

Carrier Guarantee is an accounts receivable agreement between the interexchange carrier and DCA Services whereby the interexchange carrier recommends that distressed or credit-challenged resellers utilize DCA to provide billing and back office support or face being cut off. With Carrier Guarantee, the carrier and DCA establish a shared lockbox to collect payments from the reseller's subscribers. The carrier and DCA receive proceeds from the lockbox before the reseller collects, assuring the reseller meets carrier obligations.

"Carrier Guarantee allows carriers to take control of reseller finances, thereby mitigating risky reseller situations," he said. "Carriers can identify resellers who currently have bad debt or are on their watch list of slow paying customers, and DCA can help make the reseller whole and protect carrier revenue at the same time."

Reseller Rescue helps restore financial and operational stability to near-bankrupt resellers. With Reseller Rescue, DCA works with the carrier to establish a management service agreement in which DCA takes control of a reseller's entire back office operations: billing, customer service, accounts receivable, collections, provisioning, and print and mail. Because DCA controls accounts receivables and the lockbox, carriers are assured of being paid for their services.

"If a reseller goes bankrupt, carriers not only lose money but also lose traffic on their network. Reseller Rescue assures that carriers retain the profit reseller income provides while maximizing bandwidth on their network," Bricking said.

"DCA Carrier Strategies takes into account the unique needs of the IXC while delivering robust and reliable billing and back office services to the reseller," he added. "With this service, everyone wins."

About DCA Services

DCA Services, Inc. is a turnkey service bureau that provides comprehensive solutions for OSS and billing administration, including electronic bill presentation and payment (EBPP). With DCA, clients have the advantage of using DCA Services' Web-enabled applications service provider (ASP) model, DCA Remote, to access their customer care data as well as the ability to monitor their daily activity using DCA's wireless monitoring tool, DCA Remote Manager. DCA serves resellers, facilities-based carriers, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and Internet service providers (ISPs). DCA's mission is "to create partnerships with our clients by rapidly responding to industry changes, providing legendary customer service, empowering employees and facilitating opportunities for greater returns." For more information on DCA's range of services, call 405-951-9300.