Tucows takes on the OSS/BSS business with Wavelo

Tucows is moving into the telecom billing and operational software business with the launch of Wavelo, a BSS/OSS company that offers a cloud-based software platform that provides provisioning services, billing and subscription tools for ISPs and mobile operators.

In the telecom world, Tucows is probably best known as the parent company for brands like Ting Fiber and Ting Mobile, which Dish Network acquired in August 2020. In fact, Dish Network and Ting Fiber are Wavelo’s first two customers. Dish uses Wavelo’s Mobile Network Operating System (MONOS) and Ting Fiber uses Wavelo’s Internet Service Operating System (ISOS).

Justin Reilly, Wavelo’s CEO, said that Tucows decided to create Wavelo because the company believed that the industry needed a modern alternative to existing OSS/BSS solutions. “I deeply respect the incumbents in this space,” Reilly said. “But I wanted to take a fresh look at OSS/BSS.”

That fresh outlook includes using a cloud-native architecture. Reilly said that while many OSS/BSS companies tout their own cloud-based platforms, the difference is that Wavelo didn’t retrofit existing technology and put it in the cloud. Instead, Wavelo’s MONOS and ISOS products are “purpose-built for the cloud with a modern cloud architecture.”

In addition, Wavelo’s systems are customizable, which means that if an operator wants to continue to use some of its legacy OSS/BSS platforms, Wavelo can adapt. “Every facet of this stack has been decoupled,” he said, adding that Wavelo prefers to work with partners in areas like payment processing or support ticketing.

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Reilly believes the industry is ripe for disruption in the OSS/BSS space, particularly as there is so much investment happening right now in fiber and 5G expansion. “I think people are going to be looking for new software providers,” he said.

And Reilly knows about the challenges telecom operators face when it comes to their OSS/BSS systems. Before joining Tucows, he was the head of product and customer experience innovation at Verizon.

Reilly admits that Wavelo will be competing for business with some heavyweights in the OSS/BSS world like Amdocs. However, he said that Wavelo’s mission is to be flexible and it will integrate with other, legacy systems, so operators don’t need to rip out their existing systems and replace them all at once.

For example, Reilly said that with Dish Network, Wavelo is working with legacy systems that Dish inherited when it purchased Boost Mobile after T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020.  “We are working well with Boost Mobile’s legacy systems and we are also working with Dish’s greenfield 5G,” he said.

In addition, Wavelo is also able to work with legacy systems that Ting Internet inherited through its many acquisitions. Most recently, Ting Internet acquired Simply Bits, an Arizona-based local fiber and fixed wireless access provider.