Mobile network operator One2One is investing £1.4m on web software to ensure its customer service systems can cope with the rapid growth of its subscriber base.

The telco's customer care and billing system, based on BEA Systems' transaction processing system Tuxedo, has been extended using the same supplier's WebLogic application server.

One2One gained a million new customers in its last quarter, taking its total to over six million subscribers.

"We need to manage the performance of these systems while scaling the business," said Gary Palmer, head of commercial systems development at the company. "This means developing standard web-based models that can be replicated across different business channels, such as dealers and wholesalers."

The rapid growth of the mobile market has focused attention on network operators' customer service abilities.

"Customer care and billing is a very serious issue within the industry," said David Brown, chairman of telecoms analyst Schema. "There has been concern that dramatic growth is threatening to overwhelm the network suppliers."

"For some mobile providers, customer care has not been seen as state-of-the-art. Having grown so fast they have some catching up to do. One2One are ahead of the game in that they are actually doing something, but they won't be alone for long," he added.

It was reported back in February that BT Cellnet had spent £3.5m with Sun Microsystems subsidiary Forte Software to integrate 12 separate billing and customer service systems. BT Cellnet admitted that it was struggling to service customers efficiently owing to demands caused by the growth of its market.

First published in Computing