Nokia Siemens Networks has launched a Facebook app that operators can use to allow people to personally manage their fixed and mobile telecom services.

The new app enables customers to check their balance, browse and buy special offers and subscribe to services. Customers can share their experience across their social network and get rewards for recommending services to friends.

The app aims to offer an improved service by allowing operators to engage with customers where they spend their time online.

“The beauty of the Facebook app is that it engages with people on their preferred social networking site,” said Rick Centeno, head of business support systems (BSS) at Nokia Siemens Networks. “People spend more time on social networks than individual websites. With this Facebook app, Nokia Siemens Networks helps operators to connect with people in a familiar setting where they already spend their online time. It takes self-care to a new level.”

"Nokia Siemens Networks is presenting a refreshing end-to-end vision of how CSPs can better meet their customers'' needs through self-care, while also reducing their costs and becoming more commercially agile", said Teresa Cottam, research director and founder, Telesperience. "We've seen other companies articulate parts of this vision, but few others - if indeed any others - can deliver this in its entirety today."

“This first social network integration will enrich a wide range of existing operator processes such as convergent charging, self-care, campaign management, business analytics and customer experience management to improve customer experience in a very efficient way. The integration is based on Nokia Siemens Networks’ modular charging engine and integration framework,” said Centeno.

The application enhances Nokia Siemens Networks’ range of self-care portals - share@once - that facilitate direct interaction between operators and customers. The new Facebook app complements a mobile self-care app for smartphones and a web-based self-care portal that can already provide a simpler way to manage telecom services.