Trustonic’s Asset Lifecycle Protection Service (ALPS™)

Additional Info

CompanyTrustonic
Websitehttps://www.trustonic.com/
Company size (employees)50 to 99
Type of solutionHybrid

Overview

ALPS is a hardware-backed solution designed to curtail smartphone theft, fraud and trafficking, which in the US pre-paid smartphone market alone effects over four million devices and costs operators $900mn according to the GSMA . ALPS allows MNOs to safeguard subsidized device investments, protect revenue and drive additional subscriber growth by leveraging Trustonic’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which has been embedded during production in over 2 billion devices worldwide. ALPS gives MNOs a secure cloud-based platform to control a device’s modems, allowing/restricting device communications in case of fraudulent use.
By empowering operators to take control in their fight against theft and fraud, ALPS solves a multi-billion-dollar problem for the industry and is set to significantly increase Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for mobile operators.
• Supply chain security. Protecting devices by locking them at the moment they are produced makes them worthless if stolen. This safeguards every stage of the supply chain and protects the participant involved, from shipping through to retail.
• Customer device unlock. When the customer completes their contract and requests to unlock their device, those that are eligible can be permanently unlocked with a simple, user-friendly and secure application installed at production. This removes the need for costly helpdesk-provided manual unlock codes which are error-prone/easily circumvented by criminals.
• Protecting subsidized/ financed/leased devices by preventing use and resale of devices if instalment payments aren’t made.
• Reducing the activated but not used issue. ALPS can be used to identify devices purchased and activated but sold out of market and not seen again on the original carrier network; often indicative of identity fraud.
• Protecting leased devices. ALPS can be used to prevent the resale of leased devices before lease terms are complete. When a lease agreement ends devices can be locked if not returned.
• Warranty, recall and insurance process protection.

How we are different

• Existing software solutions/manual unlock code processes are impossible to deploy across diverse device ranges, easy to overcome (see this recent example https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/att-employees-bribed-1m-unlock-phones-install-malware/story?id=64802367), expensive to administer, offer a poor subscriber experience and only solve part of the problem as they only protect devices post-activation. ALPS enables hardware-secured, frictionless remote device lock and unlock that is scalable across device ranges and multiple OEMs; improving UX for consumers and decreasing costs for operators.


• ALPS opens up new revenue streams. Having more certain protection of the device asset lifecycle provides flexibility and the confidence to offer financing, leasing, bundled and subsidized products to a greater number of consumers with a wider range of credit ratings. When device bundles are better protected, financing can be offered to more consumers, growing customer bases and revenues.


• ALPS leverages Trustonic’s unique relationships with device makers and impartial, trusted role in the smartphone manufacturing ecosystem to provide a single solution with multiple use cases for protecting revenue and combatting fraud.


o Protecting devices by locking them at the moment they are produced makes them worthless if stolen. This safeguards every stage of the supply chain and every participant involved, with the device being unlocked automatically during activation.
o Protecting leased devices by preventing the resale of leased devices before their lease terms are complete and, when a lease agreement ends, locking devices if not returned.
o Protecting companion devices like tablets, wearables and multi-device family bundles that are often used as incentives. If the subscriber stops paying the plan, the main device and all companion devices can be simultaneously locked.
o Enabling devices to be locked once a warranty or insurance claim has been made by a subscriber, or when a manufacturer device recall has been mandated, removing the incentive to sell the device rather than return it.