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U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

x           ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002

OR

o            TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________ to ________

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 333-88168-01
                                                    333-88168

TSI TELECOMMUNICATION HOLDINGS, LLC

TSI TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

201 N. Franklin Street, Suite 700
Tampa, Fl 33602
(Address of principal executive office)
(Zip code)

(813) 273-3000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act: None

Securities registered under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes o No x

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As of March 26, 2003, there were 2,000 shares of TSI Telecommunication Services Inc.’s no par value common stock outstanding, which are owned of record by TSI Telecommunication Holdings, Inc., a company which is wholly owned by TSI Telecommunication Holdings, LLC.

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TSI TELECOMMUNICATION HOLDINGS, LLC
TSI TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES INC.
FORM 10-K
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART 1

ITEM 1.          BUSINESS

Overview

We are a global communications technology company specializing in innovative business and network engineering solutions that manage and interconnect voice and data systems throughout the world. Our services include transaction-based technology interoperability, network and call processing services that simplify the interconnection and management of complex voice and data networks. We address technology interoperability complexities as the largest clearinghouse in the United States for the billing and settlement of wireless roaming telephone calls, with an estimated market share of over 60% in 2001 based on billable wireless roaming telephone call transaction volume. We also own one of the largest unaffiliated Signaling System 7 (SS7) networks in the United States. SS7 is the telecommunication industry’s standard network signaling protocol used by nearly all carriers to enable the setup and delivery of wireless and wireline telephone calls. Our network services also allow our customers to access intelligent network services and monitor network performance and subscriber activity on a real-time basis. In addition, we are the industry’s leading developer and provider of call processing solutions that enable seamless regional, national and international wireless roaming telephone service.

Industry Trends

Demand for our services is driven primarily by the number of wireless telephone subscribers, the volume of wireless roaming telephone calls and the increasing technological complexities associated with the proliferation of different communication standards and protocols within telecommunication networks. The number of U.S. wireless subscribers has grown from 14.7 million in 1993 to 141.6 million in 2002, according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, (the CTIA). Kagan World Media estimates that the U.S. wireless subscriber base is expected to grow to over 215.0 million by 2007. Similarly, the annual number of billable wireless minutes of use for roaming telephone calls has increased from 407.8 million in 1993 to 300 billion in 2002 according to the CTIA. In conjunction with the projected growth in the number of U.S. wireless subscribers, we believe the annual number of billable wireless roaming telephone calls will also continue to increase. Growth in wireless subscribers and wireless roaming telephone calls has been driven by improved wireless service quality, decreased cost of service and increased wireless telephone service coverage both in the U.S. and abroad. Wireless telephone service coverage has increased due to the build out of networks in new and existing markets and increased roaming arrangements among carriers that allow customers of one carrier to use another carrier’s network while traveling out of the subscribers’ home market.

These developments have been accompanied by increased technological complexities associated with the proliferation of different network architectures, including various mobile switch types (e.g., Lucent, Nortel, Ericsson and Motorola), diverse signaling standards (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, GSM and 3G technologies), distinct billing record formats (e.g., CIBER and TAP) and multiple network protocols (e.g., X.25, Frame Relay, SS7 and IP). Despite these complexities, wireless carriers are required to provide seamless regional, national and international wireless telephone service coverage in order to attract and retain subscribers. We expect these complexities to increase as wireless carriers introduce new network technologies to enable wireless messaging, data and e-commerce solutions.

An added complexity to the wireless industry is the federal mandate requiring carriers to offer wireless number portability (WNP). The implementation of WNP impacts nearly every system within a carrier’s operations, including network signaling and routing, switch upgrades, billing, point of sale and customer service. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate, which allows customers to change their telecommunications service provider while keeping their existing telephone number, requires wireless carriers to change or “port” and activate a customer’s service within 2.5 business hours of the initial customer request. By November 2003, wireless operators must offer full portability throughout their networks, including the ability to support roaming. In order to port numbers, carriers need to exchange information with other carriers and transmit information to the regional Number Portability Administration Centers (NPACs). The business and technical impacts of this mandate present significant revenue opportunities for TSI, as the implementation and management of WNP technical solutions is not a core competency of carriers.

These technological challenges and federal mandates have made revenue assurance, cost management and delivery of quality service increasingly difficult for carriers. As a result, we believe wireless carriers will increasingly utilize trusted third-party service providers that offer outsourced solutions to assist in the management of interoperability, network and call processing complexities. We believe we offer the most comprehensive and advanced suite of services to meet these carriers’ needs. Our proven capabilities position us well to continue developing innovative solutions to enhance the technological advantage of our services and meet the industry’s evolving requirements.

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Services

We provide a diverse set of services to meet the evolving requirements of the telecommunication services industry. These services include:

•    Network Services.   We provide our customers with connectivity to our SS7 network and other widely used communications networks (e.g., X.25, Frame Relay and IP). SS7 is the telecommunication industry’s standard network signaling protocol used by almost every carrier in North America to enable the setup and delivery of wireless and wireline telephone calls. A telephone call has two components: the call content (e.g., voice, video or data) and the signaling information (e.g., caller information, number called and subscriber validation). SS7 is the transport network for this signaling information. We also provide Web-based analysis and reporting services, allowing our customers to access real-time subscriber activity, monitor their networks, troubleshoot customer care issues and handle network management tasks seamlessly. In addition, use of our SS7 network facilitates access to intelligent network services, such as local number portability (LNP), line information database (LIDB), toll-free database and Caller ID.

•    Technology Interoperability Services.   We address technology interoperability complexities by acting as the primary point of contact for hundreds of wireless carriers for the processing of roaming billing and short message service (SMS) transactions across substantially all network, signaling, billing and messaging standards. Our clearinghouse services have established us as the trusted third party for the collection, translation and exchange of proprietary subscriber billing data and messages between carriers on a secure, confidential and timely basis.

•    Call Processing Services.   We offer telecommunication carriers comprehensive call processing services that employ advanced technologies to provide subscriber verification, call delivery and technical fraud detection and prevention regardless of switch type, billing format or signaling standard. These services support seamless regional, national and international telephone roaming service for wireless subscribers.

•    Other Outsourcing Services.   We provide other value-added outsourcing services including: (i) a prepaid wireless solution that enables wireless carriers to offer prepaid wireless services with national roaming capabilities; (ii) a telematics solution that enables trucking and distribution companies to track vehicle location and improve fleet utilization and (iii) outsourced services that enhance carriers’ ability to manage and consolidate billing for their enterprise customer accounts.

Our revenues are primarily generated from transaction-based processing fees. These fees are based on the number of roaming calls/events, the number of automatic, periodic electronic signals sent over our network to locate and track subscribers and the number of call detail and billing records cleared. Each time a mobile phone user turns on their phone, a transaction is generated. Further use of the phone to place or receive calls or to use specialized services generates transactions for which TSI can charge the wireless service provider.

In addition, we earn fixed monthly fees for network connections, principally to our SS7 network, as well as circuit and port fees.

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Customers

We serve more than 250 telecommunication service providers worldwide. Our customer base includes all of the top ten wireless carriers in the United States, including AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. We also serve wireless companies in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe, including China Unicom, NTT DoCoMo, T-Mobile International, Telstra, Telefónica, and Telcel among others. In addition, we provide services to wireline providers such as competitive local exchange carriers, local exchange carriers and interexchange carriers. We have a revenue guaranty agreement with respect to revenues from our largest customer, Verizon Wireless. See “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.”

Competitive Strengths

We believe that the following strengths will allow us to continue to enhance our operating profitability and cash flow:

•    Market leader in wireless technology interoperability and call processing.   We believe that we offer the most comprehensive and advanced suite of technology interoperability and call processing services to the telecommunication industry. Our technology interoperability services are designed to allow seamless communications between wireless carriers regardless of the communication standards and protocols deployed on their networks. We are the largest wireless clearinghouse in the United States, processing over 60% of the billable wireless roaming telephone calls reported by the CTIA in 2001. Wireless clearing and financial settlement support has been a core service offering since our inception and has allowed us to develop trusted third-party relationships with many telecommunication service providers by securely accessing and managing their proprietary subscriber and network data. In addition, we developed many of the wireless industry’s first and leading call processing solutions that enable wireless customers to make and receive calls while roaming regionally, nationally or internationally.

•    Premier SS7 network provider.   We own and operate one of the largest unaffiliated SS7 networks in North America and provide complementary intelligent network and network monitoring services to telecommunication and data network providers. As a single SS7 and intelligent network services source, we provide our customers cost-effective connectivity to the signaling networks of substantially the entire U.S. public-switched telecommunication network, connectivity to international gateways as well as an array of network-enabled services. We believe our SS7 services will continue to grow as carriers as well as enterprise customers increasingly outsource SS7 network connectivity, management and monitoring. We believe this outsourcing trend by carriers is and will continue to be driven by the significant capital required to build a national SS7 network, the cost of providing the required connectivity to all the major domestic SS7 network providers and the technical expertise required to manage the network. Additionally, demand continues to grow for the ancillary services that the SS7 network supports, such as local number

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portability and calling features. Due to a considerable investment to upgrade our network in 2002, we have the ability to package derivative database products that will convert what was formerly pass-through revenue to margin revenue in what is forecasted to be a sizeable market opportunity.

•    Strong customer relationships.   Historically, we have experienced minimal customer turnover with contract renewal rates averaging approximately 89% over the last three years. We serve more than 250 telecommunication service providers worldwide. We currently serve all of the top ten wireless carriers in the United States and provide services to a variety of wireline providers. We also have a highly active and respected customer users’ group, which consists of representatives from over 200 customers including AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Dobson Communications, Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless. The TSI Users’ Group allows customers to play a significant role in the development, enhancement and evaluation of our services through monthly meetings. Interaction with this group reduces our research and development expenses and speeds new product development, enhancement and market introduction.

•    History of innovative product development.   We have built our business and reputation by continually identifying new opportunities in the telecommunication marketplace and designing comprehensive solutions that meet carriers’ evolving technology interoperability, network and call processing needs. Our history includes the development of (i) the first automatic roaming call delivery service (Follow Me Roaming), (ii) the first online roaming subscriber monitoring and support system for the industry (Visibility), (iii) the first commercial fraud profiler (FraudX), (iv) the first seamless international roaming solution (UniRoam), (v) our own proprietary IS-41 call processor and (vi) the first nationwide telematics application (OnStar). In addition, we are recognized as a leader in defining and developing industry standards through our work with organizations such as the CTIA, GSM Association (GSMA), CDMA Development Group (CDG) and CIBERNET. For example, we were one of the primary leaders within the GSMA in developing its globally deployed uniform billing standard, TAP3. More recent innovations include the development of a comprehensive suite of services to implement and manage wireless number portability including service order administration, inter-carrier communications, fallout management, work flow management and porting center management and administration.

•    Proven business model. We offer mission-critical business and network engineering solutions that manage and interconnect voice and data systems in 26 countries throughout North America, Central and Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe through a service bureau model that provides us with a strong base of recurring revenues and cash flows. Our transaction-based business model and ability to leverage our fixed cost base offer advantageous scale economies that give us a significant competitive advantage. Beginning in fiscal 1998 through fiscal 2002, we have achieved revenue growth averaging 9.0% annually and EBITDA margins in excess of 28.6%. We believe that the cost, time and potential disruption incurred by a customer in moving to a competitor’s service offering are significant, further strengthening the stability of our revenue base.

•    Positioned to capitalize on emerging communication industry technologies.   We believe the introduction of 2.5G and 3G wireless services (i.e., EDGE, GPRS, wCDMA, CDMA2000 and 1xRTT) will increase the technological complexity of wireless networks and increase the demand for our suite of services. We also believe that our market leadership, strong customer relationships and technical expertise position us well to capitalize both on next generation networks and emerging mobile data technology complexities. In addition, as one of the largest providers of outsourced SS7 and intelligent network services in the United States, we are strategically positioned to provide services to traditional wireless and wireline telecommunication providers, as well as Internet Protocol-based (IP-based) service providers who must access existing public-switched telecommunication networks to serve and expand their customer base. Likewise, we are well positioned to provide consultation and services to new entrants to the telecom market such as Internet content and application developers and wireless local area network (WLAN) providers.

•    Strong management team.   In February 2002, G. Edward Evans became our Chief Executive Officer and Raymond L. Lawless became our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Evans is a wireless industry leader with extensive experience as President and Chief Operating Officer of Dobson Communications since March 2000, as President of Dobson Communications’ cellular subsidiaries from 1997 to 2000 and in a variety of management positions with BellSouth and GTE from 1989 to 1996. During Mr. Evans’ tenure, Dobson Communications grew from a regional rural wireless company to become one of the largest wireless providers in North America. Mr. Evans is also a board member of the CTIA and Carolina West Wireless. Mr. Lawless is an experienced executive in the telecommunication industry. He served as Vice President Finance and Treasurer for Intermedia Communications Inc. from 1997 to 2001. Prior to Intermedia, Mr. Lawless spent 18 years at Bell Atlantic Corporation in various finance positions. Our senior executive team averages 17 years of experience in the telecommunication industry. We have issued or reserved for issuance to our senior management team 12.0% of our common equity.

Business Strategy

We intend to continue to strengthen our market leadership position, maximize profitability and enhance cash flow through the following strategies:

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•    Further penetrate our existing customer base.   We intend to continue to aggressively market our current suite of services to our existing customers in order to further diversify our revenue stream and increase per customer revenues. We believe there are significant opportunities to cross-sell our services and further penetrate our existing customers. Many of our customers do not currently purchase all of our available services.

•    Enhance existing services suite through continued development.   We intend to continue addressing customer needs and drive industry standards with industry-leading innovations that enhances the technological advantage of our services. One of our strengths is the technological sophistication and functionality of our services. We take a collaborative approach to service development, leveraging our strong customer relationships as well as our central role in information exchange and problem definition within the wireless industry to continue to meet the demands of our customer base.

•    Develop innovative new services.   We are dedicated to understanding the requirements of our customer base and developing innovative new services to meet the industry’s evolving technology interoperability, network and call processing needs. Throughout our history, we have been successful in identifying and developing mission-critical solutions for carriers. Through our relationships, ongoing dialogue with customers and participation in various industry organizations, we believe we will continue to identify emerging carrier technology complexities. We believe that our proven internal capabilities position us well to develop innovative services to respond to and solve these industry needs.

•    Capitalize on near-term opportunity in the emerging mobile data market.   We are well positioned to capitalize on the emerging mobile data market. Our private IP data service, Inpack, provides connectivity between carriers to allow roaming GSM subscribers to access their home carrier’s data services. Our Message Manager solution enables network access, protocol translation and conversion, routing and delivery of SMS across carrier networks. Our Event Manager solution will addresses clearing and financial settlement for IP-based events such as messaging, m-commerce, mobile financial information services and transactions and Internet content.

Demand is growing for mobile, high-speed access to the Internet, corporate intranet and other data applications while traveling. “Virtual” workspaces are being deployed in airports, hotels, cafés and home offices by wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) in these venues. To meet the demand for this type of wireless connectivity, operators must supplement their networks with wireless local area network (WLAN) or “Wi-Fi” access. Our suite of Wi-Fi services addresses the interoperability and business needs associated with this rapidly emerging service.

We believe all of these services will help carriers solve the complexities that arise from the deployment of new wireless data technologies.

•    Penetrate global markets.   The number of global wireless subscribers is expected to grow from 1 billion in today to over 2.2 billion by 2005, according to the market research firm EMC (London). We are pursuing additional expansion opportunities in markets outside of North America that we believe will experience high growth and consequently have physically located sales and technical support personnel in Europe and Asia Pacific and are targeting opportunities in Central and Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. We have developed customer relationships with China Unicom, NTT DoCoMo, Hutchison, T-Mobile International, Telefónica and Telstra, among others, many of whom own additional properties throughout the world. Demand for our services globally is driven by carriers’ needs to interconnect national and regional networks to facilitate international wireless roaming and financial clearing and settlement. In addition, complications arising from geographic variations in switch software, message routing standards, network transport and signaling protocols create opportunities to leverage our strong capabilities.

•    Expand customer base.   We seek to expand our customer base by targeting new telecommunication carriers, as well as customers outside of the traditional wireless and wireline telecommunication services industry. We believe that our separation from Verizon Communications Inc. may allow us to sell additional services to existing customers and to new customers that are Verizon competitors who that may have been concerned that using our services would benefit Verizon. In addition, the convergence of traditional telecommunication networks and IP networks has increased communications complexities and expanded the number of market participants, which include Internet service providers (ISPs), wireless ISPs, content providers, enterprises, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and IP telephony providers. We expect that many of these new market participants will use our technology interoperability, network and call processing services.

•    Opportunistically acquire complementary businesses.   We will explore the possibility of acquiring companies that possess complementary service offerings, technologies and/or customer relationships both in the U.S. and internationally. Through these types of acquisitions, we believe we can broaden our market reach, increase our service offering and enhance our ability to continue providing industry-leading solutions to our customers.

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Industry Overview

Wireless Industry

The first wireless carriers in the United States built out their wireless networks by purchasing licenses for analog spectrum and deploying networks on a regional basis. Since then the number of domestic wireless carriers has grown significantly to include hundreds of domestic wireless carriers. In order to improve the quality and decrease the cost of wireless services, carriers introduced new technologies, including second generation (2G) digital air-interface protocols (e.g., TDMA, CDMA and GSM). These improvements increased the U.S. wireless subscriber base from 14.7 million in 1993 to 141.6 million in 2002 (CTIA). The U.S. wireless subscriber base is expected to grow to over 215.0 million by 2005 (Kagan World Media). In addition, the number of total wireless minutes of use has grown to nearly 300 billion in 2002 (CTIA). The significant growth in wireless subscribers and wireless calls has driven our growth and we believe this trend will continue.

With the introduction by carriers of 2.5G and 3G services, we expect that the technological and business complexities of the wireless industry will continue to increase. These complexities will be compounded by the introduction of new technologies (e.g., wCDMA, CDMA2000, EDGE, GPRS and 1xRTT), the inclusion of new industry participants (e.g., MVNOs, content providers, advertisers and enterprises) and the introduction of new and advanced services (e.g., m-commerce, SMS, mobile data, location, security, privacy and gateway functions). Interoperability providers like us will be needed to ensure that legacy systems communicate with emerging technologies. We believe that we are well positioned to continue developing innovative solutions that address these increasing complexities by utilizing our broad base of technological skills and our well-established reputation within the telecommunication industry.

An added complexity to the wireless industry is the federal mandate requiring carriers to offer wireless number portability (WNP). The implementation of WNP impacts nearly every system within a carrier’s operations, including network signaling and routing, switch upgrades, billing, point of sale and customer service. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate, which allows customers to change their telecommunications service provider while keeping their existing telephone number, requires wireless carriers to change or “port” and activate a customer’s service within 2.5 business hours of the initial customer request. By November 2003, wireless operators must offer full portability throughout their networks, including the ability to support roaming. In order to port numbers, carriers need to exchange information with other carriers and transmit information to the regional Number Portability Administration Centers (NPACs). The business and technical impacts of this mandate present significant revenue opportunities for us, as the implementation and management of WNP technical solutions is not a core competency of carriers.

Technology Interoperability

Growth in wireless subscribers and wireless calls has been driven by improved wireless service quality, decreased costs of service and increased wireless telephone coverage. Wireless telephone coverage has increased due to the build out of networks in new and existing markets and increased roaming arrangements among carriers. According to the CTIA, the annual number of billable wireless roaming telephone calls has increased from 407.8 million in 1993 to 6.1 billion in 2000. The increasing importance to carriers of roaming revenue, the continuing growth in roaming transactions and the necessity for seamless regional, national and international service coverage have made revenue assurance, cost management and delivery of quality service increasingly important for carriers. In order to minimize these complexities, and due to the proprietary nature of subscriber billing and activity data, carriers require a trusted third party to act as the primary contact for the processing of roaming, billing and SMS transactions across substantially all network, signaling and billing standards. We believe we are well positioned to capitalize on expected continued growth in the number of wireless roaming telephone calls and SMS messages.

Network Services

SS7 is the telecommunication industry’s standard network signaling protocol used by substantially all telecommunication carriers to enable the setup and delivery of telephone calls. A telephone call has two components: the call content (e.g., voice, video or data), and the signaling information (e.g., caller information, number called and subscriber validation). The signaling information is transmitted through the SS7 network, parallel to the call networks, thereby eliminating the need to tie up bandwidth on the call network. Specifically, an SS7 network, which can be comprised of hundreds of network links, identifies available call network routes and designates the circuits and switches to be used for each call. This allows the SS7 network to identify the best call routes for connections, to efficiently manage the telephone networks and to generate transaction records for billing and measurement. In addition, use of an SS7 network facilitates access to intelligent network services (e.g., LNP, LIDB, toll-free database and Caller ID). By using our Web-based analysis and reporting services, carriers also have access to our proprietary analysis and reporting services which enable real-time monitoring and management of their networks and troubleshooting of customer care issues.

The Federal Communications Commission’s wireless number portability (WNP) mandate allows customers to change their local telecommunications service provider while keeping their existing telephone number. WNP poses both monumental business and technical challenges for the industry and significant revenue opportunities for us as carriers seek to cost-efficiently meet the FCC requirements with both turnkey and service bureau solutions. We experienced early and rapid adoption of our current suite of

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WNP solutions and believe the stringent requirements of the mandate will create the need for additional quick-to-market, high margin products and services that we are well-positioned to provide.

The increasing demand for the transmission of data requires wireless carriers to support packet-switched communications protocols including IP and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in addition to their legacy circuit-switched telecommunication networks. GPRS roaming enables subscribers to access their GPRS-based wireless data services (e.g., public Internet, corporate intranets, e-mail and m-commerce) while abroad or beyond the reach of their home network. We believe that we are well positioned, primarily due to our Inpack service offering, to benefit from the growth in the transmission of this type of data traffic.

Call Processing

Improvements in air interface protocols have been accompanied by increasing complexities associated with varying network architectures, including various mobile switch types (e.g., Lucent, Nortel, Ericsson and Motorola), diverse signaling standards (e.g., CDMA, TDMA and GSM), distinct billing record formats (e.g., CIBER and TAP) and multiple billing applications. This multiplicity of technologies requires wireless carriers to use a trusted third party to manage certain functions such as (i) identifying and validating a subscriber when roaming, (ii) obtaining permission from a host carrier to deliver a call, (iii) detecting and preventing fraudulent calls, (iv) providing seamless regional, national and international roaming capabilities, (v) ensuring roamers have the same services when roaming as they do in their home market and (vi) ensuring the call is billed appropriately. These services address a carrier’s profitability by maximizing the delivery of quality wireless service and minimizing the number of fraudulent telephone calls. As a result, we believe that carriers will continue to seek the services of third parties who provide solutions for outsourcing the management of complex call processing issues.

Outsourcing

We believe that carriers will continue to outsource to trusted third parties certain operational functions that would require technical expertise and significant capital to implement in-house. We believe that many wireless carriers currently are capital constrained and are focused primarily on operational issues that most directly affect revenue and subscriber growth. These issues include increasing network capacity, integrating recent acquisitions, reducing customer churn, increasing ARPU and introducing data services. Billing system consolidation, technology interoperability and SS7 networks affect a small percentage of a carrier’s total cost base but can cause significant customer service disruption. We believe that carriers will be reluctant to switch providers or concentrate their strategic focus and capital spending in these areas. In addition, due to the proprietary nature of subscriber billing data, carriers will continue to require a trusted third-party intermediary to provide clearinghouse services in a secure and confidential manner.

History

Our company has been a leading provider of technology interoperability, network and call processing services to the telecommunication industry for more than 15 years. Founded in 1987 as GTE Telecommunication Services Inc., a unit of GTE, our business has grown from a set of three roaming facilitation products into a comprehensive suite of services that address the increasing complexities of the telecommunication industry. With our strong technical expertise, we have developed leading solutions to address many of the wireless industry’s most challenging technology issues.

As wireless technologies evolved through the early 1990s, we experienced strong revenue growth and increased demand for new services to serve the growing wireless subscriber base. Our services simplify the interconnection and management of complex and rapidly converging voice and data networks. Our proven internal capabilities position us well to continue developing innovative solutions to enhance the technological advantage of our services and meet the industry’s evolving requirements.

We began offering our suite of services globally during the late 1990s as demand for international roaming interoperability grew. In addition to developing a GSM to IS-41 interoperability solution, we expanded our presence in Latin America and Asia/Pacific with key customers such as Telcel, Telefónica, NTT DoCoMo and most recently, China Unicom.

In 2000, GTE and Bell Atlantic merged to form Verizon, Inc. As part of that transaction, we became an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Verizon. In addition, to further broaden our services suite and expand our wireline customer base, we acquired GTE’s Intelligent Network Services business in June of 2000. The integration of this business provided our company with a national SS7 network as well as access to databases for local number portability, toll-free calling and line information database access.

In February 2002, we were acquired by TSI Inc., a corporation owned by TSI LLC, whose members include affiliates and co-investors of GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC and members of our senior management. Today, we operate as a profitable business that offers a complete suite of technology interoperability, network and call processing solutions. We believe that we are the largest provider of wireless roaming financial clearing services in the world based on the amount of revenues we receive from wireless carriers. We also operate one of the largest unaffiliated SS7 networks in the United States and provide complementary

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intelligent network and database services to telecommunication and data network providers. We are also the leading provider of best-in-class subscriber verification, call processing and fraud detection and prevention solutions to the wireless industry.

Products and Services

We provide a diverse set of technology interoperability, network and call processing services to meet the evolving requirements of the telecommunication services industry.

Network Services

Through our diverse network architecture, we provide connectivity to SS7 and other network transport protocols such as X.25, Frame Relay and GPRS. Many of our service capabilities are based on our SS7 network that enables call set up, call delivery and access to intelligent network services such as Caller ID, local number portability and LIDB. SS7 is the industry standard used by almost every switched telephone operator in North America to identify available network routes and to designate the circuit used for each individual telephone call. As a single SS7 and intelligent network services source, we provide our customers cost-effective connectivity to the signaling networks of substantially the entire U.S. public-switched telecommunication network, global connectivity and an array of SS7 network-enabled services. Our SS7 network and related services allow our customers to monitor network performance and subscriber activity on a real-time basis. For our Frame Relay and other network services, the circuits are provided by a variety of global vendors. As a leading independent provider of SS7 network services, we support interoperability through hundreds of network links distributed over six signaling transfer point, or STP, pairs. We have approximately 350 Frame Relay connections (both via public provider or our private Frame Relay backbone). We have eight customers using our General Packet Radio Service Roaming Exchange, or GRX, network for GPRS service. These customers account for substantially all of the existing domestic traffic for GPRS services.

Our primary network service solutions include INLink, Visibility, SS7 Database Access for intelligent network services, Inpack and CCNS. We generate revenues from these service solutions primarily by charging per-transaction processing fees, circuit fees and port fees.

•    INLink—Our SS7 service, INLink, provides wireless carriers with network connectivity and access to a variety of advanced services and features such as network management, fraud control, call setup, call delivery and intelligent network services (LIDB, LNP and Caller ID). INLink offers seamless connectivity and interoperability regardless of location, switch type, signaling protocol or network protocol.

•    Visibility—Our Visibility services provide wireless carriers with valuable operational analysis tools for real-time monitoring of subscriber activity both within a carrier’s own network and across multiple carrier networks. Visibility allows for timely resolution of customer service issues and for detection and prevention of fraudulent calls. Visibility also enables wireless carriers to view roaming activity in their own markets as well as their subscribers’ roaming activity in other markets, in a user-friendly, Web-based reporting environment. As one of the industry’s most comprehensive SS7 network monitoring and analysis tools, Visibility combines validation, authentication and call delivery messages sent over SS7 networks with similar information from our other services. SS7 information is collected either at our intelligent network STPs or at carriers’ own STPs. Visibility also gives carriers the ability to reinstate service for subscribers who are experiencing problems while roaming on another carrier’s network without involving the other carrier.

•    SS7 Database Access—Our SS7 network services provide database access for intelligent network services such as local number portability, wireless number portability, line information database service, toll-free service and Caller ID.

•    Local Number Portability (LNP)—Local number portability allows a wireline telephone subscriber to switch local service providers while keeping the same telephone number. We manage interactions with number portability databases and provide database queries on a per-call basis, thereby allowing carriers to deploy local number portability without the high cost of building their own infrastructure. In 1996, the FCC mandated that incumbent local exchange carriers implement wireline number portability in all major U.S. markets beginning in 1999.

•    Wireless Number Portability—Wireless number portability allows a wireless telephone subscriber to switch wireless service providers while keeping the same telephone number. Today, all of our services are capable of supporting the technical requirements for wireless number portability. Additionally, we are actively developing the operational support systems that will be required by wireless carriers to facilitate the intercarrier exchange of subscribers. Wireless carriers have been mandated to provide wireless number portability by November 2003.

•    Line Information Database (LIDB) Access and Transport—We provide access to line information databases which are developed and maintained by telecommunication carriers that provide subscriber information necessary to provide enhanced

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services such as validating telephone numbers and billing information. The SS7 network then determines the appropriate database to validate the card number, routes the information to the switch that analyzes the response and determines how to treat the call.

•    Toll-Free Database Access and Transport—Our SS7 network provides access to a database of all toll-free numbers in the United States to provide effective call routing by returning the response to our customer for call routing.

•    Caller Name Database—We develop and maintain calling name database access, allowing carriers to query many regional Bell operating companies and major independent telephone carriers and reduce the “name not available” messages that customers receive. We also manage and operate a database for storage of incumbent local exchange carrier, competitive local exchange carrier and wireless calling name records.

•    Inpack—Inpack is a suite of services that enables subscribers to have seamless access to their home carriers’ GPRS network while roaming both nationally and internationally. Inpack is a GRX offering for GPRS and serves as a virtual private network, or VPN, for other emerging services, such as signaling solutions, billing, clearing and settlement services. The service offers secure access to home based e-commerce, public Internet, corporate intranets and e-mail systems to roaming subscribers.

•    CCNS—Our Cellular Carrier Network Services, or CCNS, provide network circuits that interconnect carriers’ cell sites or switches to other switches or network elements across local access transport areas, or LATA, or state boundaries. These circuits can be used for transmitting high-speed data, voice or video.

Technology Interoperability Services

We provide the wireless industry with technology interoperability solutions to facilitate the processing of roaming billing and SMS messages and data required for seamless regional, national and international wireless roaming telephone service. To provide ubiquitous service to wireless customers, wireless carriers enter into inter-carrier roaming agreements that govern pricing and business rules associated with one carrier providing service to another carrier’s customers. To manage network availability and to properly bill these subscribers for roaming charges, wireless carriers must exchange data across various billing protocols and integrate that data with their existing billing and management information systems. As the wireless industry has evolved, we have developed solutions that address underlying interoperability complexities including the translation of various network, signaling and billing protocols to allow different wireless carriers to communicate. Our clearinghouse services have established us as the trusted third party for the collection, translation and distribution of the information required to initiate, complete, monitor and bill telecommunication services provided by one carrier to numerous other carriers’ customers. Our services are also used to clear roaming traffic between multiple billing systems within a single carrier. We are the largest wireless clearinghouse in the United States, processing over 60% of the billable wireless roaming telephone calls reported by the CTIA for 2001.

Our primary technology interoperability services that we offer for clearing and financial settlement are ACCESS, ACCESS S&E, UniRoam, Wholesale Rating Engine, Access Revenue Management and Message Manager. These services allow the exchange of proprietary subscriber billing data through a trusted third party on a secure and confidential basis, ensuring the timely exchange of roaming data and compliance with established business rules for roaming activity between carriers. We primarily generate revenues by charging per-transaction processing fees.

•    ACCESS—Our primary clearing and financial settlement service, ACCESS, enables the timely exchange of billing data between domestic and international wireless service providers, accurately converts and processes multiple billing protocols and manages complex accounting procedures. ACCESS simplifies the exchange of CIBER billing data between IS-41-based carriers (CDMA, TDMA, AMPS) and their roaming partners. This service generates user-friendly, on-line reports with daily and monthly summaries of key data.

•    ACCESS S&E—ACCESS S&E is our service that provides ACCESS-like functionality to GSM carriers. ACCESS S&E provides for the exchange of billing data between GSM carriers and their GSM and IS-41 roaming partners. ACCESS S&E also has Web-based reporting systems that provide daily and monthly summaries of key data.

•    UniRoam—UniRoam simplifies interstandard and international roaming (IS-41/GSM) by providing carriers with subscriber call origination, automatic call delivery and home wireless system billing. UniRoam provides interoperability between different cellular network protocols, including ANSI-41/CIBER (used in CDMA, TDMA and AMPS networks) and GSM-MAP/TAP, using our network and infrastructure as a common point of mediation and provides seamless coverage across international borders.

•    Wholesale Rating Engine—The Wholesale Rating Engine, or WRE, service converts raw switch data into billing records that include pricing information for wireless carriers that do not rate their roaming traffic. The Wholesale Rating Engine can convert, rate and edit records in either the CIBER or TAP standard formats, thereby supporting interoperability for cross-standard roaming.

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•    Access Revenue Management—Access Revenue Management, or ARMS, is a secure, end-to-end solution that provides wireline carriers with the data collection, conversion, rating, billing and reporting necessary to assure revenue from carrier access billing and reciprocal compensation. We collect data from various record formats and provide analytical tools, rating and conversion services to enable carriers to optimize revenues from inter-carrier access billing.

•    Message Manager—Our Message Manager solution enables network access, protocol translation, routing and delivery of short message service (SMS) messages across carrier networks. According to Mobile Lifestream, the number of short messages sent on a world-wide basis via SMS is expected to grow to approximately 79 billion per month in 2005 from approximately 20 billion per month in 2000. As SMS use grows, the demand will increase for interoperability, network and value-added services to enable seamless delivery and receipt of these messages.

•    Event Manager—Event Manager addresses a variety of wireless Internet events including messaging, m-commerce, mobile financial, Internet content, intranet access, entertainment and location-based applications. It simplifies the management and administration of the business relationships established between content providers and wireless operators, as well as that between wireless operators and their subscribers. This solution facilitates virtual roaming with wireless Internet partners, via data collection, rating, clearing and settlement and reporting of wireless data records for wireless operators and content providers

Call Processing Services

We developed many of the wireless industry’s first and leading solutions for wireless subscriber verification, call processing and technical fraud detection and prevention. For a wireless subscriber to make and accept calls, as well as to access custom services while roaming on another operator’s network, the host operator must validate with the home operator that the customer is an authorized subscriber on a specified service plan. As the wireless industry has evolved, we have developed subscriber verification and call delivery solutions that address interoperability complexities by translating and converting various network, signaling and billing protocols to facilitate wireless roaming service coverage and telephone call delivery. Our comprehensive, integrated fraud management solutions employ advanced technologies to provide flexible, efficient fraud detection and fraud prevention, regardless of switch type, software release version or industry standard. Our integrated service offerings provide a total authentication solution and comprehensive protection for subscribers.

Our primary call processing services are FraudManager, Follow Me Roaming Plus, Key Management Center and FraudX. We generate revenues from these services primarily by charging per-transaction processing fees and licensing software.

•    FraudManager—Our FraudManager solution verifies a subscriber’s eligibility to receive service while roaming in another carrier’s market. This is enabled by our proprietary call processor, which can replicate mobile switching center functionality to serve functions such as the Home Location Register (HLR) or Visited Location Register (VLR). The call processor can also communicate with carriers’ switches on a peer-to-peer basis, thereby replicating home, visited or foreign Mobile Switching Center (MSC) functionality. This provides the capability to expeditiously and cost-effectively address industry and customer issues without being dependent upon third-party switch manufacturers (e.g., Lucent, Motorola, Nortel). FraudManager is recognized as one of the industry’s premier pre-call validation services that detects and blocks a fraudulent call on an invalid user’s first attempt.

•    Follow Me Roaming Plus—Follow Me Roaming Plus (FMR Plus) is an advanced call delivery system that provides roaming subscribers with seamless activation and call delivery when traveling between IS-41 markets. The service facilitates roaming by creating a temporary identity for roaming subscribers in visited networks and allows them to maintain their custom calling features while roaming. Our FMR Plus solution enables carriers to provide seamless roaming through compatibility with all major switch types and interoperability with non IS-41 environments.

•    Key Management Center—Our Key Management Center provides carriers with an affordable authentication service to prevent wireless fraud. In the authentication process, the exchange of authentication keys (A-Key) between carriers and multiple wireless equipment manufacturers requires establishing numerous electronic data interchange (EDI) connections. Both wireless carriers and wireless equipment manufacturers can benefit from the increased efficiency and security of using us as a single source to coordinate storage, retrieval and distribution of A-Keys. By doing so, A-Key distribution and management between manufacturers and wireless carriers are greatly simplified. Administrative and network costs are reduced. Wireless carriers also save the costs of developing secure storage and EDI transmission capabilities.

•    FraudX—FraudX is our technical fraud detection and prevention solution. Our fraud profiling system uses near real-time data from mobile switches to create a unique profile for each subscriber, based upon the subscriber’s incoming and outgoing call records. After the subscriber profiles are established, FraudX continually compares each subscriber’s calling activity to his or her profile and to known fraudulent profiles, constantly monitoring events and generating alerts in case of usage pattern deviation. FraudX also allows for subtle variations in subscriber activity and updates the subscribers’ profiles with new, legitimate calling patterns as they emerge.

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Other Outsourcing Services

We also offer a broad range of additional value-added outsourcing services. These services help customers address declining voice ARPU, reduce operating costs and reduce customer turnover.

Our primary other outsourcing services include Prepaid Wireless, Fleet-On-Track and STREAMLINER.

•    Prepaid Wireless—We offer a leading network-based prepaid wireless solution that enables carriers to offer national prepaid service to their subscribers. Our prepaid wireless service enables subscribers to make and receive calls throughout North America and to make calls with the same dialing pattern as post-paid, with no access codes or personal identification numbers. The service tracks prepaid airtime levels and alerts subscribers when airtime accounts are exhausted. Prepaid wireless is available in two deployment options. As a service bureau offering, we own and maintain the entire prepaid solution. As a hybrid offering, the wireless operator owns and maintains the on-site call management hardware, while we own and maintain the database and real-time rating engine hardware and software.

•    Fleet-On-Track—Fleet-On-Track is a platform technology that enables trucking and other distribution companies to track their fleets of vehicles throughout the country, providing for better utilization and resource management. This solution was a precursor to our work as the original developer of the OnStar technology that provides wireless access to directions, restaurant guides and emergency roadside assistance.

•    STREAMLINER—STREAMLINER allows wireless carriers to present their enterprise customers with a single consolidated bill when service is provided by multiple carriers across different markets. This solution also helps enterprise customers to better understand their wireless invoice by providing a tool that analyzes complex business account structures and large volumes of usage data.

Customers

We serve more than 250 telecommunication service providers in 26 North American, Latin American, Asia Pacific and European countries with our extensive portfolio of solutions. We maintain strong and collaborative relationships with our customers which include wireless and wireline carriers such as ALLTEL, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Dobson Communications, Sprint PCS, U.S. Cellular Corp. and Verizon Wireless as well as wireline carriers such as XO Communications. We also serve wireless companies in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe, including China Unicom, NTT DoCoMo, T-Mobile International and Telefónica, among others. We believe that maintaining strong relationships with our customers is one of our core competencies and that maintaining these relationships is critical to our success.

Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 60.5% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2002. Our largest customer is Verizon (Verizon Wireless, Verizon Network Services and other Verizon affiliates), which accounted for approximately 31.3%, 33.9% and 33.1%, of our revenues in 2002, 2001 and 2000, respectively. We have a revenue guaranty agreement with respect to revenues from Verizon Wireless. Our customer base includes wireless companies in the U.S., Latin America, Asia/Pacific and Europe. In addition, we also provide services to wireline providers such as competitive local exchange carriers, local exchange carriers and interexchange carriers.

Historically, we have experienced a low level of customer turnover and have contract renewal rates averaging approximately 89% over the last three years. This dedication to provide superior solutions and services to our customers is evident in that we currently serve all of the top ten wireless carriers in the U.S. and many premier wireline providers.

Sales and Marketing

Our Sales and Marketing organizations include 98 people (as of December 31, 2002) who work together to identify and address customer needs and concerns, deliver comprehensive services, develop a clear and consistent corporate image and offer a best-in-class customer support system designed to give customers efficient, courteous and expert advice on a timely basis.

•    Sales.      The sales department was reorganized from a centralized sales force to a globally focused sales force in 2002 to better serve the needs of existing customers and to identify new opportunities more quickly. Sales directors are organized geographically with individuals responsible for North America, Central and Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe/Middle East/Africa. Regional sales managers are located throughout the U.S. to serve top tier customers in the Northeast, Northwest, Midwest and the southern U.S. Account managers are product specialists and work as a team with the regional sales managers and directors to respond to customer needs. Compensation for our sales force is composed of an industry-competitive base salary and a variable component based on sales quota attainment.

•    Marketing.   Our marketing organization is comprised of channel distribution managers, product managers and marketing services employees. Channel distribution managers are responsible for working with the sales organization to develop specific

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pricing options, current and future product needs, revenue forecasts and projected market opportunities. Our product managers are responsible for managing the product’s positioning through the life cycle as well as managing costs and initial pricing. This includes development of a product plan, product development requirements, resource planning and vendor management if appropriate. Each product manager coordinates a cross-functional product team with participants from several functional areas within our organization including sales, technology and operations. These product team participants are responsible for coordinating the execution of the product plan within their functional teams. Marketing services employees work with channel distribution managers and product managers to determine appropriate allocation of funding for and coordinate advertising, promotions, media relations, speaking opportunities, trade shows and our users’ group.

Operations and Customer Support

We have 199 employees (as of December 31, 2002) from a number of groups within our organization dedicated to managing our own internal operations and processes and supporting our customers.

•    Network Operations Center.   We maintain a state-of-the-art Network Operations Center (NOC) that actively monitors our applications network and our connections to our customers, providing support both domestically and internationally 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Our NOC proactively identifies potential application, operating system, network, switch connectivity and call processing problems and manages those problems through resolution with customers in conjunction with IXCs, LECs, field engineering, our internal product support and product development teams, and hardware and software vendors.

•    Internal Operations Support.   Our Internal Technology Support group manages our internal hardware and software technology program as well as the LAN, Internet, email and departmental server data centers for our employees. This group is responsible for the TSI Solution Gateway, our system for customer problem management, and also provides management information software solutions and support that enable efficient operations within our organization. Other internal operations functions include information security, supplier management, facilities management and disaster recovery. All provide mission-critical support to our employees in achieving strategic objectives and help ensure our ability to continue to serve our customers effectively.

•    Customer Service, Documentation and Training.   Our Customer Service organization provides “front-line” support for our services to our global customers. New support personnel are recruited for their multi-lingual, interpersonal and customer care skills, and are provided intensive product training prior to accepting direct customer interface responsibility. Our Documentation and Training group publishes the technical documentation accompanying our portfolio of services in multiple languages, and also travels nationally and internationally to provide strategic customer training in our services suite. The group has established world-class training facilities in Tampa, where it sponsors regular customer and employee program offerings, and has also developed Web-based real-time training that our customers have successfully utilized as a remote training option.

Technology

The Technology group comprises 269 professionals and performs all functions associated with the design, development, testing, implementation and operational support of our services. The Technology group balances technology and business priorities and enhances TSI’s ability to deliver timely and cost-effective solutions.

The primary functions of the Technology group include:

•    Product Development and Life Cycle. These groups deliver new product developments, enhancements and maintenance releases in a timely manner and develops integrated solutions that address customer needs across multiple areas including billing, messaging, decision support and reporting. These groups also constantly monitor technology developments to ensure that we leverage our legacy investments while developing new technologies that provide flexible and cost effective solutions to our customers.

•    Operational Support Services. These groups provide 24x7 operational support for our products to ensure a high level of service and system availability to our customers. These groups work with the other Technology groups to identify and implement proactive measures to meet our customer commitments.

•    Network Services. This group designs, develops and supports our SS7 and IP-based Intelligent Network Service offerings and works closely with our other functional departments and vendors to ensure that we are engineering and monitoring cost effective and reliable network solutions which meet our customers' needs.

•    Technology Services. This group is responsible for maintaining the high overall quality of customer service through centralized testing, system/data base administration and configuration management. This group also works with our vendors on system performance management, capacity planning and system tuning.

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Business Development and Strategy

Our Business Development and Strategy organization is composed of 16 people (as of December 31, 2002) and is responsible for strategy development, new business initiatives, first office applications, technology planning and market planning. This group is responsible for developing integrated and achievable short– and long-term business plans in support of our vision and strategic plan. This responsibility extends from initial concept through first customer implementation, including strategic partnership development and contract negotiations. This group develops strategies that leverage technology evolution and designs solutions to technical problems associated with our core business and new business initiatives.

Employees

At December 31, 2002, we had approximately 669 employees, including 663 full-time and 6 part-time employees, none of whom are represented by a union. We believe our relations with employees are good.

Competition

We believe we are the only company that offers a full suite of technology interoperability, network and call processing services. However, we compete with a number of U.S. and international companies in specific areas of our business.

•     Network Services.   Our competitors for SS7 network connectivity and intelligent network services include Verisign, Southern New England Telephone (SNET), Transaction Network Services (TNS) and regional Bell operating companies. Wireless and wireline carriers may also choose to deploy and manage their own in-house SS7 networks. Our Inpack packet data network service competes with a variety of carriers including Sonera and Cable & Wireless in the U.S. and also Global Crossing, France Telecom, KPNQwest, and Comfone (a subsidiary of Swisscom) internationally.

•    Technology Interoperability Services.   Our primary competitors in the U.S. technology interoperability market are EDS and Verisign. Internationally, our ACCESS and ACCESS S&E services compete with EDS, MACH and Dan Net. In the wireline clearinghouse services marketplace, we encounter Communications Data Group (CDG), INTEC Telecom Systems/CHA Systems, Aptis/EUR Data Center and Daleen Technologies. Certain wireless carriers also choose to deploy in-house interoperability and billing solutions for clearing internal and affiliate traffic.

•    Call Processing Services.   Our call processing services primarily compete with turnkey products from vendors such as Logica and HNC Software/Systems Link. Internationally, we compete primarily with turnkey product vendors such as Logica. Our subscriber verification and key management services compete with CMG Telecommunication Inc., DSC Communications, HNC Software/SystemsLink and others. Our wireless fraud prevention solutions compete primarily with carrier-deployed software solutions from Bassett Telecom Solutions, HNC Software/SystemsLink, Compaq, Dynamics Research Corp (DRC), ECTel, Lightbridge/Corsair and others. Also, certain carriers may choose to deploy in-house call processing and fraud detection and prevention solutions.

•    Other Outsourcing Services.   We compete with Boston Communications Group, Lightbridge/Corsair, HNC Software/SystemsLink and others in the provisioning of prepaid wireless account management services. Certain wireless carriers have developed their own services rather than utilize our STREAMLINER service.

Competitive factors in the market for our services primarily include breadth and quality of services offered, price, development capability and new product innovation.

Governmental Regulation

We are not subject to the direct regulation of the FCC or any state utility regulatory commission. Some of our customers, however, may be subject to federal or state regulation that could have an indirect effect on our business. Because we do not provide voice-grade or data services that are deemed to be common carrier telecommunication services, we do not anticipate that our services will be subject to regulation by the FCC or state public utility commissions.

Environmental Regulation

We are subject to a broad range of federal, foreign, state and local laws and regulations relating to the pollution and protection of the environment and health and safety. Among the many environmental requirements applicable to us are laws

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relating to air emission, wastewater discharges and the handling, disposal and release of solid and hazardous substances and wastes. Based on continuing internal review and advice from independent consultants, we believe that we are currently in substantial compliance with applicable environmental requirements.

We are also subject to laws, such as CERCLA, that may impose liability retroactively and without fault for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances at on-site or off-site locations. We are not aware of any material releases for which we may be liable under CERCLA or any other environmental or health and safety law.

We do not currently anticipate any material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition or competitive position as a result of our efforts to comply with environmental requirements. Some risk of environmental liability is inherent, however, in the nature of our business, and we cannot assure you that material environmental liabilities will not arise. It is also possible that future developments in environmental regulation could lead to material environmental compliance or cleanup costs.

Intellectual Property Rights

We consider our patents, patent licenses and trademarks, in the aggregate, to be important to our business and seek to protect this proprietary know-how in part through U.S. and foreign patent and trademark registrations. Certain of our patents are also important individually. We currently maintain 53 registered trademarks and seven patents in the United States and in foreign countries. In addition, we maintain certain trade secrets for which, in order to maintain the confidentiality of such trade secrets, we have not sought patent protection. Concurrent with our purchase from Verizon Communications by TSI, we entered into an intellectual property agreement with Verizon Communications and Verizon Information Services pursuant to which:

•    we and the Verizon companies each conveyed an undivided joint ownership interest to the other in certain of our respective unregistered intellectual property;

•    the Verizon companies and their affiliates granted a limited, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license of certain of our respective registered intellectual property to us and our affiliates;

•    we granted a limited royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license of certain of our registered intellectual property to the Verizon companies and their affiliates;

•    the Verizon companies and their affiliates granted a limited, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license of certain third-party intellectual property to us pursuant to their right to sublicense such materials;

•    the Verizon companies conveyed and transferred to us certain of their intellectual property; and

•    the Verizon companies and their affiliates generally agreed to be indefinitely prohibited from using any of the intellectual property that we license to them under the intellectual property agreement to offer goods or services that compete with us, whether such goods or services are provided to third parties or used internally.

See “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions—Intellectual Property Agreement.”

ITEM 2.          PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2002, our principal facility was 170,049 square feet of leased office space in Tampa, Florida that we use for headquarters and administration purposes. The lease expires on October 31, 2006, subject to renewal terms. We lease several other small immaterial facilities for office space and STP equipment storage.

We consider our properties to be in good condition generally and believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our anticipated requirements.

ITEM 3.          LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are currently a party to various claims and legal actions that arise in the ordinary course of business. We believe such claims and legal actions, individually and in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

ITEM 4.          SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

No matter was submitted to a vote of security holders during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2002.

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PART II

ITEM 5.          MARKET FOR REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

There is currently no established public trading market for our no par value common stock, which is owned of record by TSI Inc., a company which is wholly owned by TSI LLC. Likewise, there is correctly no established public trading market for TSI LLC equity securities.

We have not paid any dividends on our common stock during the past fiscal year and do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

On February 14, 2002, TSI Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of TSI LLC, acquired us by merging its wholly owned subsidiary, TSI Merger Sub, Inc., with and into us. Pursuant to the merger agreement, Verizon received merger consideration equal to $770.0 million in cash. TSI LLC is owned by GTCR Fund VII, L.P., certain of its affiliates and co-investors, G. Edward Evans and certain other members of our management, who we collectively refer to as the “equity investors.” In connection with this transaction, TSI LLC sold to the equity investors approximately $255.3 million in cash of TSI LLC Preferred and Common Units. The sales were nonpublic offerings by TSI LLC, and therefore exempt from registration, pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Additional information regarding these sales are set forth under the heading “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions—Senior Management Agreements” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions—Purchase Agreements”.

ITEM 6.          SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table sets forth certain of our historical financial data. We have derived the selected historical consolidated financial data as of December 31, 2001 and 2002 and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2000 and 2001, the period from January 1, 2002 to February 13, 2002 and the period from February 14, 2002 to December 31, 2002 from our audited financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere herein. The selected historical consolidated financial data as of December 31, 1998, 1999 and 2000 and for the year ended December 31, 1998 and 1999 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are not included in this filing. The selected historical financial data set forth below are not necessarily indicative of the results of our future operations and should be read in conjunction with the discussion under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and the historical consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this report.