VoIP Provider ICC Networks Tailors Billing/Service Offerings Via PortaSwitch
As VoIP service and business models continue to proliferate, the need for flexible, reliable core VoIP telephony services continues to grow. ICC Networks, a UK-based Core Network Service provider, has become a leader in this segment by supplying wholesale and virtual VoIP services to VoIP service providers and resellers who are addressing specialist and niche telephony markets.
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The variety of deployment situations encountered by ICC Networks demands a versatile, easily-tailored services and subscriber management platform. “Our business partners, typically operators and resellers, rely on us to provide fast, reliable services that match the unique factors relating to their chosen markets,” said Rav Rehal, director of business development for ICC Networks. “It’s important that we be able to control our platform directly, in order to help our partners meet their different sales, marketing and end user customer service requirements.”
Last year, ICC Networks began using PortaSwitch, PortaOne’s software-based IP multimedia subsystem, to help provide these vital capabilities. PortaSwitch, a Class 5-level product, is able to handle a full range of call control and billing functions. Its softswitch and application servers deliver an entire VoIP technical and business infrastructure from billing and provisioning to advanced call features, monitoring and reporting. Moreover, PortaOne offers a complete API, along with an open and easily-understood source code, to facilitate customization of services to any business partner’s needs.
“After performing a feasibility study on PortaSwitch and its competitors involving SWOT analysis and a review of each vendor’s support team, we realized PortaSwitch could satisfy our needs,” Rehal noted. “PortaSwitch is a secure, high quality and resilient carrier-grade platform.”
ICC Networks has a strong reputation for delivering and maintaining complete solutions that encompass the entire range of network, interconnect, billing, security and technical service issues. Using PortaSwitch’s API, ICC Networks can offer a highly tailored, customer-facing service set that contributes a high level of value to its customers’ brands.
One of the key ways in which ICC Networks uses PortaSwitch, is to provide detailed and flexible billing systems. “The virtual VoIP area of our business has grown substantially. As we have expanded our support from a handful of customers to include several global GSM providers, the billing capabilities of PortaSwitch allow us to provide termination billing, prepaid/postpaid, flexible peak/off-peak rating and other features,” Rehal said.
As a wholesale provider of telecommunication solutions, ICC Networks offers its business partners a complete portfolio of VoIP products and services with the option to brand at any stage. Operators pay for their tailored services only on a per call or per channel basis; furthermore, the company’s flexible, secure range of services eliminate the need for a reseller to lock into termination services, giving them the freedom to choose a termination partner as desired.
PortaSIP, the class 4/5 softswitch in PortaSwitch, supports ICC Network’s service model by allowing instant messaging, call parking, group pickup, NAT transversal and other advanced calling capabilities. PortaUM, the unified messaging portion, supplies valuable end-user features like voicemail, hunt groups, follow me, auto attendant and much more.
Because ICC Networks adheres to pre-defined service level agreements with all its customers, it is critical for the company to have a billing and call management platform that provided the necessary reporting and operation support systems for SLA support. “PortaSwitch has the load balancing and high availability technologies in place to ensure SLA,” Rehal noted. “Its lineup of monitoring reports also help us keep track of service levels and analyze network performance.”
“Together with PortaOne, ICC Networks is able to give our customers unique solutions and compelling offerings,” stated Steve Rowles, ICC Networks managing director. “PortaSwitch, with the direct involvement of our in-house development team, gives our customers the advanced features and services needed to differentiate themselves from their competition.”
For more about ICC Networks, go to http://www.iccnetworks.co.uk; to learn more about PortaOne’s PortaSwitch platform, go to http://www.portaone.com/products/portaswitch/overview/.
About PortaOne:
Based in Canada, PortaOne is a leading global vendor of carrier grade software for modern telecommunication service providers. The company enables service providers and carriers to run a broad line of telecommunication services with a single software package, and offers a complete product consisting of fully converged VoIP billing and provisioning platform, class 4 and 5 SIP softswitch to support hosted IPPBX or IPCentrex services, unified messaging, IVR, conferencing applications, callbacks and more. The company’s products are a fundamental part of the business infrastructure at over 330 service provider locations worldwide. To learn more, visit http://www.portaone.com.