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November 13, 2007

VoIP Logic's Solutions Carry One-Billionth Phone Call

By Patrick Barnard, Group Managing Editor, TMCnet


VoIP Logic (News - Alert), which offers software solutions that help VoIP service providers get up and running quickly, announced today that its solutions have carried more than 1 billion phone calls since the company’s inception four years ago.


This milestone was achieved mainly through the success of VoIP Logic’s (News - Alert) Cortex System Management Portal, a go-to-market solution used by service providers to develop customized VoIP services, thus enabling them to differentiate themselves in the market. The Web-based system management application offers an easy-to-use, fully integrated OSS/BSS system for managing Class 5, retail and wholesale VoIP services. In addition to its billing and reporting capabilities, it also offers integrated provisioning, customer self-care, QoS monitoring, and customer service capabilities.

Coinciding with this milestone, the company reports that it has achieved a compound annual growth rate of 48% since 2003.

“Recognizing this milestone helps us quantify the value of marrying best-of-breed systems with an innovative middleware system that allows service providers to make great technology even greater,” said Micah Singer (News - Alert), VoIP Logic’s CEO and founder, in a press release.

In an email interview, TMCnet asked Singer why the company measured its success by the number of calls, as opposed to the total number of minutes its service provider customers carried over the past four years. His responses helped to clear up some misconceptions we had about the company's role in the fiercely competitive VoIP service provider industry:

“The phone call metric was an easy way to boil it down to a common language -- though what is very important to note is that we do not provide origination or termination but, rather, we only provide the systems and solutions that service providers use to run their own offering,” he explained. “Therefore, 1.) our average annual revenue growth of 48% is exclusively based on an increase in service provider customers using VoIP systems and solutions provided by VoIP Logic, not based on minutes; 2.) these numbers are hopefully more impressive as they represent an increased uptake of VoIP systems and solutions rather than simply a transition of TDM minutes to VoIP minutes, and 3.) we feel like the cornerstone of our neutrality is based on the fact that we focus exclusively on systems and solutions and not at all on network and minutes. Therefore there is no overlap in our revenue sources and the revenue sources of the service providers we serve. As I learn more about our competition this seems to be unique.”

So, it is important to note that VoIP Logic does not operate its own VoIP network and does not resell a service on a white label basis. Rather, VoIP service providers (including MVNOs) use VoIP Logic’s software solutions to develop their own unique services which they in turn deliver via other service provider networks, or via the public Internet.

When TMCnet asked Singer how VoIP Logic’s solutions are unique in the marketplace, he said: “VoIP Logic manages the systems, infrastructure and solutions that allow retail VoIP providers, VoIP/Web 2.0 companies and wholesale carriers to go to market. Because we do not sell minutes or interfere with network-affecting or business-affecting decisions a service provider might make, we give them complete autonomy to control the majority of their costs.”

“If you are a VoIP Logic customer you are able to make decisions exactly as if you have invested in becoming a facilities based provider (CAPEX), invested in a technical engineering team (OPEX (News - Alert)) and invested in a software development team (OPEX) -- all with dramatically reduced costs compared with the alternatives,” he explained. “Finally, with over 140 deployments and ongoing management of the businesses of over 60 service providers, we are very experienced in a technology that is relatively new and complex.”

When asked how VoIP Logic works to help improve QoS on its customer’s networks in recent years, Singer said: “VoIP Logic is not a network service provider but this is a really important question. We strongly advise our service provider customers to be aware of their own and their customers’ tolerance for ‘best efforts’ Internet vs. Managed Internet. As a company we do not impose IP network selection or voice carrier selection on our service provider customers. We have service providers using MPLS, VPN and, of course, many making a go of it with the public Internet. We teach all of our customers how to monitor QOS via packet traces and other engineering techniques that can help to evaluate quality. So, while we don't make the network decisions on behalf of our providers, I personally, as a user of the technology, have seen improvements in quality on the public Internet - this is very encouraging. I've also noted that, like with mobile phone usage, end user customers have gotten more accustomed to lower MOS scores and are more likely to roll with the punches that the public Internet throws.”

In related news, VoIP Logic announced recently that U.S. service provider Red Pocket Mobile, a MVNO focused on the Asian community, had achieved significant ROI from using its Cortex System Management Portal and Talking SIP system. Red Pocket Mobile is reportedly the only U.S. operator to offer mobile handsets (from Motorola (News - Alert)) with Chinese character menus, which enables it to connect calls to many Asia-Pacific countries as a local calling area.

Using VoIP Logic’s solutions, Red Pocket has reportedly managed to generate average revenue per user (ARPU) that is 15-40% higher than comparable MVNOs, as well as to boost recharge amounts and frequencies surpassing industry averages by 20%.

According to a press release, Red Pocket Mobile was able to integrate wireless, calling card and international calling functionality into its service in a seamless and easy- to-use manner using Cortex. In was also able to automate the back-office multi-system provisioning for distributors, agents and end users, thus ensuring that separate billing and service delivery platforms act in a unified manner. In addition, Red Pocket Mobile is utilizing the Talking SIP system to provide real-time call authentication with Cortex for integrated balance management and as the distributor management web portal.

“Like all MVNOs, Red Pocket Mobile depends greatly on the wholesale programs of its underlying mobile network,” said Joshua Gordon, chief operating officer, Red Pocket Mobile, in the release. “In order to succeed in a crowded marketplace, we needed a solution that allowed us to differentiate our products and services from other prepaid wireless offerings, in part by addressing demand from our target consumer base for affordable, reliable international mobile service that is integrated with a U.S. national calling tariff. That is why we looked to VoIP Logic and its innovative Cortex System Management Portal.”

For more information about VoIP Logic, visit www.voiplogic.com.

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine and Assignment Editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.