Cherry, the mobile brand of service provider Mondial Telecom, has reportedly selected Comverse to launch voice services in Belgium by using fixed-mobile converged (FMC), dual cellular/WiFi (News - Alert) technology.

According to a release, customers subscribing to Cherry’s mobile service receive a dual-mode mobile handset that operates over WiFi within its coverage zone and switches seamlessly to GSM technology when leaving the WiFi coverage zone.

According to Comverse (News - Alert) officials, this communication between GSM and VoIP over WiFi is made possible by Comverse Netcentrex IP Communications. Deployed as a Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) service model at the Comverse Netcentrex hosting center, this has allowed Cherry to launch service in the Belgium market without a mobile infrastructure.

“Comverse has been a valuable partner in this innovative project by enhancing the intelligence of the network to offer affordable mobile services over a unified network with user transparency,” said Bernard Noël de Burlin, CEO of Mondial Telecom, in the release.

de Burlin said that Comverse Netcentrex (News - Alert) hosted services is at the heart of the company’s strategy to innovate into the mobile market and by doing so, become a differentiating mobile service provider.

“Both our business model and the technical know-how of Comverse were critical success factors for this launch,” he said.

Lionel Chmilewsky, CEO of Netcentrex IP Communications at Comverse said that this innovative technical FMC solution is an excellent example of how IP Communications expands the telecommunications business model.

“Our hosted IP Communications model, together with the robust, high-quality Comverse Netcentrex solution, lowers the technical and financial risk and the high entry cost for service providers to provide voice services,” Chmilewsky said.

Cherry envisions launching a similar service in other countries with various Internet Service Providers (ISP) and fixed and/or mobile operators.

"This model that we developed with Comverse and some other partners has high potential,” said José Zurstrassen, chairman of Mondial Telecom and the founder of Skynet, the largest ISP in Belgium.

Comverse is a provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management; and IP communications.

TMCnet in July reported that Telenet Group Holding, a provider of broadband cable services in Belgium, has selected Comverse ONE Billing and Active Customer Management as its real-time rating and billing platform for digital television and mobile services.

Comverse ONE’s real-time functionality is expected to allow Telenet to customize marketing and promotional campaigns to encourage service usage and adoption among its subscribers.