SygmaTel Uses PortaSwitch Softswitch/Billing Platform To Build Differentiating Retail Business

COQUITLAM, British Columbia, Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Like many enterprising companies in the early part of the last decade, SygmaTel set out in 2003 to make its mark in the global telecommunications revolution. By assembling a robust termination network, SygmaTel was able to provide domestic and international voice, data and signaling services on a wholesale basis from its operations center in Egypt to telecoms throughout the Middle East, with routes stretching from Bangladesh to the United States.

Now that SygmaTel has established itself as a trusted provider across the region, it's looking for additional opportunities to grow. The market for hosted retail continues to be fertile—as long as newcomers can differentiate themselves by supporting valuable, enhanced and customer-centric services. SygmaTel believes it has assembled the right infrastructure using the PortaOne PortaSwitch communication services and subscriber management platform.

"Our goal with SygmaFone, our new retail service company, is to give operators the ability to provide any kind of customer-facing service—even some that haven't been invented yet," said Muhammad El-Sergani, Operation Manager for SygmaTel. "Having PortaSwitch helps a lot with the backbone of the network."

Designed for the diverse needs of next-generation telecoms, wholesalers, ISPs, MVNOs and other network service providers, PortaSwitch makes virtually any kind of telecommunications business model possible. The all-in-one customer management and SIP softswitch platform, comprised of a billing software system, Class 4-5 softswitch and media application servers, is a highly versatile solution for unifying voice and data traffic while supporting a wide range of market-driven, value added services.

"We did a thorough market survey and by far, PortaSwitch had the best options," said Mr. El-Sergani. "We especially liked the number of service modifications allowed through PortaSwitch's open API. Out of the box it provides everything any company would need, from a small IP-PBX to a carrier-grade wholesale platform."

PortaSIP, PortaSwitch's highly scalable SIP softswitch, is specially built to allow telephony elements to be combined with other Web applications such as email, messaging, Internet and video streaming. It offers advanced Class 5 features for hosted IP-PBX or IP Centrex, as well as Class 4 features such as call forwarding/follow-me, call transfer, instant messaging, teleconferencing, call recording and automated IP phone provisioning.

According to Mr. El-Sergani, PortaSwitch's PortaBilling customer management/provisioning/billing software was another key consideration. "Because the PortaBilling module is integrated, customer billing and follow up is just one less headache to deal with," he noted. "The available features enable us to focus on delivering the quality our customers deserve to have."

In addition to its hosted services, SygmaFone is developing its own retail offering based on PortaSwitch. The new service, expected to debut later this year, will support voice, text chatting, SMS, top-up and money transfer services.

"Our direct retail network will not be a typical SIP Dialer. It will certainly support low-cost, high-quality voice calls—but the added value will come from the other packaged services built in," stated Mr. El-Sergani. "Our long-term vision is to add video, conferencing and cloud applications as well as seamless integration with a branded credit or debit card. Our services will be offered over the Internet, so basically anyone around the globe could be our customer."

As SygmaTel continues to develop its portfolio of network services, it looks to PortaOne and the company's PortaCare team to support many of its essential components. SygmaTel's Operation Manager says his firm's experience so far has given him peace-of-mind.

"Our partners at PortaOne are highly efficient. They quickly understand our requirements and are quick to respond," Mr. El-Sergani said. "PortaSwitch is the perfect solution for us."

About PortaOne:
Based in Canada, PortaOne is a leading global provider of software for the telecommunications and utility industries. The company's products enable service providers and carriers to run a broad line of retail and wholesale services within a single software package.  PortaOne's flagship products, PortaSwitch (www.PortaOne.com/PortaSwitch) and MetroBilling (www.MetroBilling.com) are a fundamental part of the business infrastructure for over 380 service providers and telcos in 80+ countries worldwide. Over two-thirds of PortaOne staff are support engineers providing the best-in-industry 24/7 technical support services for clients involved in hosted IP PBX and SIP trunking services, calling cards, wholesale origination and termination, residential triple-play, MVNO/MVNE, callshops and more. To learn more, visit www.PortaOne.com.

SOURCE PortaOne