The image of a modern business post-pandemic has turned toward the side of remote work, promoting work flexibility and allowing the client’s employees to operate on the go.

However, facilitating that can be difficult.

All of the client’s remote working employees need access to similar, if not the same capabilities as they would in the office.

That is why we here at Bicom Systems have devised a solution in the form of gloCOM GO, part of our greater PBX infrastructure which provides exactly that.

Doing Work On The GO

Most remote work oriented systems are designed for laptop functionality.

While this is completely fine on a standard level, some of your clients may want to explore additional options for their employees.

This is where gloCOM GO steps in, expanding the idea of remote work to devices that are more often on hand than laptops, smartphones.

Your client’s team will be able to execute their day-to-day tasks from their smartphones with the same efficiency as they would sitting in the office.

Every single feature from our desktop version was translated and adapted from the desktop to mobile with a suite of quality of life features to make tasks easier to manage on a smaller screen.

All of this serves to make the lives of the employees more comfortable and less stressful without compromising on workplace efficiency

Availability Tracking

gloCOM GO allows its users to dynamically change their activity status, letting others in the workspace know whether they are free to take on more work or if they are busy.

This allows for better work management within the company and is relatively important for remote work due to potential issues with internet connection, allowing for near instant updates.

Carrying The Whole Office In Their Pockets

Users who want to work while out of office retain the same functionalities as they would while at their desks thanks to both gloCOM GO and gloCOM Meeting GO.

They will be able to share files with ease and collaborate with fellow colleagues through chats, calls or scheduled meetings just like they were right there in the office with them.

They will never feel restrained by the mobile app and can interact with them just as well as they would be able to on any other device, relieving some of the stress that may come from remote labor.

BYOD Capable

Another fantastic aspect of gloCOM GO’s portable nature is that it syncs up to the user’s phone, any phone.

Your client does not need to hand out new devices to their employees.

Instead, the employees get to use the device that they are more familiar with as all it takes to set gloCOM GO up on their smartphones is a simple visit to the app store and a tap on the download button.

Be it Android or iPhone, it does not matter, the gloCOM GO app works with all smartphone devices.

Everything They Need In One App

Having access to one’s work on the phone is great, but what is even greater is not having to exit the app to do all your work on it.

Tabbing away from one app to another can be a real hassle, but gloCOM GO syncs up effortlessly with the user’s phone, providing access to SMS, MMS, and voicemail, all through the app itself.

They can even use the app to call others without having to emulate a virtual phone or use their own phone’s call function.

All of this was made to make work more efficient and hassle-free, otherwise there would be little point in considering the mobile option.

Making The Workplace More Flexible

As we have seen with the covid pandemic, there are times when remote work becomes a necessity, which is why it is important for clients to facilitate the required infrastructure.

Not to mention that most workers have shown an increase in both job satisfaction and productivity when having a remote work, or at least a hybrid option.

Bicom Systems’ gloCOM GO provides that option together with our UC solution, PBXware and is a service that your clients are sure to appreciate greatly.

If you would like to see it in action, feel free to Request a Demo, or Contact Us for further information.

Financial Software & Systems Pvt Ltd (FSS), a provider of payments technology solutions headquartered in India, has announced the launch of BLAZE, an advanced payments technology platform designed to meet the diverse needs of banks and financial institutions.

At present, BLAZE is accessible to customers in select markets such as India, the Middle East and Africa. FSS plans to progressively introduce it in additional markets in the upcoming months.

FSS says BLAZE is expected to offer significant efficiency gains in terms of speed and scalability, high durability during peak workloads, improved fraud prevention, and enhanced services to banks and financial institutions, while simplifying choices and bolstering the confidence of end consumers.

For example, it says, FSS Payment Gateway, powered by BLAZE, can handle more than 5,000 transactions per second (TPS) to ensure a higher number of successful transactions during peak hours. BLAZE enables banks to deliver higher TPS to align with growing digital commerce adoption in a country.

FSS points out that banks, currently operating on legacy monolithic infrastructures, face numerous challenges such as the flexibility of enabling quick system integrations, inability to provide exceptional customer experience for ease of payments and ensuring cost efficiency for lower cost per transaction, among others. BLAZE addresses these challenges, FSS says. The adoption of BLAZE, it adds, will also empower financial institutions to roll out innovative payment offerings to market at a much faster speed, enhance their competitive edge and attract new customers.

With us today for a return visit is Raul Martynek, CEO of DataBank.  In our last Q&A, we talked about the company’s purchase of zColo from Zayo during the height of the pandemic.  Now it has been a couple of years, and DataBank has had some time to digest that and other acquired assets like CyrusOne’s Houston footprint.  The company has also accelerated investments in organic new builds across multiple markets.  Most recently they sold off their footprint over in France.  Today we will explore what DataBank’s plans are and what they see on the horizon. … [visit site to read more]

The topic on which PBX plan to go for has always been hotly debated.

As a UCaaS provider, it is important for you to realize each of their strengths and weaknesses as well as the major differences between a cloud-hosted option and an on-premise one and which businesses desire what kind.

Mastering these facets of the telecom industry will help produce greater overall customer satisfaction, so let’s get to learning, shall we?

UCaaS is the preferred option over an on-premise solution for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the main ones.

1. It Scales Better

The core reason behind a preference for a hosted solution in newer businesses is the scalability.

Clients can start small and then scale their options according to budget and business growth.

It allows for better management overall without wasting funds on things that are not needed at the time.

Plus, adding new users to an existing setup takes no time at all in comparison to an on-site installation which would require adding extra hardware on the premises.

2. It Takes Up Less Physical Space

Leading with that, the constant work that would need to be done for a growing company would start taking up a lot of the existing office space due to constant installation work. Not to mention needing to find room for a physical server to reside in the office building.

A lot of new businesses do not really have that kind of space and they have to optimize as best they can to make sure they remain profitable.

3. It Is Cheaper At A Base Level

Speaking of profit, a cloud-based solution is cheaper by default. The upfront cost is quite small compared to an on-premise option simply because there is no mandatory hardware that needs to be obtained aside from IP phones.

And, adding new users to the network is cheaper on a per-user basis too.

4. It Is More Flexible Than An On-Premise Solution

The flexibility of a UCaaS solution already comes from its scalability, however, there is also the fact that a lot of these modern businesses have workers who work remotely or have a hybrid work setup.

An on-premise solution is limited to its hardware more often than not as it usually is a closed system that only covers the building.

Meanwhile, a cloud hosted solution offers users with the right credentials access to the network remotely, letting them work from anywhere with a stable internet connection due to no hardware limitations.

5. It Requires No Setup Or Maintenance From The Client’s Side

Finally, there is no extra work that needs to be done by the client aside from negotiating the deal.

The setup for a UCaaS PBX option is done by the host as is the job of security and maintenance. The client pays for the subscription and reaps the benefits, keeping operation costs low and not needing to create a new department to manage the PBX server.

Why More Seasoned Businesses Like An On-Premise Solution

A cloud system is all well and good and its benefits may paint an on-premise PBX option as something inferior, but it does have its own merits too.

All it comes down to is a matter of business structure and preference on a case by case basis.

Here are some of the main highlights of an on-premise solution.

1. The Client Owns It

While a somewhat aged preference, some clients simply do not enjoy being glued to a subscription and having to rely on outside factors and third parties for their business performance.

Even if it costs them more upfront, they prefer having all the moving parts in-house (the server, in this case).

The business likely has an idea of where to house it without causing any particular workflow disruptions and has a team ready to take care of it.

2. It Offers More Customization Options

Having the PBX server in-house allows these teams to maintain server uptime and security in real time without having to worry about a service-wide outage that may overburden their provider if they were on a cloud-hosted option.

While those rarely happen, having a team at the ready that can start working on removing the issue at hand lets these clients breathe easier knowing they will have minimal downtime.

3. There Is Less Latency

Another obvious benefit of an on-premise PBX solution is the proximity of the server to the business itself.

The larger the distance, the more latency there is between calls and inputs, whereas a server being right in the office means that there is virtually no latency to speak of, greatly improving response time and call quality.

4. The Business Controls The Whole Process

From server location to issue-solving in-house and planned update, the client gets to be in charge of the whole process.

They get to dictate the times at which updates are applied to the system, what features they add and how well everything functions.

A good service provider will cover all of that in a cloud-based system too, certainly, but sometimes clients do not find exactly what they need in any package.

An on-premise solution allows them to tweak this to their benefit through custom security fixes and the like.

Plus, it feels better knowing that they have a team they can trust to be on top of things.

And, depending on how they manage it, the costs of an on-premise PBX system can end up being lower in the long-term than a UCaaS solution would be.

But Which One Is Better?

That is the trick, it depends on the type of business that the client operates.

A cloud-based PBX option offers more flexibility for the worker and relieves a lot of setup and maintenance woes from the business itself.

It is also cheaper and it scales better which makes it the better choice for small to medium sized businesses that are still looking to gain a proper foothold in their respective field and grow some more.

An on-premise solution, on the other hand, is more reliable if the client has a team dedicated to managing it and creating custom solutions that fit their specific business needs.

It also offers better response times and the client owns the whole thing, not to mention that, even in an outage, IP telephony will still function on the premises.

While none of these sound particularly exciting for a newer business, it is an option that a lot of well established businesses prefer for their communication needs.

That is why, there is no definitive answer as to which of the two is better, they just fit some businesses better than others.

What is important is that PBX service providers can recognize these businesses and utilize an adequate marketing strategy on the fly.

Just A Matter Of Preference

Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule, but one needs to read the room to understand this.

It is still best to lay out the benefits of both systems to the client and see which of the two they resonate the best with, then continue pitching the better option of the two.

If one can manage that, they are sure to come to a satisfying deal for both parties.

For those who wish to learn more about the differences between the two, feel free to Contact Us or to Request a Demo to see the capabilities of our two different PBXware deployments.

News 

The funding is part of President Biden’s ‘Internet for All’ initiative, which promises a high-speed internet connection to every American citizen by 2030 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the US government’s Department of Commerce, has awarded seven grants worth nearly $3.5 million to seven Tribal entities as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Programme (TBCP). 

The TBCP is a $3 billion subsidy programme designed to help bring fast internet to Tribal lands. The scheme is funded by President Biden’s Internet for All Initiative, part of The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will provide $2 billion in funding. The Consolidated Appropriations Act provides a further $980 million, bringing the total funding to just under $3 billion. 

The seven new grants bring the total allocated funds to over $1.79 billion, with money awarded to 198 Tribal entities since the programme began in 2021. Successful recent applicants of the $3.5 million in funding include the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, who received $500,000 for the set-up of a wireless site, and the Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation of Washington, which received $466,902 to connect unserved homes and businesses in the community. 

“President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is helping to close the digital divide on tribal lands,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. 

“These grants will reduce barriers to Internet access for tribal communities across five states, connecting them to the education, good-paying jobs, and health care they need to succeed in our 21st century economy.” 

The expansion of high-speed internet access across the US will result in increased economic development, improve quality of life, allow for the creation of remote learning and employment opportunities, and improve access to telehealth within Native American societies, according to the programme. 

Join the discussion around President Biden’s connectivity goals at next year’s Connected America 2024 live in Dallas, Texas 

Also in the news:
Dish seeks extension for purchase of T-Mobile’s low-band spectrum
Brazil making rapid 5G progress but challenges remain on the horizon
ASA bans ‘misleading’ 5G ads from EE 

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News 

The announcement comes as the firm fights with rising costs in the increasingly competitive market 

T-Mobile US has announced that it will cut 5,000 jobs in the US, reducing its 71,000-person workforce by 7%.  

The job cuts will take place over the next five weeks, and will include both corporate and back-office roles, although the cuts will not impact the firm’s retail and customer care divisions. 

“Impacted roles are primarily duplicative to other roles, or may be aligned to systems or processes that are changing, or may not fit with our current company priorities. Some areas of the business will be implementing more centralized models where they can improve efficiency and effectiveness and save costs. We’re also taking opportunities to build bigger, broader people manager roles with deeper spans and fewer layers, to provide longer-term growth opportunities. At the same time, we’ll also be decreasing our reliance and spend on external workers and resources,” said CEO Mike Sievert in an email to staff. 

“Today’s changes are all about getting us efficiently focused on a finite set of winning strategies, so that we can continue to out-pace our competitors and have the financial capability to deliver a differentiated network and customer experience to a continually growing customer base, while simultaneously meeting our obligations to our shareholders,” he added. 

In the release of its Q2 reports last month, T-Mobile reported profits of $2.2 billion, up from a $108 million loss for the same period last year. Furthermore, the firm announced a gain of 760,000 postpaid mobile customers, its highest increase in the quarter for eight years, and the most in the US mobile industry. 

Considering the firm’s recent success, laying off so many employees may appear questionable, especially given the company’s promises of job creation surrounding the company’s merger with Sprint. Sivert added that “the time to challenge the status quo and write the next chapter, is WHILE we are still successful. That’s how we sustain it.” 

It is estimated that the firm will incur a charge of around $450 million as a result of the move. 

Upon the announcement on Thursday, shares were down 2%. 

T-Mobile’s largest rivals are also undergoing major workforce reductions in recent years; AT&T has cut roughly 45,000 in the last two years, while Verizon has cut around 18,000 in a similar time frame. 

Join the discussion around America’s changing telecoms market at next year’s operators in discussion at Connected America 2024 live in Dallas, Texas 

Also in the news:
Dish seeks extension for purchase of T-Mobile’s low-band spectrum
Brazil making rapid 5G progress but challenges remain on the horizon
ASA bans ‘misleading’ 5G ads from EE 

News 

Huawei is currently the world’s largest 5G patent owner with 20% of global patents 

Chinese tech giant Huawei has signed a deal with Sweden’s Ericsson to renew their patent cross-licensing agreement.  

The deal, which was last renewed in January 2016, allows each company to access each other’s patented technologies deemed vital to product standards set by 3GPP, ITU, IEEE, and IETF, covering 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular technologies. 

 “We need to pay Ericsson and Ericsson need to pay Huawei, so there is some net payment from one company to the other company,” explained Emil Zhang, Head of European Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) at Huawei. 

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. 

“This agreement demonstrates the commitment of both parties that intellectual property should be respected and rewarded, and that leading technological innovations should be shared across the industry,” said Christina Petersson, Ericsson’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer. 

“We are delighted to reach a long-term global cross-licensing agreement with Ericsson,” said Alan Fan, Head of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Department. 

“As major contributors of standard essential patents (SEPs) for mobile communication, the companies recognize the value of each other’s intellectual property, and this agreement creates a stronger patent environment. It demonstrates the commitment both parties have forged that intellectual property should be properly respected and protected.” 

Under the agreement made in 2016, Huawei would make “ongoing royalty payments” to Ericsson based on the sale of products using the Swedish vendor’s patents. 

Today, Ericsson says the new deal will contribute to it increasing its IPR revenues for 2023 to approximately SEK 11 billion ($1 billion). Huawei, similarly, has been a major contributor to mainstream ICT standards for over 20 years, including cellular, Wi-Fi, and multimedia codecs. Last year, the company filed 4,505 patents to the European Patent Office, the most of any company.  

Patent licencing is a major revenue stream for the company, which reportedly made between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion from licencing between 2019 and 2021. Since then, the company has only increased its research efforts, claiming to have spent  $125 billion on R&D in the last decade. 

This revenue stream has not been without controversy, however. Back in May, it was announced that US-based network equipment maker ADVA Optical Networking would sue Huawei for charging “grossly excessive” fees for the use of their intellectual property , and asking ADVA to pay for patents not required by international standards. ADVA argue that Huawei is using its dominant position in the IP area to apply disproportionate influence over the market. 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter direct to your inbox 

Also in the news: 

Huawei’s secret semiconductor strategy to skirt sanctions
Battle for Ethiopia’s mobile money market begins as Safaricom’s M-Pesa takes on TeleBirr
What’s in a name? 6G Internet falls foul of advertising regulator over consumer confusion 

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.