Global telecommunications networks are phasing out physical legacy infrastructure in favor of IP-based communications. But for some businesses, the new technology and compliance practices that come with transitioning to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems can be intimidatingly complex. 

Why is now the time to move your communications to VoIP?

The cost of maintaining physical infrastructure coupled with the notoriously inflexible nature of copper wire telephone lines has caused many countries to rethink their dependence on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). While this shift toward internet-based calling began in the 1990’s, it has steadily gained momentum since the emergence and broad global adoption of smartphones. Now, countries worldwide are decommissioning their physical telephony infrastructure, such as  Australia and the United Kingdom who have committed to decommissioning their PSTN networks altogether by 2025.

As most of the western world begins to minimize investment in the PSTN, it is more important than ever to start thinking about making the switch to VoIP for your voice communications. 

Benefits Explained: Numbers and SIP Trunking

VoIP offers flexible calling plans, access to local numbers in geographies all across the world and additional number features–all at a cheaper cost than maintaining legacy systems associated with fixed-line communications. 

• International VoIP carriers can help expand your global reach, with access to international numbers and global voice service on-demand–so you can respond to customers whenever, wherever they are.
• There is no need for concern about feature parity between on-premise and VoIP-based solutions. PSTN Replacement describes a feature set of VoIP telephony services in a specific country or area. In countries where PSTN replacement is available, numbers will have inbound and outbound local calling; geographic, toll-free, and national number resources; emergency service-enabled numbers; guaranteed Calling Line Identity (CLI) passthrough; dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling; and number portability. PSTN replacement essentially ensures you don’t have to compromise on any of your on-premise number features as you move off the PSTN.

Switch and Save

It may be a surprise that moving away from the PSTN and expanding globally can be done in a cost-effective manner. How? There are two main reasons:

1. The equipment needed to support fixed-line communications is often costly to set up and maintain. With IP-based systems, no hardware is required other than a computer and an internet connection, allowing you to scale trunks up and down as you need at little-to-no cost.
2. In addition, communications providers that offer international service enable you to buy numbers and minutes without the hassle of managing multiple vendor relationships and contracts for each new country or region–saving valuable time and money. 

VoIP has many benefits for the end-user, but it also has a number of unique selling points for resellers. Whether you are a large company or a small business, the same benefit applies: cost savings. On-premise PBX (private branch exchange) has its prospects, but for most use cases, cloud PBX is the way to go. 

Interested in learning more?

Access markets all across the world with Bicom Systems and Telnyx. Through our partnership, we make it easier for businesses to scale their communications globally with a suite of self-service tooling for number search and provisioning, SIP Trunk creation and management, debugging, and QoS reporting. Telnyx offers Bicom Systems customers PSTN Replacement in over 30 countries, including key markets such as the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and the Netherlands. 

To learn more about Bicom Systems and Telnyx and how we can help you expand your global offering, register for our upcoming webinar–the first in our new series, “Expanding global connectivity”.

Treten Networks, an ICT solutions and enterprise security services business, has partnered with Africa Data Centres. This partnership will, it says, allow Treten’s customers access to the cloud and infrastructure they need to realise their digital transformation goals.

Treten Networks offers specialist business advisory services that provide advanced network and security solutions. It has a footprint in over 18 countries across Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Canada and the UK.

In addition to its existing services, Treten will now leverage Africa Data Centres’ physical infrastructure and ecosystem of connectivity partners to support cloud deployments for its customers.

Both organisations aim to solve customers’ business challenges with this partnership by providing what are described as sustainable game-changing technologies and solutions.

Operating the continent’s largest carrier-neutral data centres, Africa Data Centres has access to tens of thousands of connections to cloud, content and network providers from Africa and across the globe. As a result, Treten says that its own customers will reap the benefits of connecting directly with secure, low-latency connections to key providers and business partners.

Together, Africa Data Centres and Treten say they can provide organisations with secure private infrastructure and access to hyperscale cloud providers through numerous interconnections and exchanges.

Treten Networks is rapidly expanding its footprint with its bespoke cloud service offerings, including compute, storage, networking, backup and recovery. « We already boast of an extremely low latency and the fastest cloud service in Nigeria, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Africa Data Centres, » says Karo Esemitodje, Head of Cloud Services from Treten Networks.

An optical upgrade, a technology partnership, a new IX, and some data center M&A: … [visit site to read more]

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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.

Three contract wins and a new product launch before you go home for the weekend: … [visit site to read more]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Andy Burrell, Head of Portfolio Marketing, CNS Business Applications, Nokia

Before it was even available, Communication service providers (CSPs) crowned 5G as a game-changer for delivering a new network experience and new services to their customers. Praised for its ultra-low latency networks and high speeds, 5G would enable service providers to facilitate more than just connectivity. Some of the new services included offerings such as private wireless networks with industrial apps, dedicated 5G slices, new data insights and plug-and-play APIs — to name a few. … [visit site to read more]

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.

According to the CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association) October 4th, 2022 marked the ten-year anniversary of celebrating Customer Experience Day. The association implemented the CX Day to shine a light on the CX Professionals and the significance of the work they do. It is usually celebrated by various webinars for the CX representatives, offering a space to share ideas. A decade-long tradition proves the importance of carefully designed CX programs within almost any business organization out there. Therefore, to this day, every year on the first Tuesday in October, CX professionals around the globe celebrate CX Day by sharing their success stories and promoting great customer experience as the future of thriving business strategies.

But What is CX Exactly?

Customer Experience (CX) refers to everything related to a business that affects the feelings and perception of its customers, or users of the service in a broader sense. Harvard Business Review, for example, defined CX as “the sum-totality of how customers engage with your company and brand, not just in a snapshot in time, but throughout the entire arc of being a customer.” A significant number of prosperous brands we know and enjoy today have discovered that making the shift from a traditional product-oriented strategy to a more customer-centric culture distinguishes a good brand from a great one. Having our customers in the center of all company activities will move the company closer to an improved customer experience and delivering value which is in demand on the market. This mindset resulted in creating a strategic framework known as customer-centricity, which is now one of the fundamental terms in the CX world.

Our CX Dream Team

Following the market trends, and with a desire to further improve our service, Bicom Systems established its CX team in 2020 within the Customer Operations Department. The team now consists of three ladies, all dedicated to improving the customer-centric culture in our company. As this is one of the first CX teams in the region, our CX representatives did a lot of research on their own, acquired a small library about the profession, and attended various online trainings, webinars, and master classes – all with one goal in mind; to come up with a strategy which will make our partners’ experiences intentional and positive.

To align with the ultimate goal, the team implemented the following changes in the company during its relatively short time of existence:

• Implemented Survey Culture – after every Beta the team reaches out to its participants to give them a chance to comment and provide feedback regarding the product, documentation, and general experience.
• CSAT surveys are now available after every closed support ticket. It is important to point out that the CX team follows up on every negative review, with the hope to improve the service.
• A feedback channel is also available on the Support Portal, so partners can leave feedback whenever needed.
• An escalation procedure has been introduced, to prioritize urgent issues.
• The team also started working on the Customer Journey Map. This is one of the most important projects in the CX world. The map visually represents every interaction a customer has with the company, so these touch points can be improved over a period of time.
• Last but not least, is the customer-centric culture to which we aspire. Changing the general mindset and the culture is a lengthy process and not an easy one. However, this is precisely why every company should have a team committed to implementing small and big changes which ultimately affect the experience, and shift every procedure to a more customer-centric side.

Hopefully, we have convinced you to prioritize CX in your own area of work and start celebrating it as well. Happy CX Day!

P.S: If you want to know more about CX Day, you can follow this link.