Following soft launch in January, Mobilise Consulting becomes the first provider of a fully tested and market-fit Wi-Fi Calling system for network carriers months ahead of offerings from competitors such as Vodafone and EE; first customer is Globecom Services
Mobilise Consulting, a leading provider of B2B mobile consultancy services and solutions, today announces that it has launched the first white label Wi-Fi Calling app and management system for mobile network operators (MNOs) and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
Called Switchboard, the mobile app is currently for Android smartphones and allows users to manage their wireless service provider account and to make and send calls and text over their Wi-Fi connection. The iOS version is currently in beta and will be available in the coming weeks.
Today’s launch follows a soft roll out to selected MVNOs in January 2015 and is now fully-tested and market-fit. The first industry-wide demonstrations of Switchboard take place at next month’s MVNO World Congress in Nice, France, (21–23 April).
The first customer for Wi-Fi Calling is Globecom Services for its range of calling services across the UK and Europe and commercial discussions with several other early market adopters are at an advanced stage.
Wi-Fi Calling is the conventional name for a technology that allows data packets from a smartphone to be transferred to a carrier over the internet and then injected back into the mobile network.
Unlike services like Skype which let account holders talk to other people using call forwarding or an internet-based interface, Wi-Fi Calling lets them use their actual mobile phone number over the internet.
Wi-Fi Calling is also distinct from VoIP technology. It lets smartphone owners use an internet-connected phone exactly as they would a landline. VoIP transfers a voice over the internet to a switched telephone network, whereas Wi-Fi Calling connects a voice to the mobile carrier’s network using the internet instead of cell towers.
The ad vantages of Switchboard for carriers and virtual carriers are manyfold: it can help them to reduce wholesale costs, enables users to make and receive calls using their existing phone number when network coverage is poor and it can mitigate revenue leakage to provide
Users can use Switchboard to call mobiles and landlines in any country and benefit from low cost international calling as a result.
Switchboard is not just a must-have app for users to call and send messages. It also has a Self Care functionality tool enabling carriers to provide end users with an interface to manage their profiles and service subscriptions without recourse to a call centre.
“Wi-Fi home networks and hotspots are now critical tools for network carriers to keep up with growing mobile data use,” says Ciaran McHugh, Globecom’s Operations Director. “Mobilise’s Switchboard provides Globecom with the perfect tool to build, manage and retain our customer base.”
Switchboard is powered by Mobilise’s CC call routing, web services and billing platform and provides a reliable, affordable, intelligent and secure VoIP softswitch routing and billing solution for fixed/landline service providers. This gives providers the scalability and flexibility needed to succeed in the highly-competitive VoIP market.
CC Routing is an all-in-one management tool for IP Telephony Services. It integrates call routing services, client management, and an advanced reporting platform to provide VoIP and circuit switch origination and termination. It supports pre-paid and post-paid billing with call rating and credit control which can also be integrated into a carriers or operators existing rating and billing platform for charging with a subscribers existing mobile or wireless account. CC can also integrate with online payment gateways to provide a Web store for users to purchase products and sign up for VoIP accounts.
Mobilis e Consulting is a young and agile mobile consulting firm with a growing blue-chip customer base. Over 5 million mobile users today benefit from Mobilise Consulting’s solutions and services.
The firm has three business units serving the mobile industry – technology management, consultancy services and software development.
