VoIP & Gadget News – CounterPath Hosted Service Delivers Over-the-Top Fixed Mobile Services

Today, Counterpath launched a hosted service that enables wireline operators to deliver voice and SMS to any mobile phone on any mobile network. Their NCG Exchange product gives telcos, cable operators, hosted VoIP providers, Internet Telephony service providers, CLECs and other Wireline Operators with a cost-effective solution for enabling Over-the-Top, Fixed-Mobile Services. One of the features includes Voice Call Continuity (VCC), which Counterpath’s Todd Carothers demonstrated to me at ITEXPO.

With NCG Exchange, wireline operators can immediately provide their enterprise, SMB and SOHO customers with mobile VoIP and messaging services that are delivered over-the-top (OTT) of mobile networks, regardless of which carrier the customer uses.

Hosted and provisioned by CounterPath, NCG Exchange services work with any mobile handset – including smartphones and feature phones – without the requirement to install any software on the mobile handset. To further enhance the NCG Exchange service, operators can choose to deploy CounterPath’s Bria iPhone Edition or Bria Android Edition softphones, giving their customers the additional options of communicating over Wi-Fi and 3G/4G IP alongside the standard mobile voice and SMS channels. Operators can also leverage CounterPath’s Bria desktop/laptop PC or Mac softphones, allowing their customers to use their communications services seamlessly across both desktop softphones and mobile phones.

According to Counterpath, “NCG Exchange’s highly flexible, network- and device-agnostic architecture means a wireline operator’s customers now can put a single phone number on their business cards with the confidence that they can always communicate with a single number by voice, IM and SMS – an ability that goes beyond rudimentary find-me/follow-me services. The technology behind NCG Exchange is unique to CounterPath and leverages the company’s intellectual property portfolio, which includes patents that enable single-number identities and seamless service delivery across disparate fixed, mobile, legacy and IMS networks.”

Other benefits to wireline operators include:

New revenue sources. Wireline operators now can offer SMS-to-VoIP and VoIP-to-SMS messaging services to their customers. SMS is a premium service for end users and promotes greater adoption of VoIP softphones.

Expedite service launch. NCG Exchange is fast and easy for operators to implement within weeks instead of months. Operators can refine and take NCG services in-house as they ramp traffic on the NCG Exchange platform.

CapEx-free implementation. NCG Exchange requires no additional network infrastructure and no new customer devices because its OTT design leverages existing investments.

“NCG Exchange gives wireline operators a fast, cost-effective way to remain relevant in a communications environment that is moving beyond voice and fixed-location communications,” said Todd Carothers, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Products, CounterPath. “Sprint’s recent integration of Google Voice, including offering unlimited calls to mobile users and a single voicemail box, highlights a new trend in mobile VoIP. CounterPath’s NCG Exchange provides mobile, cable telephony and wireline operators with powerful new options for capitalizing on that trend while going beyond rudimentary find-me/follow-me services, such as Google Voice, to provide a suite of enterprise-grade single-number services. NCG Exchange puts operators in complete control of services creation so they can maximize revenue opportunities, protect their margins and fend off Skype, Rebtel and other companies that are encroaching on their markets.”

NCG Exchange for wireline operators is available from CounterPath now.

Tags: counterpath, fmc, mobile phone, ncg exchange, sip, sms, voice call continuity, voip
Related tags: wireline operators, fixed mobile, single number, google voice, messaging services, mobile