Things are on the up and up for Netcentrex, a provider of next generation converged voice and video solutions. The company announced today that it has signed deals with ten new customers and six new partners in Central and Eastern Europe during the past 12 months. Subsequently, Netcentrex is well positioned to capitalize on the rapid deployment of advanced IP networks and IP-based services in those regions.

The company is expected to officially announce the news tomorrow, during the first day of the TMC Internet Telephony Conference and Expo East 2006, scheduled to take place Jan. 24-27 at the Broward County Convention Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Netcentrex is an exhibitor and platinum sponsor for TMC Internet Telephony Conference and Expo, and Netcentrex Director of Marketing Brian Mahony is a presenter at one of the show’s seminars, “Current State of IPTV,” to be held 2 to 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25. The seminar is part of the Expo’s “IPTV Forum.”

“As the market moves from basic voice to advanced IP services, thanks to broadband, opportunities for video and fixed-mobile convergent solutions will grow,” said Olivier Hersent, chairman and CTO of Netcentrex, in a company press release announcing the news.

Netcentrex’s growth serves as confirmation that CEE operators are committed to delivering IP-based networks and services. According to the market research firm IDC, the number of VoIP minutes in Central and Eastern Europe has more than quintupled since 2004 - and is expected to more than triple in 2006, when spending is projected to grow by 80 percent. Although market growth is currently being hampered by deregulation and the need to upgrade legacy networks, there is a significant demand for advanced communication services in countries such as Poland, Croatia and Slovenia.

Recent deployments which NetCentrex can toot its horn about include MobilTel AD in Bulgaria, Optima Telekom and Portus d.o.o. in Croatia. Plus, the company is expected to announce two new deployments in Slovenia later this week.

In addition, the company claims five more deployments are underway in Russia, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic - including two incumbent operators. These deployments bring the total number of Netcentrex customers in the region to 21, with deployments ranging from NextGen POTs, to FMC and video communication services for cable, fiber and xDSL networks.

To ensure customer relations and business growth, Netcentrex has established a direct sales presence in Russia, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and an extensive partner network that includes AMT Group in Russia, ANECT in the Czech Republic, Lirex BG in Bulgaria, Solidex in Poland, Smart Com in Slovenia and Verso in Croatia. The company says it has appointed a sales manager for countries where it has not yet established a direct presence.

And several new partner announcements are scheduled.

“Besides the traditional prepaid and softphone based services,VoIP growth in Central and Eastern Europe has been most evident in the business services sector with deployments for business trunking, IP centrex, VoIP VPN and peering, providing strong results for Netcentrex, said Boris Dezier, general manager for Central and Eastern Europe at Netcentrex. “In countries where broadband is reasonably available, the structure of small and medium enterprises enables them to adapt and migrate to network-based communication solutions more easily than large businesses. In addition to significant cost savings, these enterprises benefit from rich communication features and advanced services such as FMC and video applications. However, Netcentrex has also deployed a number of residential communication solutions in the region that deliver services for double and triple play offerings.”

Netcentrex develops unique next generation network (NGN) voice and video solutions that enable telecom operators and service providers to deliver voice-video-data and fixed-mobile converged services for both the consumer and enterprise markets. The company has over 2.5 million VoIP lines in commercial service and has been recognized as a worldwide leader for Class 5 application servers.

For more information about Netcentrex visit www.Netcentrex.net.

 

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.