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Alpha Telecom, the leading player in the UK prepaid telephony market, has migrated its prepaid services to the AutoCarrier® technology of European Computer Telecoms (ECT)
Alpha Telecom has replaced its legacy prepaid calling card systems with ECT�s AutoCarrier® softswitch which it now uses as the basis for numerous prepaid services.
London, Munich, the 18th august 2004 � Alpha Telecom, the brand leader in the prepaid fixed-line telephony segment in Great Britain and a subsidiary of Tele2 AB, needed to replace its legacy prepaid calling card platform with a high-density, state-of-the-art solution that could accommodate hundreds of E1 lines. After considering an upgrade of their older equipment and reviewing leading prepaid platforms, Alpha chose ECT's AutoCarrier® Softswitch and Prepaid Services Application. ECT delivered the turnkey solution within several weeks and migrated the complete calling card data from Alpha�s older equipment which was subsequently taken out of service. In addition to the technical advantages of ECT�s solution, business considerations such as its short return on investment and significantly lower maintenance costs played a crucial role in Alpha Telecom�s decision. �By winning over this very important UK provider of prepaid services, we have further solidified our position as Europe�s market leader in this segment,� says Chris Foxell, President Sales of the European Computer Telecoms Ltd. �By migrating to ECT technology, Alpha Telecom made the right choice. We are proud to be contributing to the continued success of Alpha and the entire Tele2 Group.�
After acquisition by the Tele2 Group, Alpha Telecom - one of Great Britain�s leading providers of prepaid calling cards - decided to replace its older Digitalk prepaid calling card platforms with the newest technology available on the market. Following a competitive bidding and selection process, Alpha Telecom gave the ECT Group the nod. Based on the newest generation of CompactPCI technology, ECT provided Alpha a carrier-class solution for all types of innovative prepaid services including message forwarding and prepaid conferencing. As part of a �buy-back programme,� ECT has taken Alpha�s older systems in partial payment for the new technology.
�We are pleased that Alpha Telecom and its customers now benefit from our cost-effective prepaid solutions�, said Dr. Marshall E. Kavesh, CEO and co-founder of the ECT Group. The Tele2 Group utilises ECT technology for prepaid calling cards and other value-added services in Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden and Spain.
Background Information on the AutoCarrier® Prepaid Solution:
High Availability and High Density. A key factor in prepaid projects is the scalability and reliability of the technology used. The Compact-PCI architecture of the AutoCarrier® ensures high availability and enables the realisation of extremely large systems in a comparably small space. ECT has delivered AutoCarrier® Softswitches with over 400 E1 lines, supporting the SS7 IUP/ISUP protocols. Each high-density trunk card in the softswitch provides not only 16 E1 lines, but also the complete digital signalling processors (DSP) required to realise the interactive voice response for the prepaid services. For this reason, the ECT solution is able to accommodate up to 192 E1 lines in just one AutoCarrier® Communications Server. Moreover, as multiple Communications Servers can be employed in one softswitching node, ECT customers can quickly and easily expand the initial installation. The architecture of the AutoCarrier® thus play a key role in winning major contracts, as these performance features support even the most ambitious expansion plans.
Switchless Resellers. Large providers of prepaid services also require the best possible reseller functionality, e.g. the ability to carry the traffic of third-party retailers of prepaid calling cards. The so-called switchless reseller produces his own cards, while the provider switches the traffic at predefined wholesale rates. With the ECT solution, these switchless resellers create and administer their own prepaid calling cards from the browser of any PC with Internet or intranet access to the system. The reseller can directly conduct his entire calling card business. He can set up his own interactive voice response using the Visual Call Flow Builder, generate PINs, even choosing the PIN length, define his own customer tariffs and assign them to batches. Batches and individual cards can be activated up to a predefined credit limit, and CDRs can be downloaded as required. Each reseller can even define his own voice prompting for his prepaid products, differentiating his cards from those of other switchless resellers on the same platform.
Voice Prompting. Using a simple-to-use tool called Visual Call Flow Builder (VCB), ECT�s prepaid solution allows a provider and its resellers to develop and offer individual calling-card services without having to employ sophisticated and manufacturer-specific programming skills. As all VCB functions are mapped by means of icons and interlinked using simple logic, users need no special programming skills. Not only does this provide greater clarity for the entire call flow process, but it also saves a considerable amount of time when creating the voice prompting for individual prepaid products.
About Alpha Telecom
Alpha International Overseas Telecommunications Services Ltd. is a fully operating division of Tele2 AB with its head office in Funchal, Madeira. AIOTSL is part of the Tele2 group which provides services to over 20 million customers in Europe. Alpha Telecom was founded in 1996 and quickly established itself as the brand leader in prepaid fixed-line telephony segment in Great Britain. In February 2003, Alpha Telecom was acquired by Tele2 AB. Alpha has built its reputation on delivering low cost calls for customers. The customers keep in contact with family and friends assured that Alpha is always giving them great value. Alpha specialises in prepaid telecommunications services and possesses a major share of the UK prepaid telephony market. Customers are offered a range of tariffs all targeting specific international destinations.
About the European Computer Telecoms Group
The European Computer Telecoms Group, or ECT for short, was established in Munich, Germany in 1998, shortly after the German telecommunications market was liberalised. Today ECT encompasses the mother company European Computer Telecoms AG as well as the European Computer Telecoms Ltd. in London and the ECT Vertriebs- and Servicegesellschaft mbH in Munich. In addition, there are registered ECT Sales and Service Centres in Paris, Strasbourg, The Hague, Warsaw and Vienna. ECT is also affiliated with Interactive Technologies Holdings Limited in Hong Kong and has a direct sales and service presence in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
ECT enables highly profitable value-added services via software applications running on its own complete line of open platforms for public switching, service nodes, intelligent networks, intelligent peripherals and next-generation networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP). ECT�s mobile value-added services, e.g. Ring Back Tone Service, Prepaid Mobile and Number Portability, are utilized by major mobile carriers, such as Vodafone D2, Tele2, TeliaSonera, Omnitel, the Saunalahti Group, Radiolinja and Hutchison. ECT's fixed-line customers include major incumbents, such as BT, Deutsche Telekom and TeliaSonera, as well as alternative carriers, such as Tele2, Completel, Telewest and Versatel. ECT value-added services are also to be found at major Internet service providers, such as the United Internet AG, as well as larger providers of prepaid calling cards and services, such as Alpha Telecom, the Calling Card Company Ltd., Central Telecom and Mox Telecom. In the recently liberalized markets of Eastern Europe, ECT also provides cost-efficient and low-maintenance public switching with interconnection. In the Czech Republic, for instance, ECT has equipped virtually all the alternative carriers including PragoNet, the local subsidiary of the Deutsche Telekom Group.
ECT has developed a large family of applications for value-added services, such as fixed-line and mobile number portability, service numbers with televoting and network-based call centre functionality, ring back tone service, prepaid mobile, teleconferencing services, personal number services, and prepaid calling cards. Additional service applications are introduced on a regular basis, all of which run on both the ECT AutoCarrier® and INtellECT® platforms. The AutoCarrier® is a class 4 softswitch that can be utilised for both interconnection to the public telephone network as well as intelligent value-added services. Via its INtellECT® Service Control Point, ECT realises intelligent networks with the Intelligent Network Application Protocol (INAP) CS1 and CS2.
For further press information:
European Computer Telecoms AG
Hagen Gutsfeld
Marketing and PR
Ridlerstraße 55
80339 Munich
Germany
Tel.: (0049) 89/ 55 29 47 � 169
Fax: (0049) 89/ 55 29 47 - 111
E-Mail: hagen.gutsfeld@ect-telecoms.de
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