The AudioCodes Mediant1 family is a deserved market leader in the VoIP Media Gateways arena. However, there are times when even the leader needs a little help. The Mediant is designed for standard calls (tens of seconds) which is rule in regular applications. The PVx Accelerator adds extra SIP call handling that turbo-charges the Mediant CPS and allows it to really succeed in the heaviest traffic scenarios with a lot of short calls.

Perfect for heavy-duty applications: 

• Call Centres 
• Tele-voting
• IVR
• Premium rate number services
• Programmed outbound dialing

more text  here

The need to deliver voice and data access to remote and rural communities remains pressing. While the issue is attracting increasing attention and there is a wide range of funding sources, this has yet to translate into significant positive action. As an award-winning supplier of innovative rural connectivity solutions across the African continent, WTL is an active stakeholder in this community. We feel we have a great deal to contribute to the debate but do not know all the answers and, because we wish to contribute findings to the debate and help the industry advance towards practical, universally available solutions, we conduct detailed surveys among the stakeholder community, to gather opinions and take the temperature. The input is valuable and we appreciate all those who contribute – and, in recognition of these efforts, WTL is proud to share the findings with the community at large.

One of the most important of these sources of capital is Universal Service Funding, which is reserved in many countries for the specific purpose of supporting network rollout to achieve full national coverage. This has become contentious. For example, to some, it must be equally accessible to all, preventing the creation of monopolies in remote regions; to others, it’s a lever that, skilfully applied, will subsidise a single player to make a bold leap – and to deliver exciting results. These views may be opposing, with the result that a deadlock exists. Of course, there may be other reasons – regardless, USF capital has yet to deliver the benefits it promises.

Ovum view

• Despite relatively high mobile penetration rates in Africa, broadband penetration remains low, particularly in rural and remote areas. 
• Rural areas in Africa are characterized by vast unconnected areas with sparsely distributed populations, underdeveloped basic infrastructure, and relatively low income levels, which discourage service providers from investing in broadband networks. 
• There is growing demand for broadband services in the rural areas of Africa, which creates huge opportunities for service providers. However, broadband requirements for rural users vary greatly from those in urban areas. 
• Use of alternative technologies will play an important role in bridging the connectivity gap in rural and underserved areas of Africa. 
• Partnerships are vital in improving broadband connectivity in rural and underserved areas of Africa. 
• Alternative broadband technologies face regulatory challenges, due to lack of regulatory frameworks to support the licensing of such technologies.

The Nigerian mobile space has grown to be the biggest in Africa ranked by the subscriber base and revenue and remains attractive despite the high cost of doing business. There are 4 major and many minor operators currently licensed and active. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) originally set the date for commencement of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) as long ago as May 2009.

Recently the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Eugene Juwah assured the country that MNP would be fully implemented before the end of the first quarter of 2013.

WTL became involved in this prestigious project in the second half of 2012. Existing customer ICN had won the contract to operate the MNP service in the country and called on a number of leading vendors to supply infrastructure and expertise.

Breeze Micro Ltd is a NCC-licensed Interconnect Exchange operator based in Abuja, Nigeria. This is a start-up activity with the advantage of being able to source the very latest equipment on which to base their new business.

With a very demanding set of technical and operational requirements and against tough competition from all the leading vendors in the market, WTL were delighted to be awarded the deal, worth more than $1M over the next 3 years.

This significant contract appointed WTL to be the lead supplier of voice and SMS switching infrastructure and Wholesale Billing for a major new force on the Nigerian telecoms scene.