PortaSwitch is a unified platform for telecommunication service providers, wholesale carriers, ISP, MVNO and NGN operators for unifying voice and data traffic within a single converged network. It provides various prepaid, postpaid, retail and wholesale telecommunication services, including calling cards, Vonage- and Skype-like services, CLEC type services, MVNO & MVNE, ISP, WiMAX & WiFi and much more.
The main components of PortaSwitch are:
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PortaBilling – real-time converged billing and service provisioning system.
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PortaSIP – a class 4 (SBC) and class 5 SIP softswitch with media application (PortaSIP Media Server) that plays IVR (voice prompts).
On the network level, PortaSIP communicates with IP phones, communication clients (on PCs, smartphones, etc.), and VoIP gateways via the SIP protocol. There are no restrictions as far as the vendor or model of the equipment – basically any communication device which supports SIP can be used in conjunction with PortaSIP for services such as voice or video calls, presence, or instant messaging.
The PortaBilling component stores all the information about your products, rates and customers and the service configuration for individual customers or phone lines. It is managed via a web interface and includes a self-care portal for your end users. PortaBilling controls call processing on PortaSIP (whether a caller is allowed to make a call) as well as real-time routing (which carriers and in which order should be used to send a call in order to maximize profit and provide the required quality of service).
PortaBilling is a converged system; it can be used as a single administration interface to manage (or bill for) multiple services, including those provided by third-party network elements (for instance, LTE SAE-GW or WiMAX ASN-GW), while charges for the different services will be grouped on a single bill.
The key difference between PortaSwitch and more traditional “switch” products is that PortaSwitch offers much more. It includes the BSS component, and so is a unified service management and delivery platform.
As a service provider, you want not only to let customers make phone calls, but also to use the platform as your main source of revenue generation. Thus PortaSwitch provides real-time verification of available funds, detects and prevents potential fraudulent activity, automatically disconnects calls to prevent balance overdrafts, provides flexible rating of service usage, offers a tool to create attractive product bundles, automatically assesses monthly recurring charges, generates and delivers invoices electronically, and enforces the payment collection process.
