Data on the move

Calls can be missed in operators network due to phones not answering, switched off, mobile phones out of reach, or telecoms network problems. Netfors Missed Call Alert, MCA solution can help operators retain revenue on missed calls by sending information to subscribers on all missed calls by use of SMS,USSD and Voice Mails. This way the subscribers stay in contact with their network and business connections and the operators protect their revenue.
The Netfors MCA differentiates from traditional Voice Mail solutions by also providing a user friendly click to call functionality via USSD.
The flexible modular solution can function as a stand alone platform or can be used in connection with existing platforms in order to enhance the payback on previous investments.

Netfors SMSC supports SMS home routing. The SMSC signalling inter-working with Home Location Register (HLR) changes the flow of inbound SMS messages and directs them to SMSC, instead of straight to target mobile handsets.

SMS home routing makes it possible for MNO and MVNO to provide its customers information on all SMS traffic and to offer advanced value added services such as:

• Spam Filtering
• Message contents can be presented to the user online web, similar to Google voice
• Divert: customer can divert incoming SMS to any other SMS capable device in the world (as part of call forwarding, or separately)
• Mobile subscriber can receive forward SMS as an email
• Parent SMS control: parents can set time windows during which SMS (MO and MT) and disabled or enabled, so for example SMS do not circulate during dinner times, night hours, homework times, and so on.
• Offensive languages filter for certain offensive words. Parent can be alerted if child sends or receives messages with such words.
• Auto reply for example when the customer is traveling in an unusual time zone.

Netfors delivers SMSC home routing as customized solutions which fits the actual needs for inter-working with systems providing the value added services to end customers.

The order was achieved from a Telecom Value Added Services Company offering SMS services to leading Mobile Operators in India. This batch of 10 Netfors SMSC is customised with features helping clients to grow revenues with use of SMSC Subscriber Management features. The same VAS company received deliveries for more than 15 installations of Netfors SMSC and USSD center during 2009.
The Netfors’ installed base is currently delivering more than 2000 mio SMS/month.
Netfors SMSC and USSD software is delivered to operators and service providers worldwide. Netfors foresee USSD as the next coming growth area in mobile messaging.
You can find more information on Netfors SS7 solutions and products on www.netfors.com .

Netfors efforts has been spend on extending the SMSC / USSD product offerings. The scalable system architecture makes it possible for Incumbents, Entry Operators and service providers to select features, performance and robustness that fit into their needs.

Also solutions extending business by integrating Asterisk solutions and Mobile communication have been defined and are ready for customization in actual cases. VoIP - and Call Center Operators can utilize business possibilities in access to Mobile Operators SS7 network by use of Netfors SS7 products.

New products and information are available for:

Call Center solution
The Netfors Call Center solution provides features for Call Centers to improve business results by lowering costs for calling mobile users and providing features for expanding business into SMS / USSD.

Personnel and investments in Call Center facilities can be utilized expanding business with marketing campaigns, polls and similar activities by addressing mobile users with SMS and USSD facilities. Also expensive Call Center calls to Mobile Users outside the coverage area of their own Operator, abroad or in another region, can be avoided.

VoIP and Mobile Softswitch solution
The Netfors VoIP and Mobile Softswitch solution provides features for VoIP Operators to improve business results by lowering costs for calling mobile users and providing features for SMS / USSD services.

The solution can avoid expensive calls to Mobile Users outside the coverage area of their own Operator, abroad or in another region. Investments and experience in Asterisk facilities can be utilized for expanding business with SMS and USSD facilities for bulk employee messaging, employee polls, marketing campaigns and similar activities addressing mobile users.

Virtual Mobile Number / Hosted SIM
VMN functionality provides the possibility for businesses that need a fast and reliable channel to collect feedback, orders, confirmations or simple information from employees and customers. Business can receive SMS messages, being internationally available; have their own number rather than “short codes” which are generally shared across a lot of brands.

Netfors deliver VMN as an optional feature in the SS7 SMSC. SIM card information is administrated in a dedicated web menu on the SMSC web GUI. The menu allows administrating SIM information as:

• MSISDN numbers (mobile subscriber number)
• IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity for the SIM)
• Routing of incoming SMS
• SMPP client
• email address
• SMS out number

A condition for establishing a MVN number is rooming agreement between the Operator where SMSC have SS7 access and Operator where the MSISDN number is defined.

SMSC/USSD flexibility and features
Netfors SS7 SMSC and USSD solutions is highly flexible and scalable carrier grade SMSC / USSD for SMSC customers to select the solution that supports their needs for SMSC / USSD applications, Performance, High Availability and business control. Netfors provide the following options:

Performance

• Limited Edition (one SMS/sec)
• L1 ( 20 SMS/sec):
• L2 ( 100 SMS/sec):
• L3 ( 500 SMS/sec):
• L4 (1000 SMS/sec):

Additional Selectable features

• Virtual Mobile Number, VMN
• BULK SMS
• SMS forwarding / routing HUB
• Billing
• WAP push & SMS Content (ringtones, Vcard, etc.)
• Mobile HLR information
• Offline Mobile Phone monitor (campaign)
• SMPP interface
• SIGTRAN

High Availability
Netfors deliver HA solutions for the SS7 SMSC with more options. The need for operational stability is recommended to be compared with investments and complexity in establishment plus operational efforts /costs for deciding the solution to be implemented in actual cases.

Redundant Network configuration

• Hot spare
• Load share

Database set up

• Replication
• Cluster

Supervision

• SNMP interface

Core SMSC features

• SMS campaign management from 1 up to 100 recipients in a group
• Reports
• SMS trace (Search current and historic database
• Delivery performance
• SS7 configuration
• Web GUI
• SMSC kernel
• System administration

Copenhagen, Denmark and Shenzhen, China—Feb 2nd, 2010 – Netfors ApS, a professional provider of telecommunication software and solutions, and OpenVox Communication Co. Ltd, a global provider of open source asterisk® telephony hardware and software solutions, announced today that they have partnered together to deliver SS7 products and expert Chan_SS7 support in China Market.

Netfors delivers a range of products for interaction across SS7, mobile and IP networks, the SS7 SMSC, SS7 USSD and SIGTRAN signaling gateway solutions. Netfors provides solutions for Asterisk. Chan SS7 is the most known and widely used product, which is delivered as Open Source for free, and in a Premium version which includes Netfors commercial support. Complementary to Chan SS7 Netfors provide commercial products expanding the value of Asterisk use for customers. The Netfors SIGTRAN Signaling Gateway supports convergence between IP networks and traditional telecommunication networks.

“The cooperation with OpenVox allows Netfors to extend its presence in China and to get known by OpenVox business relations,” said Anders Baekgaard, the CEO of Netfors. “With Netfors products we believe that OpenVox will bring more valuable SS7 features to its customers”.

OpenVox designs and produces its digital T1/E1 PRI interfaces cards to seamlessly work with the open source Chan_SS7 and enable customers to build their own cost effective SS7 applications. Moreover, OpenVox will also introduce Netfors’ commercial products such as SMSC, USSD and SIGTRAN Gateway to work with its telephony boards to the market.

“The cooperation with Netfors allows OpenVox to extend its certified SS7 technical support into commercial service within China Mainland,” said Lin Miao, the CEO of OpenVox. “With superior and stable performance of Chan_SS7 and the experienced support from us, we believe that our partnership will surely bring us a hit in the open source telecommunication market, and we are honored to be the first Chan_SS7 support provider authorized by Netfors.”

About OpenVox
OpenVox dedicates its passion in supplying open source telephony hardware and software products since 2002. With our people’s expertise in design and service experience, we provide high quality products with professional and efficient service worldwide, and are now one of the leading suppliers in this market, driving innovative and cost-effective solutions for the open source community.

About Netfors
Netfors is an SS7 and IP network expertise company delivering high performance products that mediate content and communication over customer’s data and tele infrastructures to Mobile end users. Netfors is a significant contributor to the Asterisk open source community by providing Chan_SS7.

About Netfors SS7 SMSC
SS7 SMSC provides Bulk SMS, MO SMS, SMS routing and is a full featured solution for SMS Service Providers and integrators providing solutions for their customers. The Netfors installed SMSC base is currently delivering more than 1500 mio SMS/month. This figure is expected to more than double within the next 6 months.

About Chan_SS7
Chan_SS7 provides a flexible SS7 protocol stack for the popular Asterisk Open Source PBX, which has full interoperability with OpenVox T1/E1 Gateway products.

The telecommunications activities in Dicea has been moved to a newly established company Netfors. The activities continue as usual, but with dedicated focus on providing high quality technologies and solutions to our customers at competive prices.

A contract has been signed with an European customer for delivery of a customised API for the GSM MAP protocol stack. The API supports operations related to SMS, location based services, and roaming number retrieval.

An USSD solution has been deployed for a large network operator. The Netforrs USSD gateway interfaces to the customers business system using HTTP. This deployment is a smaller scale solution that handles about 5 sessions/second.

The first deployment of the SS7 SMSC solution was in octorber 2008. Since then, a number of new deployments has been done, and the total number of SMS’s processed by the SMSC has now passed 200 millions.

A new application for Asterisk has been released. This uses the SS7 SMSC to retrieve information about a mobile phone. Given the mobile phone number, this application determines if the mobile phone is available or turned off/out-of reach. For available phones, the application determines the location of the phone: country, country name of global title number of the MSC.

This application can be used to avoid calling phones that will not be answered, or which will redirect to a voice mail.

For switchbox applications with an operator panel, it is used to monitor the where abouts of travelling employees.