ECG Drives Down Cost of VoIP Expertise

Applies best practices for VoIP network design and deployment

 

Metaswitch Forum 2010, Orlando, September 21, 2010 — Three obstacles plague VoIP carriers. First, the flexibility and complexity of network design options can make network development take many months or years. Second, support for the complex features of SIP Trunking and Hosted PBX create a huge burden on staff. Finally, experienced VoIP engineers and technicians are hard to find, but there are few options for in-depth training.

ECG, a network and systems consulting firm, is changing that. ECG's experience and speed radically changes the prospects for many VoIP carriers by lowering the costs and delays to deployment, providing access to experts, and enabling staff development.

VoIP networks not only bring amazing flexibility, but also provide unparalleled complexity in network design, quality-of-service, VoIP phone management, Session Border Controller deployments, and reliability. A typical five-person team with a modest VoIP capital expenditure can cost $40,000 per month while they learn and build the system. That home-grown education is tremendously expensive.

ECG shrinks those costs and delays by applying proven best practices for VoIP carriers. Instead of months to deployment, ECG VoIP network design and deployment can take only weeks. One VoIP carrier with services from Michigan to Florida used ECG for just this purpose. ECG analyzed their network and provided detailed assistance improving performance and security.

Once the network is operational, carriers struggle to staff and maintain the network while servicing existing customers. ECG's solution is to provide on-demand expertise and routine network maintenance. A carrier's staff can serve existing customers and win new customers, while using ECG for routine maintenance and troubleshooting tasks. A Hosted PBX VoIP carrier based in New York uses ECG for engineering support and technical customer support on a daily basis to free up their staff for hands-on interactions with clients.

VoIP carriers also learn that the skillset for VoIP networks – SBCs, application servers, SIP signaling, QoS Engineering – are not easily found in the job market. Technical staff must be groomed from within. ECG has the only training on industry-standards technology like SIP, MGCP, RTP and session border controllers. A VoIP carrier in Puerto Rico has used ECG's training to educate Engineering and Operations teams across the company on Network Fundamentals and VoIP Engineering and Troubleshooting.

One of ECG's long-time clients is Akabis, a nationwide wholesale VoIP provider based in North Carolina. According to Mark Wiles, vice president of engineering, Akabis, "ECG knows their stuff. They are the solution to making all the pieces come together to make VoIP work."

About ECG

ECG, founded in 2001, provides innovative OSS Solutions, Design Solutions, and Business Services that address the operational and marketplace challenges faced by today’s telecom providers. Our clients include Independent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), wireless carriers, and Internet service providers. ECG offers Business Services Consulting that includes feasibility studies, interconnection agreements, regulatory reviews, web development, and professional training. We assist our client through every phase of a project from initial design to actual implementation. ECG's telecom expertise continues to grow with the development of NGTelsoft, our high performance rating engine. NGTelsoft is the perfect complement to any operator who has decided to enter the telephony market and already has an investment in a billing platform. ECG staffs experts in emerging technology, regulatory issues, OSS solutions, telecommunications network designs and more because the business of telecommunications involves a number of complex relationships between infrastructure and operations. ECG, Inc. is a privately held company and has been profitable since its inception. For more information, visit http://www.e-c-group.com/.

About Metaswitch Forum 2010

Now in its seventh year, the Metaswitch Forum is a must-attend event for Metaswitch Networks' customers, prospects and partners. The rich agenda is custom-designed for communication service providers, helping them to remain relevant in the ultra-competitive industry of telecommunications. The event attracts over 700 attendees and includes keynote speakers, technical and marketing breakout sessions, formal training, live product demonstrations, an extensive expo of over 50 interoperability partners and continuous networking opportunities. For more information, visit www.metaswitch.com/forum2010.