OpenVOICE claims it is the first open source (OS) telephony player to be awarded a switching system licence (SWS) from the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
The Asterisk-based private branch exchange (PBX) vendor has been in consultation with ICASA since June concerning the requirements that must be met to attain the licence, says Evan Pritchard, financial director of openVOICE.
Telkom`s licence precluded the company from provisioning PSTN lines for customers based on it connecting only 'type approved equipment` to the PSTN, and a SWS licence was required to fully comply with ICASA regulations, he adds.
The process of awarding the SWS licence involved testing in areas including electromagnetic interference, the company`s maintenance capabilities, safety issues, quality of service and capacity.
"We`re now fully compliant with the regulatory framework," confirms Pritchard.
He believes the licence will provide openVOICE with a competitive advantage over those yet to attain the SWS licence.
"We will now be aggressively marketing our voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and PBX solutions through our channel and direct delivery model - which we have previously held off on due to past regulatory ambiguity," adds Clayton Hayward, head of openVOICE group strategy.
ICASA could neither confirm nor deny that openVOICE is the first OS VOIP and PBX vendor to receive the SWS licence. It says the software used by applicants is not its primary concern and the SWS relates to technical rather than software requirements.
Share