SMEs to reap LCR benefits without capital expenditure

Orion Telecom has announced the launch of a least cost routing (LCR) solution aimed at significantly reducing telephony costs in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Through extensive research and development the company has developed a solution that brings the benefits of LCR to any business that has a PABX without any capital expenditure.

Orion CallSaver essentially removes the need for advanced functionality from the PABX by introducing a hardware device that contains all the intelligence necessary for the evaluation and optimisation of calls originated on the business premises.

The business benefits of inexpensive telephony are immediate. While Telkom charges R1.61 per minute or part thereof for connecting a fixed-line to mobile call, cellular operators have introduced per-second billing. In real terms, savings in call costs could vary between 19% and 98% depending on call duration.

Least-cost routing is not a new concept, nor is Orion Telecom new to offering LCR solutions to the South African market. However, traditionally, LCR has only been within the reach of predominantly large corporate organisations that can afford the expensive modern PABX systems programmed for a LCR service.

"In many instances, replacing a legacy PABX with a more modern one is simply too expensive for small to medium businesses to bear. In terms of the development of South Africa, it`s these companies that could benefit the most from inexpensive telecoms," says Jacques du Toit, Director of Orion Telecom.

Du Toit explains that in terms of legislation that least cost routing (LCR) does not contravene the Telecommunications Act and is thus a perfectly legal method of optimising call costs. This was found in an October, 2003, ruling in the Pretoria High Court.

Supplied to the customer free of charge, the Orion CallSaver device is installed between the PABX and the trunk lines of the various carriers that offer connectivity in South Africa. Uniquely, it offers a modular 14x8 configuration - that is, connectivity to up to 14 fixed lines, and up to 8 GSM (cellular) lines. Should there be more than 14 lines that needs to be covered, additional units will be supplied

Because cost-saving is the purpose of the LCR exercise, great care is taken in analysing traffic volumes and patterns to ensure that the correct number of routers are installed, while bandwidth is analysed to ensure the GSM network can handle the call volumes. This results in lower up-front costs to the client, greater bandwidth availability - reducing the occurrence of no-tone calls and eliminating the chance of penalties on the SIM card due to minimum package billing.

Through its continual process of research and technology evaluation, Orion Telecom has identified and introduced a technology that introduces the necessary sophistication outside the PABX, bringing the advantages of LCR to a greater number of companies than ever before.