Customers

• At a glance
• Vignettes
  • SIP Trunking at BT
  • NGIN at Orange Poland
  • IP-Centrex at Portugal Telecom
  • Charging Innovation at Smart
  • Multi-Number at Softbank
  • NGIN at T-Mobile Czech
  • SDP at T-Mobile Slovakia
  • IP-PBX at Telefonica
  • Real-time Charging at Telkomsel
  • MMS-C at Vodafone Spain
  • NGIN at Vodafone Spain
  • Protocol Translation at Vodafone Italy
  • Service Broking at Vodafone Portugal
  • NGIN at Wind Hellas
  • Mobile PBX
  • Open IN SCP
  • Protocol Gateway
  • Number Translation
  • Real-time ToIP

Wind Hellas is a full service mobile network operator providing GSM services in Greece. Wind Hellas used an Ericsson IN to deliver a range of services to their subscribers. When Ericsson decided to end support for the IN platform, Wind Hellas took the opportunity to look at alternatives to the replacement being proposed by Ericsson.

In common with many other mobile operators, Wind Hellas has added various packet data capabilities to its network and runs both IP and SS7 networks, providing services to its subscribers. With HSDPA and then LTE, the technical focus is turning increasingly to IP networks and protocols together with a commercial imperative to enable the introduction of new services, much more quickly and frequently and at a much lower price-point. With these objectives in mind, Wind Hellas proceeded to RFP for a next generation Intelligent Network (NGIN) platform.

The result of the RFP process was a win for OpenCloud Rhino as the platform and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) as the Systems Integrator. The first task was to implement seventeen like-for-like replacement services, including:

1. Fraud Protection services
2. Location services
3. Premium Numbers
4. Smart Tourist Guide
5. Short Codes

Further services can then be added as required – either from the portfolio of services provided by OpenCloud partners or commissioned specially by Wind Hellas to meet specific objectives.

Key to the selection of OpenCloud Rhino was the need for an agile platform and toolset that fully supports both IP and legacy networks. Wind Hellas’s customers use and depend on the core telecom services – SS7-based services – which deliver a substantial amount of revenue. It is also likely that this mixed SS7 and IP networking environment will exist for many years, so full native support for all protocols was essential. Equally important was the need to deliver low-cost service innovation so they can segment their market and differentiate their offers in an increasingly competitive landscape. OpenCloud’s use of Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software coupled with competitive supply of services on an open, standard-based platform delivers next generation IN at a significantly lower price-point.