As Sales Contracts Double, VoIP Business Shows No Sign of Slowing
Netcentrex(TM), the leading enabler of next generation converged voice and video solutions, confirms its business success in Central and Eastern Europe signing 10 new customers and 6 new partners in the last 12 months.
"And the best is yet to come," states Olivier Hersent, Chairman and CTO of Netcentrex. "As the market moves from basic voice to advanced IP services, thanks to broadband, opportunities for video and fixed-mobile convergent solutions will grow. Netcentrex is well positioned in this field as illustrated by our recent sales of solutions for triple play services, videotelephony and FMC."
This growth confirms CEE operators' increasing commitment to IP-based networks and services. The number of Voice over IP (VoIP) minutes in the region more than quintupled in 2005 compared to 2004, and will more than triple in 2006 when spending is projected to grow by 80%(1).
Although VoIP market growth is still heavily influenced by local loop deregulation and the need to upgrade legacy networks, there is a significant demand for advanced communication services in countries with growing broadband penetration, such as Poland, Croatia or Slovenia.
Recent Netcentrex deployments include MobilTel AD in Bulgaria, Optima, Telekom and Portus d.o.o. in Croatia. The company will announce two new deployments this week in Slovenia. Five more deployments are underway in Russia, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic and include 2 incumbent operators. They bring the total number of Netcentrex customers in the region to 21, with deployments ranging from NextGen POTs, to FMC and video communication services for cable, fiber and xDSL networks.
To ensure customer relations and business growth, Netcentrex has a direct sales presence in Russia, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and an extensive partner network that includes AMT Group in Russia, ANECT in the Czech Republic, Lirex BG in Bulgaria, Solidex in Poland, Smart Com in Slovenia and Verso in Croatia. Several new partner announcements are scheduled. To meet increasing demand and support partners, Netcentrex recently appointed a sales manager for countries where Netcentrex has not yet established a direct presence.
"Besides the traditional prepaid and softphone based services,VoIP growth in Central and Eastern Europe has been most evident in the business services sector with deployments for Business Trunking, IP Centrex, VoIP VPN, and Peering, providing strong results for Netcentrex," comments Boris Dezier, General Manager for Central and Eastern Europe at Netcentrex. "In countries where broadband is reasonably available, the structure of small and medium enterprises enables them to adapt and migrate to network-based communication solutions more easily than large businesses. In addition to significant cost savings, these enterprises benefit from rich communication features and advanced services such as FMC and video applications. However, Netcentrex has also deployed a number of residential communication solutions in the region that deliver services for double and triple play offerings. Netcentrex is delighted with our success on the CEE market and we will continue to address local needs with high performance solutions that enable the service providers to meet the tremendous growth they are experiencing." (1) Source: IDC press announcement dated 10 November 2005 based on an IDC study of 11 CEE country markets (not including Russia). About Netcentrex(TM) (www.Netcentrex.net)
Netcentrex develops unique next generation network (NGN) voice and video solutions that enable telecom operators and service providers to deliver voice-video-data and fixed-mobile converged services for both the consumer and enterprise markets.
Netcentrex has over 2.5 million VoIP lines in commercial service and has been recognized as the worldwide leader for Class 5 application servers.
Press Contacts
Netcentrex EMEA
Madeleine Jeavons / Tel.: +33-(0)1-58-71-33-28
E-mail: pr@netcentrex.net
Netcentrex US / Latin America
Susan Stearman / Tel.: +1-408-521-7421
E-mail: susan.stearman@netcentrex.net