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First and foremost, you must develop a solid
infrastructure for your prepaid calling card system to run on.
Without a solid infrastructure, you will be spending more time
worrying about your systems integrity than marketing your product.
The following is a list of equipment and services that you will
require to start the business. We have also included
recommendations that we feel will ensure a solid infrastructure.
1. Billing, Card, and Call Management Software
We list this item first not only because it is one
of the products that we provide, but because it is the most vital in
the list. Choosing a good billing software will ensure that every
call made through your system is tracked and no call is left
unbilled. CardSaver™ by PEC is not only a robust, dependable
software package, it is also the simplest and most user-friendly
package in the industry. CardSaver enables you to view reports on
traffic passing in and out of your system. CardSaver also gives you
complete control over your calling cards, including PIN generation,
usage fees, expiration dates, and much more. CardSaver is a vital
component for developing a solid infrastructure.
2. VoIP Gateway
The VoIP gateway that handles all of the calls
into and out of your system is the next vital component. If your
hardware fails, your customers’ calls will not go through. Thus, we
recommend choosing one of two brands for your VoIP gateway: Cisco
or Quintum. Although we are a proud reseller of Quintum hardware,
CardSaver fully integrates with Cisco VoIP gateways. These two
vendors have a large following and many online forums exist where
you can go to receive answers to any questions that you may have
regarding configuration or specifications.
3. Server(s)
Today, you can purchase a Dell system for $499
with monitor included. That is a definitely a great deal, but
unless you are only planning to use the system for Internet browsing
and word processing, we do not recommend using these type of systems
for your mission critical applications. Ideally, we recommend that
your prepaid calling platform is broken into three separate servers,
the RADIUS server which communicates directly with your VoIP
gateway, the database server which maintains all the calling card
and call data, and the web server which allows you to view reports
and create new cards. Of course having three separate servers is
not always an option, so in the scenario that you are using only one
server, we recommend the following specifications:
Systems with 96 ports or less
Intel Pentium 4 Processor
Intel Motherboard
1 GB RAM
Dual 10K SCSI hard drives
Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Systems with 96 Ports or more
Intel Xeon Processor (Dual Processor Preferred)
Intel Motherboard
2+ GB RAM
Dual 15K SCSI hard drives
Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
4. Internet Service
The Internet service that you choose is the
backbone of your calling card network. Choosing a reliable Internet
service will ensure that your billing server and VoIP gateways will
stay online. Ideally, you should place your servers in a
co-location facility (i.e. 60 Hudson Street in New York). Internet
service in a co-location facility is much less likely to go down
than in your office or home. If you are placing your systems in a
co-location facility, be sure to ask your Internet provider what
kind of redundancy is available in case their service goes down;
often, the provider will use the backbone of another Internet
provider in this event. If your Internet provider does not have a
failover plan, you may want to consider selecting a second Internet
service as a backup.
5. Phone Service
The phone service that you choose is as important
as the Internet service that you choose. If your phone lines are
down, your customers cannot call into your system. Generally, phone
service is more reliable than Internet service, so it not necessary
to be as concerned about redundancy. However, be sure to choose the
correct phone service for your application. If you have a system
that supports T1 lines, make sure that the T1 is a PRI. If you
require that the Caller ID is logged for every call, be sure to add
Caller ID (ANI) service. If you have any questions about which
lines to order, the best idea is to contact your equipment vendor or
PEC.
I have had many customers, usually in Africa, that
have, after configuring everything properly, complained about the
system not working properly. After digging deeper into their
problems, I came to realize that their line quality was so poor that
the VoIP gateway could not understand the digits that customers were
keying in from their phones. After changing their lines, the system
worked perfectly.
6. Power Service
In most places throughout the world, power outages
are a daily event. If your systems are located in a place where
power outages are common, it is essential to have some sort of power
generator. For those living in places where electricity is taken
for granted, it is still important to consider the integrity of your
power service. It is essential, regardless of your location, to
have a UPS battery backup. It is recommended that your battery
backup can last at least two hours in case of a power outage. If
you are placing your equipment in a co-location facility chances are
that you will be connected to a generator, however, it is still
necessary to have a UPS battery backup.
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