The Network Selector Launches With Acquisition Of Three Communications Companies
The Network Selector has completed three acquisitions to provide channel partners with access to a unique range of best price voice, data and video communications solutions that will deliver significant savings to end user customers by meeting their specific geographical and usage requirements. The acquisitions include Talkativo, a leading supplier of IP, broadband and SIP solutions, Ocean Telecom, a rapidly expanding provider of mobile and fixed telephony, broadband and hosting solutions and Planet Hippo, which provides hosting and domain registration services.
This is the latest venture for serial entrepreneur Mike Harris who has successfully built a number of multi-million pound companies including Total Network Solutions, which was acquired by British Telecom in 2005. He is also joint founder of SiFi Networks, a leading provider of Fibre-to-the-Home networks and Chairman of VoiceComms Warehouse, one of the UK’s leading distributors of internet security and network communications technology.
The Network Selector is committed to providing voice solutions that meet the needs of resellers of every size. For resellers not wanting to invest in costly billing platforms and provisioning, the company is offering a range of hosted IP, fixed and mobile telecoms solutions which can be accessed through approved distributors such as VCW Voice. Larger resellers with the appropriate infrastructure will be able to access wholesale minutes and circuits regardless of network providers.
“We can enable resellers to compete on a level playing field with national mobile and fixed telecoms providers and provide customers with a wider range of ‘best of breed’ voice communications solutions,” commented Mike Harris. “The Phones4u experience was a wake-up call to the industry that we have responded to by putting the power back with resellers to take full ownership of their customers and prevent network providers from pulling the rug out from under their feet.”
The Network Selector enables resellers to deliver significant savings to customers by automatically routing call traffic, both fixed and mobile, to the most cost effective provider based on geographical location, tariff and time of day. For mobile users, this works in the same way as roaming when abroad and routes calls to the strongest network signal based on the current location of the customer for a single, fixed monthly charge. The company also provides an auto switching service to guarantee 99.99% broadband availability in the event of a wider network failure to meet the essential business continuity planning requirements of organisations that rely on ‘always on’ internet access.
The acquisition of Talkativo provides resellers with an easy entry into the growing hosted voice market, enabling them to offer cloud-based telephony solutions with end-user pricing from just £20 per user while retaining margins of over 50%. This monthly cost does not require upfront capital expenditure and includes a comprehensive range of services including call recording and ACD along with all call charges.
“These solutions enable resellers to contract directly with end user customers, instead of acting as agents for the networks, and protect against the threats posed to their business operations by the changing strategies of network providers,” continued Harris. “Also, as technologies continue to converge, we will be in pole position to meet the growing demand for smartphones that carry both mobile and fixed numbers as well as enabling calls to be made using IP and Wi-Fi.”
The Network Selector has a unique price and service comparison tool enables resellers to analyse existing bills and recommend alternative solutions that best meet individual usage and geographic requirements. This enables customers to see for themselves the savings they could achieve using leading networks, which are likely to be in the region of 20-30% annually.
About Mike Harris
Mike Harris is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully built a number of multi-million pound companies including Total Network Solutions which was acquired by British Telecom in 2005. Mike is also joint founder of SiFi Networks, a leading provider of Fibre-to-the-home networks, and Chairman of Oswestry-based VoiceComms Warehouse which is one of the UK’s leading distributors of internet security and network communications technology. As well as being winning the Ernst & Technology and Communication Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2001, Mike is also Chairman of Welsh Premier League Champions The New Saints FC and provided the funding for the team’s Park Hall stadium which opened in 2007.