Blueface, Ireland’s leading Internet telephony provider and Vennetics, an innovator of telecommunications and IT applications, have launched the Banter iPhone App. The Blueface ‘Banter’ App eliminates the need for residential and business customers to pay costly line rental fees for landline numbers.
This innovative new service is based on an implementation of the new Voice Call Control interface within version 2 of the GSMA OneAPI specifications. Blueface has deployed the Vennetics J-Box Feature Server against the Blueface voice network and billing platform so that iPhone users can download the Banter App and create a new pre paid account directly from their handset. Banter can then both create new GSM calls from the iPhone at the great Internet telephony rates offered by Blueface and also allow users to see their pre paid balance in real time to understand the savings they are making.
The Banter App is provided as a service that is independent of the mobile network that the iPhone is connected to. That is, Blueface is providing the Banter service to users of other networks. This kind of ‘Cuckoo Service’ will be increasingly important in mobile markets where both devices and access networks are becoming ever more fragmented. Many users already have multiple connected devices, such as smart phones, laptops, netbooks and tablets. These devices may variously be attached to WiFi, DSL, HSPA and GSM access networks from several different providers. Consequently, in order to provide services that remain relevant across the entire connected life of their users, network operators must deliver innovative service logic onto devices that are attached to other service provider networks.
Blueface Promote the New Banter iPhone App
Alan Foy, Chief Executive Officer at Blueface said, “The ubiquitous nature of online application stores like the Apple AppStore and Android Market is changing how our customers acquire new services. Blueface is determined to remain distinctive as the most innovative network operator in our market and the Banter service will keep us in the lead as the service provider for smart phone users. I think that the technical teams within Blueface and Vennetics have done a great job on realising the Banter service and I’m confident that our users will love it.”
Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “I’m delighted that we have been able to bring our second service based on the GSMA OneAPI specifications to market, so quickly after the successful launch of Moozler. The Blueface network already supports a range of very advanced Internet telephony capabilities and it is very exciting to see how the Vennetics J-Box technology can compliment these features. The functional scope of the GSMA OneAPI specifications has been expanded significantly with the recent release of version 2 and I think that following Banter, the evolution of this technology will see many more novel new applications launched using J-Box in the near future.”