The O-bit Telecom Blog

O-bit Resellers target FTTC enabled clients

2011-02-11T03:12:00.000-08:00

As part of O-bit’s continued endeavour to help their Resellers grow and prosper, the Voice & Data specialists have launched a marketing initiative to support their resellers in carrying out a targeted FTTC campaign.

Market research has shown that as the product availability depends on geographic location, end user expectation must be managed and sales campaigns but be effectively ran to only focus on FTTC enabled clients.

O-bit’s Sales and Marketing Director Elizabeth Sparrow commented, “Availability is dependent on which street cabinets have been enabled so resellers must precisely target particular customers. An availability checker is offered in our reseller portal but we have now made things even simpler! We are currently supplying our customer base with all their clients that are FTTC enabled so now all they have to do is call them! Together with our white labelled marketing material and attractive launch offers, our resellers are benefiting from a complete FTTC marketing package to fully support their own sales and Marketing activities.”

O-bit focuses on Reseller Training

2011-01-26T05:01:00.000-08:00

With O-bit Telecom’s continued growth and dedication to customer service satisfaction, it is perfect timing for a Training Manager.

The Buckinghamshire based Voice and Data company is pleased to announce Owen Marks promotion to Training Manager. Marks will focus on both internal and reseller training to ensure staff and customers are as knowledgeable as humanly possible on O-bit’s wide product offering.

Marks has been with O-bit since the start and is highly experienced in customer service and the companies overall operation making Marks the obvious candidate for this newly created role within the company.

Marks’ first job has been to train all O-bit’s Resellers on the new WLR3 portal. Marks observes “The system gives resellers so much more control over what they can do and lots more information than before. They need the ability to use the system to its full potential and that’s where the training comes in. My role is focussed on the implementation of WLR3 and the training on that product, internally and externally. WLR3 training is done in house through a webinar session which is run online. Our resellers can go online and I walk them through the systems and give them different examples of the order types and how to effectively use them. The training is live and interactive so resellers can ask me questions whenever they wish.”

In his own time Marks loves football and golf. He adds “I’m not really good at either to be honest but I do enjoy them. I have actually retired from football this season due to ‘old age’ and injury and to concentrate on my golf! When asked what music he is currently listening to he joked “Whatever the kids listen to these days. I try and stay cool!”

Young, Dynamic and Forward Thinking

2011-01-26T04:59:00.000-08:00

Comms Business Magazine talks to O-bit Sales and Marketing Director Elizabeth Sparrow and Managing Director Jenny Herd about their plans for 2011.

O-bit was formed in 2002 and today it is a £20m a year network services company employing some 56 people based in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. Their product portfolio includes traditional lines, calls and minutes as well as broadband, hosted telephony, SIP, MOLS and IP/VPNs. O-bit has its own core network and data centre which hosts their own and third party applications.

Jenny Herd, Managing Director of O-bit, is excited about the prospects for their recently launched FTTC product which was released at the end of 2010.

“Of all the E-casts we have done to our reseller base the one regarding our launch of FTTC generated the most response. O-bit customers are set to see the full benefits of FTTC of which include up to 40Mb downstream and a choice of 2Mb or 10Mb upstream making it the most powerful DSL product available on existing infrastructures. Resellers can offer their customers improved productivity as Fibre Broadband gives businesses the power to run real time applications over a DSL technology.

To make the provision of FTTC easier for our resellers our Merlin Portal has a cabinet availability checker. In fact the Merlin Portal is very much one of O-bit’s USPs as it is a single route in to O-bit for channel partners and an interface for provision, quotes, availability checking, billing, and marketing tools. It is also available in white label form for our reseller to use with their own customers.

The added advantage of our Surfwise FTTC is that resellers are able to re-grade easily from existing Surfwise products or other DSL providers and remain in control with regular order confirmations at every stage of the order process including order acceptance, delivery date confirmation, installation, missed appointment and order completion. They will also have the ability to choose service profiles for stability and throughput.”

Sales and Marketing Director Elizabeth Sparrow is keen to point out that O-bit has upgraded their WLR3 facility for channel partners which also runs through the Merlin Portal.

“WLR2 is due to cease in March 2011 and the heavy workload associated with it will disappear as we move to WLR3, a ‘zero touch’ process. Our surveys show however that despite the short time left before WLR2 is switched off more than 40% of resellers have done nothing in regard to migrating their customers to WLR3. Most will now need to find a partner quickly as migrations take time and need to be scheduled.

The time savings that will be made by O-bit in switching to WLR3 are significant and we anticipate using this freed up resource to enhance our channel partner support.”

O-bit is expecting a very busy February and March but has confirmed that all of their own channel partners are trained on WLR3 and have migrations scheduled.

What about plans for 2011?

Jenny Herd, “Many resellers are still just selling traditional lines and calls as they don’t understand DSL and IP networks. We are therefore continuing to run monthly workshops at O-bit educating our channel partners on new technologies and the opportunities they present.

These workshops work and illustrate that as we grow as a company we are still able to retain the personal touch with our partners – there is always a director attending each of these sessions.”

What makes O-bit different?

Elizabeth Sparrow, “There are a range of reasons why resellers should partner with O-bit. We have already mentioned our Merlin Portal but O-bit is also an ISP and carrier with our own network and interconnects with Opal, BT, Virgin Media and Tiscali. We are also 100% channel focussed, understand the market and are a tried and tested wholesaler.

Unlike many of our competitors who have been forced to buy billing companies in the last 12-18 months O-bit foresaw the need for our own billing platform many years ago. We have a team of 13 software developers here who amongst many other projects designed and build our own billing system.

O-bit is a young, forward thinking and dynamic company – three out of the five directors are 30 years old or younger. 2011 is looking to be another highly successful year for us, and importantly, our channel partners.”

Dedicated, Uncontended and Always-on Data Services

2011-01-21T05:22:00.001-08:00

"O-bit Telecom can offer resellers a whole range of different data network solutions"...

“For businesses with multiple offices, the ability to host a corporate intranet and allow files to be shared between offices on its own private network is vital. Yet for many, this is something that is perceived as being too expensive and out of reach, despite the fact that it can improve the efficiency of many business processes and make it easier for staff to work together. However, by taking advantage of existing technologies, resellers can offer businesses of all sizes quick and effective ways to link offices together. The ability to offer private data network solutions allows resellers to make the most of the opportunities offered by businesses spread over several sites.

“O-bit Telecom can offer resellers a whole range of different data network solutions, allowing them to offer their customers a package that is exactly tailored to their needs. From IP VPNs (Broadband Virtual Private Networks), MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching), Ethernet, EFM (Ethernet in the First Mile), MIA (Managed Internet Access), Leased Line, Point-to-Point, to WANs (Wide Area Networks) and LANs (Local Area Networks), there is a wide range of options available to create bespoke solutions.

“Ethernet is now the established and ubiquitous data interface and transport protocol used in the local and private network. This is the most flexible and least expensive data interface to deploy and therefore the most popular. O-bit’s branded Surfwise Data Networks meets the requirements of customers looking to provide an Ethernet option to their clients. Resellers can now offer full UK coverage for short, medium and long distance data applications to their client base.

“For example, Point-to-Point circuits can be used by organisations requiring exclusive connectivity between geographically distant offices, with an always-on service and an assured level of quality. Our Point-to-Point leased lines are for companies with varying bandwidth requirements which require one scalable network to connect between two sites. Both mission critical or standard data traffic, along with VoIP, can all be securely and reliably carried and prioritised as required by the customer. Larger organisations can also use leased lines to create a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

“For smaller organisations, MPLS is a cost effective, secure and fully managed network service that allows you to connect your geographically dispersed sites. Our MPLS provides the security of a VPN with superior performance for business-critical applications, allowing customers to benefit from converging voice, data and video traffic onto the same network. Classes of service can be provided to control voice, multi-media, assured/standard data and delay sensitive applications.

“Surfwise IP VPN offers greater scalability and flexibility as a single IP VPN can support thousands of sites. These sites work together seamlessly to give flexible and scalable access via Access Bandwidths ranging from 1Mbit/s, all the way up to Gigabit speeds to suit all customer requirements for both primary and backup connections. Plus with Ethernet, access options are complemented by our cost-effective ADSL, ADSL2+ and Annex M.

“Our data networks are able to provide speeds from 2Mbps using copper cable up to 1Gbps using fibre optics, and feature business-critical service level agreements and 24/7 technical support. These networks have several access options, including a dedicated, uncontended and always-on service; a scalable service allowing bandwidth to be adjusted according to your customer’s needs; and a resilient service offering the reassurance of a secondary, dedicated back-up internet connection.”

Business Grade Broadband

2011-01-18T05:28:00.002-08:00

General market analysis is saying SaaS (software as a service), hosted cloud computing and VoIP services are the future. County councils are starting to outsource these services instead of keeping them all in house. This trend is set to grow by about 300-400% year on year for the next 3 or 4 yrs. Any dealers and resellers that aren’t looking at selling software service such as cloud computing and VoIP definitely need to be. Also they would need to be looking for business opportunities by not only selling the co-locations but also the applications and ERP software.

Therefore the availability of fast, business grade broadband is vital as companies are developing more and more applications which in turn are swallowing up bandwidth. Along with this increase in requirement there is a higher demand in service level agreements and guaranteed uptime.

The key benefit of a faster broadband connection is the opportunity to maintain greater quality when simultaneously running tasks. ADSL internet access is a rate adaptive, uncapped quality service for increased reliability and offers real-time email retrieval. O-bits broadband products have an ‘always on’, high speed connectivity across a fully resilient network that is supported by a dedicated technical support team.

O-bit’s broadband products are of business class service and are rate adaptive so ‘stabilise’ at the best possible speed that the telephone line will support. They also allow users to download and send data effectively within a range of applications giving both reliability and performance, as well as cost savings against other technologies such as ISDN and dial-up.

O-bit’s broadband strategy is to continue to grow but also offer more IPVPN’s and MPLS type services rather than just straight broadband. We are going to see a real struggle for companies that stick to the conventional market of just straight broadband which is why O-bit has expanded its portfolio to include ADSL2+, LLU and Annex M.

The current offerings from O-bit include Annex M which is an extension of the capability of ADSL2+ by increasing the number of upstream bits. The downstream speeds can be up to 16Mb and up to 2.5Mb upstream. This increase in upstream is achieved by altering the upstream/downstream frequency split allowing upstream bandwidth to be increased from 1Mb to 2.5Mb, with a corresponding decrease in download bandwidth. Historically, increased upstream speeds have been out of reach for many businesses. The costs were prohibitive for many as the only available options were expensive SDSL or leased line circuits. Now with Annex M and Annex M Enhanced the possibility of higher upstream speeds is a reality for all SMEs as well as larger corporates.

Surfwise Complete is a revolutionising service that uses LLU and ADSL2+ technology plus Next Generation Network (NGN) and is designed with organisations in mind. With downstream speeds up to 24Mb and upstream speeds up to 1MB this caters for many business needs.

The new FTTC offering completes the product portfolio and offers speeds up to 40Mb downstream and a choice of 2Mb or 10Mb upstream making it the most powerful DSL product available on existing infrastructures. O-bit offers a guaranteed throughput of 8Mb or 12Mb to ensure a high level performance even during busy periods.

Other benefits of this product offering are faster surfing from site to site and less time opening pages. There is much faster download capability along with faster and larger uploads. Faster multiple connections, faster online experience for the whole business, faster speeds working from home and faster connection wherever users are. Bandwidth is growing at about 70% year on year so the need for upgrading customers is growing stronger.

Setting the Agenda for 2011

2011-01-18T05:28:00.001-08:00

Continued growth is the mantra for O-bit Telecom in 2011. With a whole host of new product launches waiting in the wings, the O-bit team is very positive about the months ahead.

Dave Breith, CEO of O-bit, explains, “Our growth plan is spread across the board so we get our product mix right; we do not just concentrate on highest profit products and services. 2011 will see reseller’s focus change towards data services as the traditional calls and lines business will have to change to keep up. Higher bandwidth usage for applications, VOIP and hosted applications are becoming more and more accessible. O-bit will, as always, be at the forefront of these new services and as usual be adding the extra value that we continually do. We pride ourselves on the wide choice of offerings which help our resellers compete in a crowded arena. Resellers require different services dependant on industry and it is beneficial to have all the tools at hand that can accommodate their customers’ needs.”

Recession – what recession? Breith states that O-bit has yet to see any negative impact brought on by the recession. “As far as O-bit is concerned, if we never saw the news and media I am not sure we would have noticed a recession. Unfortunately during the past year some resellers lost revenue & profit and then struggled to get them back. I believe things will improve in 2011 for those committed to working even harder than usual to get the lost sales back and increase business. However my suggestion is that resellers should prepare for more tough times - just in case. Get your head down in your business and try to rail road through any times that may face us in 2011.”

Work ... that bit harder: Breith partly puts down O-bit’s doubling of gross profit and net profit in 2010 from the previous year to lots of hard work. “All employees at O-bit work very hard and are dedicated to what they do. We constantly try to make ourselves “that bit better” and are continually tweaking our processes so the customer experience is second to none. My advice to resellers would be to increase your sales, work hard on getting this and keep a close eye on your bottom line - remember cash is king.”

O-bit’s “Crazy” Christmas Party

2011-01-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

The staff at O-bit Telecom were treated to a lavish Christmas Party at the Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield thanks to the organisational skills of O-bit’s management team.

The evening kicked off with a champagne reception and a magician who surprised guests with his card tricks. The guests were seated for their 3 course Thai feast at their beautifully decorated tables, complete with secret Santa gifts and festive party hats and crackers.

Breith said of the evening, “my staff have worked so hard all year round so it was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves after such a great year of growth for O-bit”.

The evening was rounded off with staff having a flutter on the Roulette and Blackjack table, more drinks and live Hypnotherapy, much to the embarrassment of some O-bit’s staff which brought the evening to a “crazy” end!

Prepare Now for Severe Weather Warnings

2011-01-18T05:26:00.000-08:00

With severe weather warnings across the UK, snow is inevitable as is the disruption that comes with it. Companies should be preparing themselves to minimise the disturbance to commerce snow causes due to staff unable to reach offices.

O-bit Telecom can help companies protect themselves from loss of business. One way to ensure this is to have real time communication tools. Hosted IP telephony works from any location where there is an internet connection, meaning an entire office team can work from home and still have the same telephone functionality as if they were in the office.

Call forwarding is another example of how office workers can continue at home with ‘business as usual’ at the touch of a button.

O-bit specialise is very experienced in providing solutions for remote workers and provides line rental and non-geographic numbers as well as call redirect technology for businesses that want to remain efficient during difficult weather periods.

O-bit Telecom are offering resellers free advise on solutions that deliver ANY call on ANY number to ANY destination so that resellers can offer the very best service to their customers.

O-bit FTTC has arrived!

2010-12-10T01:30:00.000-08:00

Special Offer - Order now and get half price connection and migration*

O-bit is now offering fibre broadband as of today!

O-bit's fibre broadband is offered under the Surfwise brand and is extremely competitively priced allowing resellers to profitably enter into the fibre broadband market. Plus our guaranteed throughput gives you peace of mind that our service offering is fast at all times. Our years of experience in the broadband industry and our own core network means that our products are secure and dependable 24/7.

Benefits of Surfwise FTTC:

Effective use of real time applications
Competitive pricing
Enables Resellers to be involved with cutting edge technology
Facilitates the integration of IP telephony
Deploy SIP Trunk services
Offers faster back-up of systems and files
Allows effective remote office working
Facilitates cloud computing and web conferencing

Features you can expect from Surfwise FTTC:

Up to 40Mb downstream speed making it the most powerful DSL product available on existing infrastructures
A choice of 2Mb or 10Mb upstream speeds
Guaranteed throughput of 8Mb or 12Mb to ensure great performance during busy periods
Resilient network with a 99.99% uptime
Ease of re-grade from existing Surfwise products or other DSL providers
White labelled opportunities
Effective fault management
An end to end solution
1 Static IP as standard
Controlled usage model to give customers a “Real Use” Product

O-bit FTTC Available TODAY

Call us today 08008 49 49 49 ext2 to find out more or visit http://www.o-bit.net/products/fttc.html

_{*Speak to a member of the sales team for full terms and conditions}

2010-11-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

New Reseller Day on 17th November. Call the O-bit Team now for more info.

O-bit Telecom rolls out WLR3 portal powered by Singularity

2010-11-08T01:49:00.001-08:00

O-bit Telecom has launched its new WLR3 offering powered by Singularity. This recently launched product allows resellers to be in full control of their products with better fault handling, appointment scheduling and transferring of lines. It connects directly to the most innovative and intuitive customer portal in the industry and therefore offers end users the full feature rich services available on the platform.

O-bit is very proud of its WLR3 offering and after extensive testing plus a planned roll out and training phase, O-bit customers are set to see the full benefits of WLR3. Jenny Herd, Managing Director of O-bit Telecom, enthused “We have extensively tested our WLR3 service to give customers 100% peace of mind. Customers that have already used our service have said that our customer portal is “user friendly both in layout and functionality”. We are also providing dedicated support during the migration period with complete thorough training with our Customer Service team.”

O-bit will be hosting customer webinars focusing on the new WLR3 customer Portal. These webinars will act as a comprehensive introduction and overview of the WLR3 solution and the value add that O-bit offers. During these sessions customers will have the opportunity to understand the new benefit such as order placement, features and fault reporting. Resellers will be given several training dates to choose from for added convenience over the next month.

Herd adds “Customers will benefit from the very fact that this service is linked directly to the Openreach engineering workbook which means that the customer will be advised there and then of appointment availability for line installation and customer premise visits for faults and real time updates with order progression. There will be no more twiddling of thumbs waiting around for information. The customer will feel part of the process from start to finish.”

Purple Networx Hosted Secure is here

2010-11-01T03:38:00.000-07:00

Purple Networx Hosted Secure is here!
Contact sales@o-bit.net to ensure you do not miss out...
www.purplenetworx.com/products/purple-hosted-secure

We Want More Friendly Faces

2010-10-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

Our referral offer has been extended to 31st Dec 2010!

Refer friendly telecoms resellers to us and when they become an O-bit Partner you will receive £100!

There is no restriction on how many telecoms resellers you refer, so start making some extra money today.

Ask your referrals to call us FREE on 08008 49 49 49 opt. 2 or to email sales@o-bit.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it quoting “New Partner” along with your company name and you will automatically receive your £100 cheque when your referral starts billing with us.

It really is that easy!

Offer ends 31st December 2010
Friendly Face Referral Scheme Terms and Conditions

Offer valid until the 31st December 2010

Referral fee payable subject to referral client billing in excess of £1000 per calendar month

Fee payable in arrears of the £1000 pcm minimum spend

Unlimited referrals available

Referral must state “New Partner” and your company name upon contacting O-bit Telecom in order to qualify for the referral fee.

O-bit introduce new Purple Networx product

2010-10-27T02:03:00.001-07:00

O-bit has recently launched a new VoIP offering called Purple Networx Hosted Secure. This recently launched product allows VoIP traffic to run over the secure environment of IP VPN rather than the internet. It connects directly into O-bit’s NGN which has a dedicated voice network. The additional feature and indeed USP of Hosted Secure is that it has full integration of SpliceCom handsets and therefore offers end users the full feature rich services available on the platform. O-bit is the only company able to offer full integration and feature extension over a WAN for SpliceCom handsets. This exclusive USP is not matched or offered by any other reseller.

Some distributors have struggled with launching and maintaining their hosted VoIP product offering. When asked why O-bit has triumphed, Paul Cloudsdale – Technical Director, O-bit Telecom replied “I think it is due to the support and understanding of the full end-to-end service being offered. O-bit has a well-established technical team who really know their stuff. If you have an issue with the service you don’t get any of this “You’ll have to speak to your ISP”. With O-bit’s VoIP offering you speak to the same people end-to-end so we know and understand all the areas that make the solution work. We also offer VoIP services that make commercial sense. O-bit not only offers Hosted IPT but also SIP Trunking and SIP Termination where customers can send SIP traffic to our network to process, port numbers to us and also take numbers (PRS, NGN or Geo) from us – all in a single order and supported by the same support desk!”

And finally what is Cloudsdale’s advice for resellers starting out in offering VoIP services to their client base? “Get on board or be left behind. More and more companies are asking for VoIP/SIP services – it’s a great tool to have in your tool-box. The cost savings, functionality and flexibility of Purple Networx offerings will open more doors for you.”

O-bit Customer Service Agreement Competition Winner

2010-10-27T02:01:00.000-07:00

O-bit Telecom would like to congratulate Rob Kay from RDS-global on winning our Customer Service Agreement Competition.
Rob was among many resellers who entered the competition to win 2 VIP tickets to O-bit’s Wembley Stadium corporate box.

The Customer Service Agreement was sent out to O-bit’s customer base in Summer 2010.
Operations Manager, Paul Richens says “At O-bit our Team receive around 5000 emails per month and 2500 phone calls. It is important that our customers fully understand the structure and escalation procedures of O-bit and how it affects them. We wanted to explain to them where we are as a business, following our continuing success and growth.”

The competition was a simple multiple choice question made from information contained in the new Customer Service Agreement.

The question was – What is the lead time for an ISDN30e brand new install?
The answer was 20 working days.

Rob Kay and a guest will be going to see the Denver Broncos vs. The San Francisco 49ers in the NFL League Game later this month with full hospitality courtesy of O-bit Telecom.

Dave Breith – CEO O-bit Telecom ads “We have held memorable events in the box with staff and customers who have all thoroughly enjoyed themselves and this will be no exception. The last two matches held here have been greatly received and we’re all really looking forward to it. O-bit Telecom love being part of international sporting events.”

O-bit Rock Wembley at Muse Concert

2010-10-27T01:57:00.000-07:00

O-bit Telecom gave customers the rock star treatment over the weekend, attending two performances by Muse at Wembley Stadium. The company used the two day event to make full use of their corporate box.
On Friday the Marketing Team attended the concert for a staff incentive day. Sales and Marketing Director Elizabeth Sparrow said of the event, “after working so hard it’s really great to give something back to our staff. What better way than witnessing one of the best live performances of recent years, at one of the best venues in the country.”
On the following night Operations Manager Paul Richens went along to the gig with a selection of both colleagues and customers for a further night of music entertainment and spectacle. “All I can say is “wow!”” said Paul after seeing the world famous band live. “What a brilliant experience to have and to share with our staff and customers – I’ll remember this night for a very long time!”

Feature published Comms Business Magazine Vovember 2010

O-bit partner 123Telecom gets involved with funding charity Harambee for Kenya

2010-10-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

Eric Toll, Managing Director 123Telecom Limited first visited Kenya in April 2010, spending the first week on safari, taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of the wild life. The second week was a totally different experience.

Eric and his family visited Mombasa where they met a friend called Joseph, a resident of village near Mombasa. After a couple of days the family were invited to see Joseph’s village.
The village was mud huts with no electricity or mains water. There was no sewage system, and the "toilets" that were hand dug holes outside each hut that were just covered up when full.

Eric reports “Amongst this chaos were hundreds of children with the biggest smiles on their faces dressed in rags. All they wanted was to touch us, hug us and cling on to us. It was such a humbling experience to see how happy they all were despite the fact they have nothing. We couldn’t just walk away and pretend we had never seen this.”

It didn’t take long for Eric to decide to raise money to bring mains water into the village.
“We also want to provide a water tower and storage tank. There are 150 mud huts in the village, with a total of 550 people most of whom are children.”

The target set by Eric is £2,500. “This is a modest amount to raise for the difference it makes” say Eric. “100% of which will go directly to source.”
The money is being routed through the registered charity “Harambee for Kenya” and through the use of the Just Giving website with the added bonus of increasing donations with Gift Aid tax relief.

UK charity “Harambee for Kenya” help vulnerable street children in Kenya by building Safe Houses. Harambee for Kenya is equipped with voluntary staff and no significant overheads. They rely entirely on donations from individuals, clubs, schools, other charities and companies such as 123Telecom.

In 2008 Harambee for Kenya started work on their first safe house in the Nyakoe district of Kisii in south-west Kenya. The safe house provides accommodation for 50 - 60 boys typically between the ages of 12 and 17, although there were children as young as 7.
The construction work was done using a local builder and groups of volunteers from the UK.

Eric and 123Telecom are now raising £40,000 to build the next safe house in the city of Meru (170 miles north of Nairobi). They would like to hear from anyone interested in donating or helping to raise funds for this worthwhile project.

123Telecom cover many costs for the charity - including telecoms, web hosting & postage for fundraising mail shot. Other “Corporate Angels” have, or will be, donating cash or free services of a value of £500-£1000 and even more!

You can find out more about the charity and about 123 by clicking the following links:
www.buildasafehouse.org - www.123telecom.co.uk

Charity Contact Details
Roger and Lesley Dann
Harambee for Kenya
21 Cuckmere Rise
Heathfield
East Sussex
TN21 8PG

Email: info@harambeeforkenya.org
Tel: 01435 865502 or 07941041616

Business Grade Broadband

2010-10-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

General market analysis is saying SaaS (software as a service), hosted cloud computing and VoIP services are the future. County councils are starting to outsource these services instead of keeping them all in house. This trend is set to grow by about 300-400% year on year for the next 3 or 4 yrs. Any dealers and resellers that aren’t looking at selling software service such as cloud computing and VoIP definitely need to be. Also they would need to be looking for business opportunities by not only selling the co-locations but also the applications and ERP software.
Therefore the availability of fast, business grade broadband is vital as companies are developing more and more applications which in turn are swallowing up bandwidth. Along with this increase in requirement there is a higher demand in service level agreements and guaranteed uptime.

The key benefit of a faster broadband connection is the opportunity to maintain greater quality when simultaneously running tasks. ADSL internet access is a rate adaptive, uncapped quality service for increased reliability and offers real-time email retrieval. O-bits broadband products have an ‘always on’, high speed connectivity across a fully resilient network that is supported by a dedicated technical support team.

O-bit’s broadband products are of business class service and are rate adaptive so ‘stabilise’ at the best possible speed that the telephone line will support. They also allow users to download and send data effectively within a range of applications giving both reliability and performance, as well as cost savings against other technologies such as ISDN and dial-up.

O-bit’s broadband strategy is to continue to grow but also offer more IPVPN’s and MPLS type services rather than just straight broadband. We are going to see a real struggle for companies that stick to the conventional market of just straight broadband which is why O-bit has expanded its portfolio to include ADSL2+, LLU and Annex M.

The current new offerings from O-bit include Annex M which is an extension of the capability of ADSL2+ by increasing the number of upstream bits. The downstream speeds can be up to 16Mb and up to 2.5Mb upstream. This increase in upstream is achieved by altering the upstream/downstream frequency split allowing upstream bandwidth to be increased from 1Mb to 2.5Mb, with a corresponding decrease in download bandwidth. Historically, increased upstream speeds have been out of reach for many businesses. The costs were prohibitive for many as the only available options were expensive SDSL or leased line circuits. Now with Annex M and Annex M Enhanced the possibility of higher upstream speeds is a reality for all SMEs as well as larger corporates.

Surfwise Complete is a revolutionising service that uses LLU and ADSL2+ technology plus Next Generation Network (NGN) and is designed with organisations in mind. With downstream speeds up to 24Mb and upstream speeds up to 1MB this caters for many business needs.

O-bit also offers traditional ADSL products which have up to 8Mb broadband connections which are 160 times faster than standard dial-up internet. ADSL Premium offers even faster upload speeds and more efficiently delivers multiple services across Internet connections.

Other benefits of these products are faster surfing from site to site and less time opening pages. There is much faster download capability along with faster and larger uploads. Faster multiple connections, faster online experience for the whole business, faster speeds working from home and faster connection wherever users are. Bandwidth is growing at about 70% year on year so the need for upgrading customers is growing stronger.

Market Report – Carriers

2010-10-27T01:50:00.000-07:00

What the market is going to get is probably going to be different to what people are expecting. Everyone is talking about superfast broadband, Ethernet in the first mile, fibre to the cabinet and fibre to the premises but the reality with the fibre based products is that this is still a long way off and they’re quite expensive. So for home office, small office, SME’s and even the residential market, superfast IP connectivity is still quite a long way off for delivering this to the actual premises.

A lot of Carriers and indeed O-bit can say they run their own high speed, multiple gigabyte IP networks in their core but the difficulty lies in getting that kind of infrastructure down to the customers to make use of the high speed IP networks. A lot of this is down to the access, the technology and mechanisms used to get from our P.O.P. down to customers which comes with quite a big price tag for the gigabyte connectivity needed to get to the customer premises.

What the customers are exactly going to get will ultimately come down to the amount they are able to spend and the business desire to have that kind of connectivity.

In terms of what O-bit could offer, it is down to what the customer wants whether it be one big IP pipe that’s agnostic of what you send over it. As long as it’s on IP it doesn’t matter what the app is. If it’s TV, voice, data base update, internet, email or other applications, it will be a pipe that traffic goes over on an IP based network.

Customers are getting these services now to a degree but the superfast service isn’t quite here certainly, however, feature rich applications and an agnostic network is here.
Suppliers are limited to the local loop to get information from the last exchange to the customer’s premises. There is a lot of progress being made for deploying 21st century networks using different technology in the local loops rather than depending on broadband, actually looking at Ethernet and fibre to deliver the superfast IP connections to customers.
There is quite a way to make this readily available and readily affordable and these are the two key points to concentrate on. There are pockets in the U.K. that have been targeted as places for roll out plans where they have fibre to the cabinet and fibre to the premises. A lot of these areas already have this capability but they happen to be fortunate geographically.
In terms of making this service available to the masses, and for the possibility of everybody benefiting from a superfast network end to end, this is still a mammoth task for every carrier in the UK. The market is probably looking at 8-12 months away from seeing a roll out taking an impact on the U.K’s ability to supply end to end services that are affordable.
The smaller carriers are somewhat dependant on the larger carriers upgrading, developing and rolling out the core big networks that these smaller carriers rely on to deliver their own services.

Including the resellers / partners / suppliers, not everybody can do everything. Carriers are good at carrying. Application providers such as Google or BBC are very good at supplying content and pushing that out on a network that is supplied by the carrier. Resellers can be included by selling different applications when partnered up with people who have got “sticky” applications and potentially get a share of revenue.

Why would the customer need high speed IP connectivity? If the reseller has that roadmap to go to the customer and say in 6months time there will be an explosion of cloud computing and everything will be done over the net which will reduce your cost. The customer will realize "I will need that connectivity".

In terms of IP services O-bit have a feature rich IP Telephony product in Purple Networx which has a number of features which give enhancements over the competition (Follow me services, recorded voice mail, remote back up, auto attendance). This is dependent on high-speed IP connectivity to the customer’s premises which for IP telephony is key. It’s about the quality of line and speed of the line which makes the end user experience what it needs to be.
In terms of other products O-bit offers, O-bit are just about to launch IPVPN services which is a private IP based network where customers can be reassured they are in a safe and secure environment to transfer their data around a nationwide network but also have some controls to break out to the internet from a central controlled point.
Comment from Paul Cloudsdale - Technical Director, O-bit Telecom

Adding Value: SIP Trunks

2010-10-27T01:48:00.001-07:00

Over the last three years the SIP market has matured significantly both in the technology supporting the protocol and in peoples understanding as to what SIP can do for their business. SIP now offers a genuine alternative to ISDN however the determining factor on whether it is a viable option is the connectivity used; Ethernet, EFM or DSL?
Headline costs on SIP make a marketing team’s job very easier, most companies are choosing to offer these free of charge as they know the real money is in the technology supporting the trunks. Ethernet services has to be one of the fastest growing areas of the telecoms reseller market place, higher margins, long term contracts and fantastic quality of service has made it a favourite amongst companies of any size, large or small. This coupled with the continuing price fall of data connectivity and the introduction of EFM keeps the underlining costs low.

SIP as a technology is ready to be used for business critical services but only when the underlining infrastructure is able to offer the necessary SLA’s and SLGs. SIP trunks over DSL will never be a like for like alternative to ISDN as it does not have the same business grade SLG that is offered by traditional ISDN services. If SIP is carried over Ethernet, however, it does become a viable alternative to ISDN. This technology is supported by SLGs guaranteeing 99.98% uptime, or similar, with options of diverse routing and failover type solutions. “When making a decision as to whether to utilise SIP trunks or ISDN in your company it really should be the SLAs and SLGs that determine the business decision on mission critical services” says Paul Cloudsdale, Technical Director of O-bit Telecom.

In comparison to DSL, Ethernet services are more expensive however spare capacity can be used for Internet access or WAN connectivity. This allocation of spare resource is not available in the ISDN world – any spare capacity goes unused.

Business continuity features of SIP trunks include the ability to re-route calls over a back up connection if there is fault on the primary route. This failover is immediate and ensures no downtime at site. Failover between technologies is seamless and minimises the possibility of total failure of service in the business critical environment. To ensure business continuity two services or technologies are required. There is also the clear benefit of being hugely flexible, accommodating home workers thus removing geographic boundaries and the incredible amount of extra features available such as call recording and follow me applications.

“The future and development of the voice infrastructure resides in the SIP trunking arena, we are more likely to see a drop off of ISDN with SIP trunking becoming the de facto service for voice services but it really does come down to three things: connectivity, connectivity, connectivity.” Cloudsdale.

It’s a hat-trick!

2010-10-25T06:40:00.001-07:00

For the third year running O-bit has achieved a place in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, recognising O-bit as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK. Inclusion in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is recognised as a significant achievement within the industry, and despite a challenging economic climate, the company has managed to rank 32nd which is even an improvement on last year where they ranked 39th.

Furthermore, for the third consecutive year, O-bit has been placed within the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. This version comprises companies from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Proving that O-bit is not just a force at home, but also across the globe.

This is a fantastic achievement, and a testament to the hard work and dedication demonstrated by the team at O-bit. Most importantly they wish to thank the loyalty of their long-running customers and partners, for their involvement with O-bit during 2010.

O-bit Impart their Sales Knowledge in Day Workshop

2010-09-27T02:01:00.000-07:00

In order to help O-bit Partners continue to grow profitably, O-bit held a workshop on generating new business sales at their Buckinghamshire based headquarters this week.

Although O-bit has held similar workshops in the past on a smaller scale, this event was the first of its kind aimed directly at teaching attendees how to sell creatively into the SME market. The forum covered how to create compelling calls to action to shorten the sales cycle, how to close up to 90% of proposals within 5 days and how to guarantee to double both revenues and, more importantly profits within a 12 month period.

Led by O-bit’s Dave Trivett the day offered “real life, implementable and highly effective low risk/high return sales and marketing strategies to O-bit Partners, specifically designed to deliver incremental revenues and profits immediately”.

The day proved successful, with the group at O-bit House all leaving pleased with what they had learnt and eager to implement their new-found knowledge.

“Being in Telecoms for twelve plus years I have been to lots of Sales workshops”, Tony Lephard of MeerKat Comms told us. “This one, unlike many I have attended, was well prepared and very relevant to my business. O-bit have put together an excellent resource to help their partners market the O-bit portfolio. The workshop was well presented and practical and well worth a day away from the office.”

“We’re delighted with the response we’ve had”, continued Dave Trivett. “The reaction has reinforced our intentions to hold more days like this in the future in order to add value to the already successful partnerships we enjoy with all of our Clients. In today’s market, to simply provide wholesale products and services is simply not enough. We work hard to consultatively work with Partners to grow their businesses and welcome the opportunity to do so whenever possible.”

O-bit Roll out New Customer Service Plan

2010-09-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

O-bit are making moves to improve upon their already outstanding customer service record. As part of this effort they are rolling out a brand new Customer Service Agreement and held a workshop to discuss important issues surrounding customer service at their High Wycombe based headquarters.

The workshop aimed to reinforce lead times and provide a better understanding behind the current service levels being provided by BT Openreach. Furthermore, there was an update on the resourcing issues currently being experienced by BT Openreach.

Operations Manager, Paul Richens, lead the day saying, “it is important that our customers fully understand the structure and escalation procedures of O-bit and how it affects them. We wanted to explain to them where we are as a business, following our continuing success and growth.”

Customer Support Manager, Kate Hayes, explains the massive task that the O-bit Support Team undertake on a daily basis. “Support is the backbone to any organisation. At O-bit our Team receive around 5000 emails per month and 2500 phone calls. Nevertheless our average answer time is still just twelve seconds and our PCA is 97%! This is for a number of reasons, broadband orders alone have risen by 400% since June due to the new products we launched in May, but our Team has managed to rise to the challenge. It is for this reason that we have decided to restructure the team as we have done, nominating dedicated repair and provisioning agents for greater efficiency”.

The workshop also looked at the company’s extensive customer portal. “The portal has expanded rapidly over the past few months”, explains Richens. “We now have fraud report tools, pricing tools, archiving options, additional call divert and debt management – in total there have been over 20 enhancements in the past three months to improve the customer’s experience.”

Calling all creative people!

2010-08-24T03:43:00.001-07:00

O-bit are looking for a graphic designer!
Visit www.o-bit.net to apply...

O-bit broaden their product portfolio with new IPVPN offering

2010-08-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

O-bit Telecom has added IPVPN to their extensive and impressive product portfolio to offer an even wider range of data network solutions. The new services are provided via Surfwise, a data network wholly built and owned by O-bit Telecom, and allows resellers to offer their customers a range of flexible networking solutions to connect remote sites efficiently and cost effectively.
The Surfwise IP VPN utilises IP technology to provide high speed and secure remote access to a company’s network. The good news for End Users is that providers are able to offer this solution as a cost effective alternative to traditional VPNs, with high levels of resilience provided by an experienced support team. The Surfwise IP VPN is easily scalable, allowing additional sites to be easily added to the network, providing businesses with a VPN solution to grow with their needs.
“With more people working from home, the ability to securely and quickly access a corporate network is becoming very important. At the same time, bandwidth demands are becoming greater, and VPN users don’t want the connection itself to be a bottleneck,” explains Dave Breith, CEO, O-bit Telecom. “The Surfwise IP VPN allows resellers to offer a high-bandwidth VPN solution that many businesses are crying out for, at a price that is much more reasonable than traditional VPN solutions.”
Paul Cloudsdale, Technical Director, O-bit Telecom ads “With modern routers making VPN setup easier and quicker the complex skills needed to setup VPN’s isn’t always needed these days. Simple VPN’s on broadband routers can be setup quickly and with little fuss, couple this with PC’s and Mac’s supporting VPN encryption out of the box it’s possible for most IT people to get these up and running even if it means 20 minutes on Google!”
Most small office and home office users will of course want to reduce costs so good connectivity at the right price is key. Internet breakout and connectivity to a corporate network with telephony all over the same connection is ideal. Security should always be high on the agenda especially when connecting remote computers in to the main corporate network. Private IP VPNs can only be accessed from the physical connection it is supplied on where as VPNing over the Internet can be accessed from anywhere using a computer so it’s key to have sensible measure to authenticate and log devices that do or even try to connect to a network. Productivity is much less of an issue as this tends to increase once people settle in to the home working routine.
Because O-bit has a multi carrier network they can mix and match our IPVPN and MPLS across different carriers. O-bit have the opportunity to offer best bandwidth and commercials over multiple sites and back haul all sites onto their network and secure the network onto IPVN or MPLS.
This service if available to anybody who wants to connect in a secure manner. Ranging from SME’s to corporate to central local government.
When resellers are selling normal broadband they should try and identify quickly how many sites the customer has even if they only have one office, generally at least a handful of people have broadband at home and that’s where the IPVPN product comes in.
What makes O-bit stand out from the crowd is the multi carrier option and can offer internet breakout at our core network. The customer doesn’t need to have a separate internet circuit.
Because O-bit is also a voice carrier we have our voice network in tandem with our data network. Converged technologies come at ease. There are only 2 companies that can offer this but unfortunately don’t. This makes O-bit’s opportunities endless.

O-bit Telecom Table Tennis tournament is underway!

2010-08-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, the O-bit Telecom Table Tennis tournament is underway!
The tournament has 40 contestants who will compete in group stages before 24th September.
Following the group stages the two players with the most points from each group will play in the knock out stage. The first stage of the knockouts will be played the week commencing the 27th September with the finals played the following week. The grand final, to find the very first O-bit Table Tennis Champ, will be held on the 8th October at 5pm.
Stay tuned for updates and the announcement of the 2010 winner!

O-bit Celebrate England Victory

2010-08-13T05:51:00.001-07:00

O-bit Telecom were able to make full use of their corporate box at Wembley Stadium for the England vs. Hungary friendly match on Wednesday 11th August.

Business Development Manager, Matt Donaldson, took a group of the company’s clients to watch England pull back an exciting 2-1 victory against Hungary with a 73rd minute winning goal from Stephen Gerrard.

Matt Donaldson says “It was an amazing atmosphere and it was great to see England back on form after the disappointment of the World Cup. Stephen Gerrard’s first goal is proof of what English football is capable of!”

O-bit’s guests were Jeff Manser, Richard Forshaw and Ken Ambrose from The Comms Company and Trevor James, Daniel James, Andy Buckingham and Rob Evans from Alternative Communications.

Although the evening had a tense atmosphere due to a controversial goal in the early minutes of the second half by Koman of Hungary, Jeff Manser (The Comms Company) said the evening was “great corporate entertainment with a fantastic Host”.

“Many thanks for a great evening with such nice people”, said Ken Ambrose (The Comms Company).

“It’s events like these that make having the box at Wembley such a privilege. Now O-bit Telecom is able to be part of very historical and memorable events” said Matt Donaldson (Business Development Manager O-bit Telecom).

Some say it should have been a two – nil victory but a win is still a win. Roll on Friday 3rd September for the England v Bulgaria Euro 2012 Qualifier.

Joshua Jones Charity auction

2010-08-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Just 4 days until Joshua Jones Charity auction. Remeber if you cant attend you can still donate at http://www.joshsjourney.org.uk/ home page

Thanks

Joshs Journey

2010-08-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

Morning guys,

14th August is getting closer and incase you didn't see the previous post...
A charity auction evening is to be held on 14th August in support of Joshua Jones. Seven year old Josh suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare muscle wasting disease that is incurable. We are raising funds to support Josh and his family, over the coming years Josh will require treatments and a specialized wheelchair. All of which are not available on the NHS. Rebecca Novis from Chain Telecom is helping to organise the event along with other close friends of Josh’s Mum, Gemma. Members of staff are all showing their support for this worthy cause with everyone planning to attend the event. Dave Breith – CEO of O-Bit Telecom, has kindly donated two outstanding prizes for the auction, which we are sure will raise a huge amount of money for the charity. Please take some time to read Josh’s full story www.joshsjourney.org.uk

Even if you can't attend, please take some time to donate at the bottom of the www.joshsjourney.org.uk home page. Only takes a few seconds and ANY donation is a good donation.

Thanks

New Beginnings

2010-08-02T02:01:00.000-07:00

As O-bit Telecoms appetite for growth continues, the Sales team has expanded with two new members joining.
Jerry Pettie joins O-bit as Key Account Manager and proactively manages large account’s spend and growth.
Before joining O-bit, Jerry was a New Media Consultant for BT Retail in the Directories channel and helped pioneer the New Media Advertising proposition into the SME market.
In his spare time Jerry is a member of various high performance car clubs and enjoys racing, track days and cruises. Jerry adds “I also own a small sailing boat and like to go away to the south coast on the odd weekend.”
What’s on his iPod? “I am listening to a lot of Urban styles including R&B, Hip-hop and D&B. I am a massive fan of Chase and Status”
O-bit’s second addition to the sales team is Laura McGuire.
Laura’s role within O-bit is to maintain existing and develop new customers through quality and personal account management.
In Laura’s spare time she likes Salsa dancing, hosting dinner parties and long walks with her poodle.
What’s on her iPod? “Morcheeba! I love their music at the moment”.

Dave Breith supports worthy cause

2010-07-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

http://chaintelecom.o-bitlocalbusiness.com/

O-bit Local Business Chain Telecom are raising funds with a charity auction for "Joshs Journey".
A charity auction evening is to be held on 14th August in support of Joshua Jones. Seven year old Josh suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare muscle wasting disease that is incurable. Chain are raising funds to support Josh and his family, over the coming years Josh will require treatments and a specialized wheelchair. All of which are not available on the NHS. Rebecca Novis from Chain Telecom is helping to organise the event along with other close friends of Josh’s Mum, Gemma. Members of staff are all showing their support for this worthy cause with everyone planning to attend the event.
Dave Breith – CEO of O-Bit Telecom, has kindly donated two outstanding prizes for the auction, which we are sure will raise a huge amount of money for the charity.
Please take some time to read Josh’s full story www.joshsjourney.org.uk Any donations would be greatly received and can be made through this website.

BTL Communication

2010-07-23T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Take a look at our OLB Partner BTL Communication:
http://bit.ly/dxYNsX

Take a moment to become a fan of them to keep up to date with their latest news.

Have a great Friday!

The World Cup Spirit continues at O-bit House!

2010-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

The football festivities may have finished at the weekend, but at O-bit House the competition was still fierce come Monday lunch time!
Employees took part in a World Cup Cook-Off, picking World Cup teams and partaking in a tournament that pitched dish against dish from around the globe!
Josh McKee came out on top as the winner after cooking a number of dishes from Slovina. His winning dish was a Goulasz Bake, which is a noodle dish, served with crushed garlic and red onion and then cooked with chicken and mixed spices. Josh said after “It’s really simple to cook, just put in an oven dish with thinly sliced potato on top and grated cheese and then bake!”
His colleagues seemed more than pleased with his efforts, voting him the winner of the cook-off tournament on Monday at lunch. Tom Seddon, O-bit Telecom employee said, “Mmm, delicious! The chicken was tender, the potatoes were so crispy and just the right amount of cheese topping.”
Josh’s Team Leader, Kim Thompson remarked, “I thought it was delicious!”
So congratulations to Josh – we are getting hungry just thinking about it all!

O-bit Head to the Races!

2010-07-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

Staff at O-bit Telecom were treated to a trip to Windsor Races this weekend, thanks to their CEO, Dave Breith.

Breith said of the day out, “my staff work so hard all year round to give O-bit customers the best possible service – so it feels great to celebrate by treating them to a day out such as this!”

Buckinghamshire based company, O-bit Telecom, is a premium provider of Lines and Calls as well as owning its own Broadband Network, meaning O-bit can offer dedicated internet access off its own Network backbone.

According to staff members everyone had a fantastic day. Sales and Marketing Director, Elizabeth Sparrow said, “we all had such a fantastic time – its events such as this that bring us closer together as a company and thus mean that we perform better as a team. It’s the reason for the company’s growing success!”

O-bit has been experiencing phenomenal good fortune in recent months, having announced a £20 million turnover at the end of last year and being presented with the ‘Most Innovative Channel Product’ for the VoIP solution Purple Networx back in May.

Quite clearly the staff incentives are both well deserved and already proving fruitful!

Dave Breith Becomes Buckinghamshire Ambassador

2010-07-05T10:12:00.001-07:00

Dave Breith, CEO of O-bit Telecom, became the most recent business professional to join the Buckinghamshire Ambassadors network. The group of over 100 Ambassadors is responsible for championing the County when travelling the UK and further afield, due to their accomplishments and status within the region.

Breith stood alongside Formula One driver Mark Webber and fellow entrepreneur Stephen Hayes who owns Wasps RFC and Wycombe Wanderers FC, at the ceremony at The Stage in Mentmore. They were presented with the honour by Cllr David Polhill, the new President of the Buckinghamshire Ambassadors and the BELP Chairman, Alex Pratt.

Pratt said of the trio, “Success attracts success, and having Mark, Stephen and Dave join as Ambassadors will further support our aims to attract new business and jobs to Buckinghamshire.”

Breith was equally positive about the responsibility he was undertaking, “Buckinghamshire is my home county, where I have had the fortune to live for most of my life. I am extremely honoured and humbled to represent it as I believe it to be one of the most beautiful and flourishing Counties in the UK.”

All the Buckinghamshire Ambassadors are entrepreneurs and community leaders, who support and promote the County locally, nationally and internationally. O-bit Telecom is a highly successful telecoms company based in Loudwater that have achieved rankings in the Deloitte UK Top 50 and Top 500 EMEA. Breith is therefore recognised as the perfect candidate to represent Buckinghamshire to the extent that the Ambassador’s network requires him to.

O-bit Heroes Take the Plunge in Charity Bungee!

2010-07-05T10:10:00.001-07:00

A brave group of employees from Buckinghamshire based company O-bit Telecom have taken part in a charity bungee jump to raise money for their colleague who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

The jump took place just outside of Chesham, where Elizabeth Sparrow, Katie Harris and Suzannah Doyle were daring enough to bungee from the height of sixty feet! They were amongst a group of around fifty people who all rose to the challenge in honour of Anna’s Appeal, a cause that is very important to everyone working at O-bit.

Despite some initial fears the three women faced their task head on and all were full of only positive things to say about the experience once it was done. “It was amazing” said Sales and Marketing Director Elizabeth, “such an amazing rush ... and even more satisfying to know that it was all for a good cause!”

So was the risk worthwhile? The trio managed to raise over £1000 collectively! “We were ecstatic when we realised what we had achieved,” says Sparrow. “Anna’s Appeal is such a worthy cause and it feels fantastic to contribute in some way towards it.”

O-bit will be taking part in a range of additional fund-raising activities throughout the summer for Anna’s Appeal, details of which can be found at http://annaappealfund.weebly.com/. CEO, Dave Breith said, “I am so proud of my staff for the effort they’ve made raising money for Anna’s Appeal and we will continue to group together as a company to help out as much as we can!”

O-bit Telecom Triumphs with Purple Networx at Comms Business Awards!

2010-07-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

It is celebration time for Loudwater based O-bit Telecom at the Comms Business Awards, when they were presented with the award for Most Innovative Product for their VoIP service, Purple Networx.

The award acknowledges the impact Purple Networx has made on the industry, being the true end-to-end solution and the extent to which it has revolutionised smaller businesses ability to offer an affordable VoIP service of such a high standard.

CEO, Dave Breith, said of the company’s achievement; “We are extremely proud of this award and would like to thank all the members of staff who have worked so hard to get Purple Networx up and running over the past year. It shows what hard work and dedication to a product can do!”

O-bit are expecting the award to draw extra attention to the new, but already extremely popular, Purple Networx service.

Dave Breith, CEO of O-bit Telecom, talks about the recent Mobile Interconnect Changes called “Flip Flopping”

2010-05-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Is it me or has everyone just had all they can take with the mobile operators changing their tariffs every single Month? How does a Fixed Line Company know where they stand from Month to Month and how does the End User know what surprises they’ll be getting with each new bill?

The important question is: “Do Ofcom and the Mobile Networks think we can change our tariffs to End Users every single Month, just to allow the Mobile Networks to chop and change as they see fit just to line their own pockets?” Even worse than this, the Mobile Networks are using the rate increases to sell against Fixed Resellers, I had a call from o2 a couple of weeks ago stating the increases in Mobile Fixed line charges were increasing and that if I switched my fixed line telecoms to o2 they would give me calls to o2 for free!!!!!! As you can imagine I was very impressed.

The biggest joke of all is Ofcom’s attitude toward this situation in allowing it to continue. I fully understand that Ofcom have guidelines on these issues but seeing as this is a serious matter I think it is not unreasonable to ask them to act fast as delays are only giving the Mobile Networks unfair competition within fixed line.

Can anyone think of a logical reason why Ofcom continue to allow this to happen and not act fast on this?

3Rnet.co.uk Reaps Benefits of Adding Purple Networx to its Portfolio

2010-04-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

An affordable, scalable and user-friendly product, Purple Networx offers 3Rnet.co.uk a range of abilities

As a reseller:

* To access the SME market with an affordable VoIP telephony solution that will grow with the customer’s business
* To provide high level product support and customer service to its end-users via O-bit Telecom
* To access the telecoms expertise of O-bit and be supported in the sales, marketing, installation and servicing of Purple Networx

As an end user:

* To benefit from the flexibility of a simple, affordable VoIP telephony solution
* To manage remote and home working capabilities
* To benefit from full technical support in product installation and general use

Background

Established six years’ ago with the aim of providing IT products to customers across the internet, 3Rnet.co.uk offers a wide range of IT and telecoms solutions to businesses and home-workers. In addition to products such as ADSL, ADSL routing, anti-virus, hosting and VoIP, 3Rnet.co.uk provides comprehensive IT support and maintenance which ensures that customers continue to benefit from its portfolio of solutions as technical problems are quickly resolved. Founded on IT expertise, 3Rnet.co.uk added telecoms solutions to the company’s product range when it signed up as a reseller with O-bit Telecom in 2005.
Challenge

3Rnet.co.uk’s CEO Richard Robinson recognised a need to expand his company’s reach into the telecoms sector in order to remain competitive in the reseller space. Robinson wanted to source a telephony solution that would complement 3Rnet.co.uk’s existing portfolio of products and also be simple to install, manage and use.

“Simplicity and scalability is the key to finding a product that will ultimately be profitable as a reseller,” explains Robinson. “No matter how clever it may be, if a product is complicated to deploy, requires manpower or unusual equipment, and then is even more difficult for the customer to use, it will just end up costing my business time and money to sort out. So it becomes particularly important to make the right choice.”

As a small business itself with the need to manage home working, 3Rnet.co.uk also wanted to find a VoIP telephony solution that it could deploy to meet its own operational requirements.
Solution

Already working with O-bit Telecom as a reseller of its ADSL solution and wholesale telecoms line rental, Robinson was keen to find out more about O-bit’s VoIP telephony product Purple Networx when it was launched in late 2009. An opportunity to meet the O-bit Purple Networx team and test out the product in person was too intriguing to miss, so Robinson visited the O-bit offices in September 2009.

“I was definitely impressed with Purple Networx and how easy it was to set up and use,” recalls Robinson. “I come from an IT background so Purple Networx really made sense to me in terms of the installation process. It was also a real bonus to meet the support team so I knew I could put faces to names when I would be calling on them for help in the future.”

One of the key benefits of Purple Networx is the minimal equipment required to install the system into business premises. The customer simply requires enough handsets for their needs: a Purple Networx router; an existing phone line; and a PC with an internet browser.

“When the handset and router arrived I phoned the O-bit helpdesk who talked me through the various buttons to press to identify the IP address. Once I’d found the IP address, I punched this into my internet browser and logged into the Purple Networx set-up site,” explains Robinson. “Here I needed to enter various data fields such as extension numbers, passwords and SIP trunks to ensure the system was properly routing to my handsets. All in all, the process literally took about twenty minutes and we were ready to go.”

It wasn’t all completely plain sailing for Robinson, however, who experienced some minor issues at one stage with dialling a particular 0500 number. “Any problems we experienced was actually more down to my unfamiliarity with the product rather than any inherent flaws in Purple Networx itself,” Robinson explains. “It turns out the 0500 number just wasn’t in the dial plan, so once I had spoken to the O-bit support team and got that straightened out, it simply wasn’t a problem.”
Customers

Having established Purple Networx very comfortably within his own business, Richard Robinson was keen to ensure his customers were getting the benefit of the new technology. One of the first customers he sold Purple Networx into was Hatch, a furniture business based in Epping.

“The team at Hatch were basically operating from a barn building in Epping and had an old BT feature line installed to service their telephony needs,” recalls Robinson. “However, the company is expanding and growing in terms of staff numbers, so they realised they would need a proper phone ‘system’. The cost of rolling out the BT technology across a higher volume of users was going to be disproportionate to their actual needs, so I saw this as a golden opportunity to set them up with Purple Networx.”
Support is key

For Robinson, the real success of Purple Networx lies in the O-bit customer support team. “I have used and installed many different types of VoIP solutions - and there are certainly plenty out there on the market, But what really sets Purple Networx apart from the competition is knowing I can call an 0800 number and speak to a UK-based adviser who can help with my query. Not only does this give me considerable piece-of-mind as a user myself, but significant additional value to offer my customers when I’m selling the Purple Networx solution to their business.”

O-bit Becomes First UK Company to Offer Automated 999 Feature on Calypso

2010-04-09T02:18:00.000-07:00

O-bit Telecom has become the first company in the UK to offer an automated 999 feature on the new Calypso system. This new platform is set to replace the current BT system for 999 data base management. The development will go hand-in-hand with O-bit’s unique Purple Networx portfolio –the true end-to-end VoIP solution.

Other phone companies that supply IP telephone numbers have to manually register the number on the now outdated emergency services database. This is to offer added protection for the user – so that if an unidentifiable 999 call is made from the handset, a member of the emergency services can be sent to the registered location to investigate.

O-bit has become the first UK company to offer this service entirely automated and supported by Calypso. Whenever one of O-bit’s customers places an order for an IP phone, the newly generated number will be automatically registered onto BT’s database against the user’s address – with no manual involvement from the customer or O-bit.

O-bit CEO, Dave Breith, referred to the new service as “revolutionary!” Saying this week, “Our new automated 999 offering is just another example of how O-bit can make life so simple for its customers and partners”.