Clear Voice News

• Official Press Release - IConnect and Clear Voice merge

  Issued by: Clear Voice
  Johannesburg, 3 November 2011

  Clear Voice, a voice over IP (VoIP) Communications Company based in Cape Town and Pretoria, has agreed to merge with iConnect, a leading Sandton-based independent provider of converged voice and data solutions. The agreement comes into effect from 1 November 2011.

  In a joint statement issued to confirm the merger, Calvin Collett of iConnect and Felicity Menge of Clear Voice say the agreement will create a platform for the combined organisation to develop into a truly independent telecommunications company in a rapidly consolidating market.

  "The many synergies between the two companies will be leveraged to create an organisation capable of offering unsurpassed value to clients as well as a greatly expanded network of business partners in the reseller channel," according to the statement.

  "The agreement will enable the unified company to achieve critical mass that may not otherwise have been attained through organic growth as separate entities."

  "The economies of scale that can now be achieved will enable the respective companies to pass on even further benefits to all clients in terms of cost savings and enhanced solutions and services."

  For Clear Voice, the deal provides instant access to iConnect's core network infrastructure. This network, that includes a fully redundant Midrand data centre with DR facilities in Cape Town and Durban, takes advantage of massive investments undertaken by the GSM and fixed-line operators.

  Menge adds that the agreement provides Clear Voice clients with an enhanced range of services within the iConnect solutions portfolio, including VPN and data services.

  "iConnect also offers an exciting range of cloud-based services, including hosted PBX; FICA and FAIS compliant call logging, Microsoft exchange services (including Lync) and a number of Linux-based open system services. The iConnect web-based portal provides clients and resellers with access to active monitoring services, service provision status, fault logging and status; a feature-rich TMS; and online billing system."

  "IConnect provides an immediate bridge to next-generation services that would have been prohibitively expensive and extremely long-term for Clear Voice to develop on its own," she says.

  • Editorial contacts
  • Clear Voice
  • Felicity Menge
  • +27 (0)87 941 1011
  • Felicity@clearvoice.co.za

• Clear Voice gains IECNS accreditation, boasts 60 resellers, expects revenue to grow 50%

  Issued by: Clear Voice
  Johannesburg, 22 August 2011

  VOIP specialist, Clear Voice, recently became a tier one provider by gaining an Individual Electronics Communications Network Services (IECNS) licence, and is expecting revenue to increase by 50% for the 2011 calendar year. The company was also announced as ECN's top reseller earlier this year. ECN is a major player in the delivery of affordable and accessible converged voice and data solutions. Said Felicity Menge, MD of Clear Voice: "There has been a lot of consolidation in the VOIP and least cost routing (LCR) markets during the past year, especially as the LCR market has come under strain since the interconnect rate was decreased. Indeed," said Menge, "a number of companies that derive the bulk of their revenue from LCR are in serious trouble. If turnaround plans cannot be timeously devised, a number face bankruptcy." "However, since we have moved into the tier one domain, we have been able to grow our business and offer our clients better rates, despite the turbulent economic times and the pressures on margins in this industry. We now have offices in Cape Town and Pretoria - and provide services to a total of 60 resellers, who now occupy the market space we did prior to Clear Voice becoming a tier one player." "The market, however, is not going to be won on price alone. Besides cutting our rates twice this year, we are committed to offering our clientele a high level of service, including the provision of sustained quality calls." The LCR market was thrown into disarray when Icasa cut whole call termination rates - the fees the operators charge each other to carry calls onto their networks. Icasa reduced mobile termination rates to 73c/minute in March 2011, with further cuts on the cards for 2012 and 2013, taking the rate to just 40c/minute. "We are seeing a lot of red being pencilled into balance sheets in the industry," said Menge. "But we have seen our market grow significantly during the course of the year and expect a revenue increase of 50% for the 2011 calendar year."

  • Editorial contacts
  • Clear Voice
  • Felicity Menge
  • +27 (0)87 941 1011
  • Felicity@clearvoice.co.za

• Clear Voice offers new rates, awards resellers at annual 2011 conference.

  Issued by: Clear Voice
  Johannesburg, 30 June 2011

  Once again Clear Voice is offering further relief from recessionary pressure; Clear Voice not only dropped its rates on 1 March 2011, but will do so again on 1 July 2011!

  We are starting to see the beginning of the change that everyone is talking about in the VOIP industry. It means some creative thinking and new business processes that are now part of the Clear Voice product complement.

  Clear Voice recently hosted the Annual Resellers 2011 Conference at the beautiful Erinvale Estate, in Somerset West. The overwhelming turnout of resellers from all over South Africa showed positivity in the market that belied the current recession.

  New products, value-added services

  The Clear Voice Conference took the resellers by storm, with the launch of several new products to the Clear Voice product range.

  Along with the newly announced equipment that was launched, Clear Voice is now offering a new service product in rentals. The rental option will accommodate installation of equipment on a rent basis. This is not only a first for Clear Voice, but it will fill a much-needed gap in the market. It eliminates the need for financing options, which previously was the only other avenue available besides cash. With the rental option, one has a 12-month contract enabling the use of VOIP without the high cost.

  And that's not all; part of the Hosted PBX offerings now includes voice recording available at a very reasonable cost; no longer expect a high-end price to install voice logging equipment, something every call centre has been waiting to hear.

  Further products and services coming soon:

  • Microsoft OCS integration
  • Online PBX console
  • Mobile VOIP Client - WiFi/Hosted PBX integration
  • Unified communications
  • Hosted call centre solutions

  VOIP, unified communications market

  We will find the South African VOIP industry following the US trend, in that 30% of businesses in 2009 of all telecommunication links were through VOIP; this number is expected to rise to 80% by 2013.

  This is good news for our resellers, as this means that VOIP is replacing TDM almost completely, so we can look forward to huge growth potential. To quote Frost & Sullivan in 2010: "The South African unified communications market is in an early stage of development, signifying a strong growth potential for vendors, system integrators and service providers."

  Reseller awards:

  The Reseller Conference honoured outstanding achievement in growth to its top resellers for 2011, with awards given to those resellers with the highest number of minutes. A further award was made acknowledging overall achievement, for an exceptional reseller for reaching out to the most new clients this year.

  Clear Voice congratulated this upbeat and positive reseller network on exceptional performance.

  Besides the seriousness of the conference, and the excitement and pride with which the top resellers accepted their awards, there was also fun and games to be had by all. A relaxed and entertaining evening was enjoyed by everyone.

  2012 reseller incentive

  To further encourage and ensure another highly successful year for 2012, Clear Voice rolled out the new incentive for resellers.

  Qualifying resellers are those who achieve 20% growth, and have a turnover of 100 000 minutes per month. The winner takes all in a trip for two to spectacular Zanzibar; a holiday of a lifetime at Sandies Neptune Pwani Beach, one of the best beaches in East Africa, with breathtaking vistas over the exquisite Indian Ocean.

  Moving forward:

  Clear Voice maintains its motto of changing the rules ... setting the standards. The right choice, first time.

  • Editorial contacts
  • Clear Voice
  • Felicity Menge
  • +27 (0)87 941 1011
  • Felicity@clearvoice.co.za

• Clear Voice launches perfectly timed value-added voice products

  Issued by: Clear Voice
  Johannesburg, 18 April 2011

  As recessionary pressure continues and uncertainty remains within the South African corporate sector, Clear Voice launches new tools and value-added products for voice communications that will assist companies both financially as well as with productivity.

  These products will complement the existing primary voice product of Clear Voice. The main aim of Clear Voice is to extend savings, through its lower cost voice product, to the South African corporate market, while maintaining high quality voice by using carrier grade hardware and redundant networks.

  Service is already one of the standout traits that Clear Voice is recognised for, both by its resellers and customers.

  Clear Voice is happy to announce exponential growth in its latest and very exciting offering of hosted PBX services. The buzz word 'cloud computing' is in almost every area of IT offerings, and some of the reasons for its popularity are as follows:

  • Less or no cost of on-site software, licensing, and expertise.
  • Access to the latest features without costly upgrade expenses.
  • Hardware costs kept to a minimum and hardware maintenance costs almost nullified.
  • In most cases, expansion is simply a request away.

  So, what is 'cloud computing'? Well, actually, this is not something new at all; it has simply been extended to new areas of business. Almost all of us have an Internet service provider (ISP). In essence, an ISP is a 'cloud computing' supplier. They host e-mail server/s and Internet server/s and provide us with the service that we require. If we need 10 e-mail addresses they give them to us. If we need more, we contact them and up the required number.

  Clear Voice is now offering telephony services on the same principle. The offering is specifically around your PBX (switchboard) without the hassle and cost of having to buy and pay expensive maintenance costs for it!

  • No contracts
  • No finance rentals
  • No large outlays
  • Fully scalable with business growth or downsizing
  • No unnecessary hardware or installations
  • Offering full redundancy and bringing fixed line into an IP environment

  The standard features that are available are also extended beyond the standard PBX capabilities without huge costs involved:

  • Voice recording (Yes, record your conversations!)
  • Automatic call distribution (Set up how incoming calls are distributed to groups of people in the organisation)
  • Auto attendant (Provide an automated voice menu for the caller to select sales, accounts, orders etc...)
  • Music/adverts on hold
  • Calling ID
  • Call waiting
  • Call forwarding (This could be to any number anywhere!)
  • IVR and Web message retrieval (Get your voice mail as an e-mail attachment or dial in to get the message ...from anywhere!)
  • Multiple branch set-up, as if you are sitting at one location - transfer between branches. Pick up calls
  • DID facilities (Direct Inward Dialling - private number)
  • On a personal home user level - Add your family and dial each other, extension to extension, free of charge
  • Conferencing

  Manage your organisation's communication efficiently and effectively.

  In addition to the above, there are many advantages of using Clear Voice.

  Clear Voice offers bundled data connections and consultation services for data connectivity that may be required for effective use of the VOIP service.

  • Carrier-based hardware infrastructure
  • Carrier-based backbone infrastructure
  • Redundant networks
  • Control the routing of the calls
  • Good quality voice

  Part of the Clear Voice service delivery includes the following features:

  • A VOIP service based on SIP. You may connect any SIP complaint device and will be able to make calls at substantially reduced costs.
  • A dedicated 087 or Local DID VOIP number for inbound calls (087, 010, 012, 021, 031) - No charge
  • An online account login allows you to see call records in real-time
  • Invoices via e-mail
  • Inbound caller ID
  • Outbound caller ID
  • Call forward
  • Per second billing - allowing for even greater savings
  • Support for Fax over IP = FOIP
  • Completely IPConnect Unshaped Local Bandwidth - Ideal for VOIP - no charge
  • Enhanced remote manageability and administration of VOIP equipment
  • Remote customer support to resolve any problems quick and easy

  • Editorial contacts
  • Clear Voice
  • Felicity Menge
  • +27 (0)87 941 1011
  • Felicity@clearvoice.co.za