Satellite-based Services Provide Citizens With Global Communications Despite Weakened National Infrastructure

The Challenge

With the nation's communications infrastructure still largely in disarray and local phone company operations still unable to respond to citizens' needs, Iraqi citizens have found their ability to communicate with the outside world greatly limited. But, thanks to Quintum Technologies' VoIP solutions and the support of Quintum's business partners, those limitations are being overcome – so Iraqis can call where they want to call at a price they can afford.

This critical innovative telecom solution is being pioneered by SN Online, which operates three Internet cafés in Baghdad, and other locations in Iraq. Rather than depending on landline connectivity, these cafés use links to satellites operated by mostly European and Asian providers. The challenge was how to use these data links to provide reliable, good-quality voice services.

SN Online turned to Quintum's partner, Chance Telecom, for a solution. Chance understood the constraints of the satellite links, as well as the importance of keeping things simple for individual café operators whose technical skills might be limited. Based on those factors and others, Chance suggested using Quintum's Tenor switches.
The Tenor switches proved to be ideal for SN Online's needs. Although response times on the 5.4 GHz satellite links could reach 700-800 milliseconds, Quintum's algorithms ensured consistent voice quality. The Quintum Tenor switches also offered a unique PacketSaver™ feature that reduced consumption of the limited bandwidth available on the satellite links during periods of peak utilization.

The VoIP Solution

The Tenor switches installed effortlessly in the existing café environments, which featured Cisco 2500 series routers. Voice and data traffic are segregated at the router, with voice calls backhauled over Chance's global VoIP network. Calls to the US are routed through two Chance Telecom POPs and then terminated via a combination of IPbased and PSTN (ISDN) carriers. Termination for other countries is provided via both Chance Telecom and third-party POPs.

The Quintum Tenor switches also integrated seamlessly with Chance Telecom's billing software. The software enables SN Online to easily invoice their patrons, adjust rates as appropriate for different markets and perform other basic business functions using an everyday Windows-based PC and CDR data gathered from the local Quintum switch. Chance Telecom also provided SN Online with a web-based billing application that it could use in the event any of its in-store systems failed.



As a result of implementing Quintum's Tenor solution, SN Online has quickly become a competitive voice services provider in the Iraqi market – without having to wait for expensive, hard-to-come-by infrastructure from local phone service providers. Just as important, Iraqi citizens now have a reliable, economical way to contact family, friends and business associates all over the world while the slow process of restoring the country's traditional telecom infrastructure continues.

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