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 Orange Group Subsidiary Cites PortaOne's All-in-One Flexibility for Its Abilityto Deliver High-End Telecom Services to Growing Mix of Residential, SMB andCorporate CustomersCOQUITLAM, British Columbia,  Feb. 8, 2013  /PRNewswire/ -- The modern era hasbeen largely good to  Bahrain. Unlike its neighbors in the Arabian Gulf who havecomparatively large oil reserves,  Bahrain  has embraced alternative industriesin the new century including banking, heavy industry, tourism and retail. As aresult it has grown steadily through the past decade, and is currently rankednumber one in market freedom among all nations in the  Middle East.Lightspeed Communications, a subsidiary of Orange-France Telecom Group, is amajor player in meeting Bahain's increasing demand for world-classtelecommunications. The company was  Bahrain's first alternative fixed-linetelecom operator and the first provider in the island nation to launch dual-play(Internet and voice) services. Lightspeed is renowned for providing high-qualitybroadband services to the residential and small-to-medium business (SMB)markets, as well as a full range of high-performance corporate servicesincluding dedicated Internet, Virtual Private Networks, data hosting, Webhosting, and Orange's GMPLS network.  At the heart of Lightspeed's  Bahrain  infrastructure since 2011 is PortaOne'sPortaSwitch  softswitch/billing platform. "PortaSwitch is a greatall-in-one solution," said Mr.  Alain Groleau, Lightspeed CommunicationsBusiness Development Director. "Not only does it give us a comprehensive,flexible voice implementation that meets the requirements of different classesof customers, but also it lets us deliver additional high-end services that addvalue and profit."PortaSwitch is a software-based communication services and subscriber managementsolution that lets telephony service providers deliver a wide variety ofbusiness models quickly and flexibly.  Capable of handling all the call control,routing, proxying, and converged billing functions of any diversified digitalservices company, the platform consists of a real-time billing system, class 4and 5 SIP softswitch, and applications servers that deliver converged billingand provisioning, SIP call control, unified messaging, IP Centrex and hosted IPPBX, callback management, IVRs, conferencing and more."One of the greatest advantages of PortaSwitch is its simplicity," noted Mr. Abdulrahman Ghazal, Lightspeed Communications Technical Manager. "It's easy toconfigure, which saves us time and effort. Moreover, PortaOne upgradesPortaSwitch frequently, which allows us to stay at the top in terms oftechnology and system capabilities."As Lightspeed Communications has increased its base of SMB and large corporateaccounts, PortaSwitch has allowed the telecom to host and maintain a number ofvalue-added services. "PortaSwitch supports a wide array of SIP Centrexservices. Since installing PortaSwitch we've increased our businesssignificantly by adding new customers who, for example, are looking for a VoIPhosted model with fax-over-IP capability."Other advantages PortaSwitch provides, Mr. Ghazal said, include postpaid/prepaidsupport, features like call waiting and voicemail, and the ability to supportinterconnection with new carriers. He also pointed to the need among Lightspeedcustomers to fax using their own equipment-a capability PortaSwitch supports.Since the beginning, Lightspeed Communications has also subscribed to PortaOne's PortaCare  24/7 technical support program. In addition to technical assistance,the program gives the telecom remote monitoring and basic maintenance of coveredservers."Lightspeed provides a comprehensive platform and first-class customer careprofessionals, ready to assist with every aspect of our services," stated Mr.Groleau. "Our commitment to our customers, combined with our unbundled lineup ofservices and our all-in-one voice/Internet offering, is very attractive to awide range of Bahraini market segments. PortaSwitch and PortaCare help us meetall these different customer requirements."About PortaOne:Based in  Canada, PortaOne is a leading global provider of software for thetelecommunications and utility industries. The company's products enable serviceproviders and carriers to run a broad line of retail and wholesale serviceswithin a single software package.  PortaOne's flagship products, PortaSwitch(
  http://portaone.com/portaswitch/index.php
 ) and MetroBilling(
  www.MetroBilling.com
 ) are a fundamental part of the business infrastructure forover 380 service providers and telcos in 80+ countries worldwide. Overtwo-thirds of PortaOne staff are support engineers providing thebest-in-industry 24/7 technical support services for clients involved in hostedIP PBX and SIP trunking services, calling cards, wholesale origination andtermination, residential triple-play, MVNO/MVNE, callshops and more. To learnmore, visit  
  www.PortaOne.com.
 About Lightspeed Communications:Lightspeed Communications is  Bahrain's first alternative fixed-linetelecommunications operator, offering value-added and innovative services forresidential and business customers.  Lightspeed Communications, a subsidiary of Orange Jordan offers innovativeservices in  Bahrain  such as bundled broadband services for the residential,small and medium enterprises, and the corporate sector. LightspeedCommunications provides its customers more choice and exceptional quality inbroadband voice and internet services. To learn more, visit 
  www.lightspeed.com.bh.
 SOURCE  PortaOneMolly Antos Morey, S&S Public Relations, Inc., +1-847-955-0700 ext. 9327,mantos@sspr.com