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Frequently asked questions
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VoIP switch overview:
System features:
Customer experience:
General questions:
Financial questions:
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What is DUAL Softswitch?
DUAL Softswitch is a hosted VoIP switching and billing system. If you are a
telephone company reselling VoIP services or your own termination, then DUAL Softswitch
can switch your calls for you and provide your customers with online control panels to
manage their accounts.
Do your prices include minutes?
No. Our prices are for the switching and billing platform
only. You will need to organise VoIP termination with a carrier and pay that carrier
for the calls you send through DUAL Softswitch. If you do not yet have a carrier, we
can offer termination through our A-Z
H.323 and SIP service. This is charged separately.
Does DUAL Softswitch include a call shop
biller?
Yes. If you sell to call shops, then you will be able to offer them a powerful Call Shop Billing System to help them manage
their pre-pay or post-pay operations.
Can I buy the call shop biller on its own?
Yes, but if you do not need all the features offered by DUAL Softswitch, please
consider our Bill My Calls product.
Do I need my own server?
No. The service is fully hosted on our servers in London.
How do I control DUAL Softswitch?
DUAL Softswitch is controlled using the web based control panel at http://my.dualsoftswitch.com/.
How quickly can you set me up?
DUAL Softswitch can usually be working within one working day.
Can I run DUAL Softswitch on my own server?
At the moment, DUAL Softswitch is only available as a hosted product. We may
offer it as a licensed software product if there is sufficient demand.
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How many carriers can I
define?
You can define an unlimited number of carriers. They can be SIP (proxy or
registrar) or H.323 (gatekeeper or gateway).
Can I send calls to Betamax (eg. VoiceTrading /
SIPTraffic)?
Yes. We have special recommendations for Betamax carrier settings. Please
see our User Guide for more information.
Can I use Least Cost Routing?
You can upload rate tables for up to ten carriers. DUAL Softswitch will then send
calls to the cheapest carrier for a particular destination. You can override this
behaviour at tariff and account level.
Can failed calls overflow?
If you are using Least Cost Routing (LCR), then failed calls will overflow to the next
cheapest carrier if they are rejected by the original carrier. This will be repeated
until the call is accepted by a carrier, or there are no more LCR carriers
available. Calls only overflow under certain circumstances. Please see the User Guide for more
information.
Will my softswitch have a dedicated IP address?
Yes. We will assign you a fixed IP address exclusively for your use. You
will need this if you send calls to a carrier with an H.323 gateway or gatekeeper.
Is H.323 / SIP conversion supported?
Yes. DUAL Softswitch will automatically convert between the two signalling
protocols in cases where the caller and the carrier do not use the same protocol.
Do you transcode?
No. Your callers and your carriers will need to share support for a common codec.
Do I need to buy the RTP Proxy?
Most customers do not need to use our RTP Proxy service. It is only required if
your callers are behind NAT devices and your carriers do not offer NAT Penetration.
If you buy service from Betamax (eg. VoiceTrading or SIPTraffic), then you will definitely
not need our RTP Proxy service, because Betamax accounts support NAT Penetration.
How many accounts can I set up?
You can create accounts for nine hundred thousand customers. Each account can
have multiple calling devices.
How many calls per second will DUAL Softswitch
handle?
DUAL Softswitch handles twenty calls per second, with bursting allowed for two seconds.
Thereafter, call throttling is applied. Larger DUAL Softswitch installations
may be allowed to handle a greater number of calls per second. Please contact us with your requirements.
Can I manage reciprocal traffic exchange
arrangements?
Yes. When you set up a carrier, you can nominate a DUAL Softswitch account to be
credited each time that carrier terminates a call. The nominated account can use
that credit for sending calls to your switch.
What reporting is available?
Reporting is currently limited to ASR/ACD statistics and daily financial summaries.
We plan to add further reports in due course.
Can I set up my own dial codes?
DUAL Softswitch is initially set up with the current dial codes for our own termination
service, but we do not change this after installation. You can upload your own dial
codes in Microsoft Excel format.
How many tariffs can I define?
You can define an unlimited number of tariffs. You assign tariffs to your
customer accounts to specify their per-minute calling rates.
How do I upload tariffs?
You upload tariffs in Microsoft Excel format (2003 or 2007). When you upload a
tariff update, Excel rate sheets are automatically generated for your customers to
download from their control panels, and your customers are sent an automatic email
advising them of the change.
What currency can I sell in?
You can sell in any one currency. This is set up when your VoIP softswitch
partition is created.
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What control panels will
my customer have?
Your customers will be able to check their balance; view their call records and
download automatically generated rate tables at http://cdr.dualsoftswitch.com/. If they operate a call
shop, they will have access to a Call Shop
Billing System at http://callshop.dualsoftswitch.com/.
These control panels can also be set up under your own domain name, in which case
your customers will not need to enter your Provider Name.
How will my customers pay me?
Your customer can pay you directly into your PayPal account from their CDR Control
Panel.
Are the control panel available in different
languages?
No, they are only available in English. We have no plans to change this.
What VoIP devices can my customers use?
You customers can send calls from any SIP or H.323 complaint gateway or IP phone.
This makes DUAL Softswitch the ideal solution for all types of VoIP business,
including wholesale termination, call shop provision and consumer service.
Can I create reseller accounts?
At present, DUAL Softswitch does not include a reseller platform. We may add this
if there is sufficient demand.
Can I offer IVR and callback services?
DUAL Softswitch does not include an IVR system or callback support. We have no
plans to change this.
Can my customers use a VPN Tunnel?
Our service does not include a VPN tunnel. If VoIP is blocked in your customers'
countries, then they will probably not be able to call through DUAL Softswitch.
Do you provide a software dialler?
No. But, most commercially available software diallers should work with DUAL
Softswitch if they support H.323 or SIP.
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Who are you?
We are Westbay Engineers Ltd., and DUAL Softswitch is one of our products. We are based in
the UK and have been providing telecommunications software and services since 1989.
How can I contact you?
Please see our contact page.
Do you provide training?
We do not charge a setup fee for new DUAL Softswitch accounts. For this reason,
we do not provide any formal training for new customers. The system is well
documented, and our support engineers will answer any questions that you have. When
you set up an account, you will be given two free support hours for technical assistance
with documented features.
What support do you provide?
Our systems are monitored 24 hours a day by our engineers. We provide free
support by email for system faults and for operational issues relating to features which,
in our opinion, are not sufficiently well documented or presented online. All other
support is chargeable.
Each time you extend your DUAL Softswitch licence, your available support hours will be
brought up to the number of months of the extension. For example, if you have 1.5
support hours remaining and you extend your licence by one month, then your support hours
will remain at 1.5. But, if you extend by three months, then your support hours will
be increased to three. Additional support time can be purchased in advance and bulk
support time is offered at lower rates. Please see our Price List for more information.
Can you host my web site?
No, we do not offer web hosting or email services.
Can you help me market my service?
No. We provide the back-end switching and billing service, leaving you free to
concentrate on building your business.
Can you configure my customers' equipment?
No, we do not offer that service.
Do you offer VoIP termination?
Yes, we offer VoIP termination through our 44Mobile
product.
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How much does it cost?
DUAL Softswitch is charged at a monthly rate depending on the capacity of the switch
being rented. Capacity is measured in terms of the number of concurrent calls that
the switch can process. There are extra changes if you require an RTP Proxy
service. Please see our Price List for more
information.
What is the set up cost?
There are no set up costs for new accounts.
How can I pay you?
We accept wire transfers and Western Union Quick Pay. Subject to approval, we
accept online payments using credit cards and PayPal (verified only) in Pounds
Sterling. We can also accept online payments in Euro and US Dollars, but there is a
5% transaction fee for foreign currency payments.
Can I have a discount?
Standard DUAL Softswitch pricing is based on a monthly prepayment and a one month
commitment. Discounts are available for prepayments covering longer terms, and cover
both the call switching fees and RTP Proxy fees. Please see our Price List for more information. No further discounts are
available.
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