MATRIX PRIMUS BRAZIL ENTERPRISE and Residential VOIP PLATFORM This document describes the features, functionalities and implementation process of Primus Brazil s Open Source VoIP platform. Brief feature overviews are provided, as well as a breakdown of the responsibilities among the parties involved. Introduction Primus Brazil has developed an extensive know-how in the development and deployment of VoIP integrated platforms based on Open-Source Software (OSS). The other type of VoIP platform used by several service providers, including Primus LINGO brand, uses proprietary software platforms, i.e., Broadsoft platform in case of LINGO. The feature/functions are pretty much the same but we believe that the OSS platform is a preferred way for a speedier and an inexpensive route to start competing in the VoIP market in Europe. Primus Brazil has received the mandate to be the Center of Excellence for the OSS VoIP platform deployed within the Primus entities around the globe or deployed by its White label partners. Our team stands ready and looks forward to working with the local country teams to roll out VoIP services quickly. The platform developed by our local team is currently operational in Brazil (various locations), USA (Miami) and Japan (Nagoya), and we are currently working with Primus France and Primus Germany to roll out a VOIP service in next several weeks.. Our software engineers are experienced in the common protocols and practices in VoIP applications, enabling us to customize the application to local requirements in very short time. The Platform The IP Telephony platform developed at Primus Brazil is completely based on Open Source Software. Using market-standard components (such as Red Hat Linux, PostgreSQL databases, and Apache web servers) integrated by our development team, the platform is easily customizable, scalable and extremely reliable. It has been running in Brazil for over 18 months with no downtime at all. Developed from scratch to be portable and flexible, language translations are very easy to perform, and the platform can rapidly accommodate local requirements such as integration with billing and CRM systems and local credit card operations. Hardware requirements for the platform are minimal, and are based only on standard components (servers and routers). Software installation is pre-configured, so a basic setup can be achieved within only a few days. Further configuration can be executed Revised on Feb 20th 2006 1
remotely. All this means the cost for installing the platform is minimal, and limited only to hardware and connectivity. Implementation After the requisite regulatory authorizations are in place and initial planning with the incountry technical and marketing teams has taken place, Primus Brazil will travel to the location where the platform will be installed, in order to physically install the hardware, run initial tests, and provide initial training on the use and management of all the features. This initial phase of the implementation includes all the activities described below: Startup Kit 2 redundant Servers for Proxy, Media proxy and PBX features (preferably hosted locally in a Data center with excellent IP Peering); On-site Technical Training; On-site Training for the sales teams; Language Customization (already available in 5 languages Brazilian Portuguese, US English, French, German and Spanish); Regional/Country Customization for Primus entities and their White Label partners; CRM integration; Billing Integration (if required) standard billing provided; Routing Integration (if required); Hosting Data Center site research and Contract; Firewalls and security; Testing and approval of ATAs as customer CPE. Local technicians as well as routing definitions are required in order to provide local support and operation to complete the project. Features The platform provides, at the administrative level, full billing and routing systems. Regional settings include dialing plans, address fields, billing increments, currency, local company logo, decimals and thousands separator, etc. Online billing is provided, in the form of a customer website from which users can retrieve CDRs, configure voicemail and other options, and also retrieve their invoices, which are also automatically generated and sent by e-mail on a pre-defined date. Various pricing plans can be setup, and more than one can be assigned to each customer, ordered by priorities. This allows administrators to create promotions or special packages, and have fall-backs for situations and destinations which do not fit onto the promotion. For instance, it is possible to give away 100 minutes to a certain destination in an attempt to draw new customers, and have that automatically managed by the packages system. Revised on Feb 20th 2006 2
Reseller and White Label options are available in the system. This would allow the Primus entities to quickly increase revenues by leveraging all of its existing distribution channels. The services can also be provided on pre-paid basis, or as part of pre-paid cards subject to the availability of an existing prepaid platform. The basic plan for the platform has the following options available and included on the initial implementation: Integrated web management, with customizable user roles (admin, reseller, user); Fully SIP compliant (RFC3261); Online creation of packages/products/promotions and DIDs National or international DIDs are supported by the platform All web text fields are stored in database, providing easy localization (including Features such as company logo, billing increment, decimal and thousands separator, and currency); CPE inventory control associate CPE to customer by MAC address and manage stock; Routing management (optional); Online purchasing with automatic account and DID creation (depends on regional adaptation); Pre-paid and post-paid accounts; Multi-lingual IVR (currently English, Portuguese, Spanish, German and French, any spoken language can be added); Real-time outbound and inbound CDR (available on the web); Do Not Disturb (DND) and call-forward (all, on busy and no answer), configurable from web interface; Call return; Web-voicemail; On-line invoices; Trouble tickets opened from the website by the user (optional); Call statistics (summary reports); White Label options like COS and Revenue; Reseller Program (white label or standard) option available; Financial history; Fraud monitoring; On-line self Provisioning by the customer. Customer order website; Customer control panel on the web; CPE automated provisioning via HTTP (depending on CPE capabilities); General Aspects CPE s and softphones The proposed platform includes a softphone (for PC-to-PC and Pc-to-phone service) as well as ATA-based VoIP service whereby the customers hook up the ATA to the DSL or Cable modem for phone-to-phone service. Revised on Feb 20th 2006 3
CPE s (i.e. ATA) type and brand can be chosen by the country managers or by the resellers and white Label partners. However, our recommendation is that we standardize on Linksys (Cisco ATAs) in order to leverage Primus global purchase power to get high discounts while providing the best quality and attractive looking CPE. We also feel that Cisco is committed to innovating integrated VoIP handsets, Wi-Fi VoIP handsets, and feature rich Enterprise CPE systems. We already approved and have running on our platform the main brands (like Cisco s Linksys and Sipura, Grandstream, UTStarcom, etc). After a testing period virtually any CPE compliant with RFC 3261 could be approved. Softphones follow the same procedures. The proposed OSS VoIP platform includes a simple softphone as a standard feature, and country managers could upgrade the softphone brand, such as Xten s Eyebeam, SJphone, etc., by paying an extra license fee. DIDs Local DIDs are to be provided by the Primus entity or partner in a given country where installation will take place. International DIDs will be provided by Primus and can be added and charged for in the system. Documentation Documentation will be provided for each installation in English. At this time, documentation is also available in Portuguese, and is in the process of being translated and updated in order to reflect new functionality. Target Markets The platform is designed to support both, residential users and SME s. Large corporations could be supported through on-site VoIP PBX or multiline key system provided as an extension. The layered structure of the platform also encourages its use by reseller via white labels or regular branding. Regulatory Aspects The country managers are expected to obtain all regulatory licenses and approvals prior to launch of this service. The country managers are expected to provide local DIDs and, if applicable, arrange for number portability requests by the customer. In some countries, the VoIP service providers are required to provide Emergency number dialing. The country managers are expected to define these requirements in advance. Emergency numbers could be addressed through the platform sockets, allowing integration with local existing emergency calling (like E911 in the US) network providers. Any additional regulatory requirements, e.g. wiretapping and recording capabilities by the government agencies under special situations must be specified by the country manager, whereupon they will be analyzed by our development team. Call recording (one or two channels) is supported and should be managed by the local virtual platform manager. Revised on Feb 20th 2006 4
Costs Out-of-pocket incremental costs for the project are the following: Item Non-Recurring Monthly Recurring * Startup Kit US$ 35,000 - Basic Package - US$ 0,99/account plus $4K/mo. for support TOTAL US$ 35,000 US$ 0,99/account plus $4K/mo. for support * Minimum revenue of 1,000 accounts is required per Month to start and have the platform running. The $4K per month is an estimate for continuing software support maintenance, and development charges per country. Cisco Gateways (5300 or equivalent unit should suffice), PSTN connectivity and/or Media Gateways are not included on the above costs. These costs could amount to an additional one-time charge of US$10,000. Costs related to the issuing of certificates required to setup secure websites (HTTPS) must be covered by the local country. These costs could amount to an additional yearly charge of US$500 per domain. Time estimates for installation and initial testing and training is two weeks, after preinstallation issues such as routing, billing/crm integration, data center location, hardware purchasing and regional customization have been resolved. During this period Primus Brazil staff will be available on-site, to accompany and coordinate implementation efforts, in partnership with local personnel. Time-to-deliver may vary depending on the level of customization required. These items include, but may not be limited to, integration with existing billing or CRM systems, and credit card payment systems. Roles and Responsibilities Roles and responsibilities are shared between Primus Brazil and local offices as shown in the tables below. Pre-installation Primus Brazil Local office Hardware purchasing Data center location Provides input Regional customization Provides input Routing definitions Provides input Market adaptations Provides input CPE certification Provides input Revised on Feb 20th 2006 5
Installation Primus Brazil Local office Hardware installation IP Connectivity Peering Provides input PSTN Connectivity Initial testing Training Post-installation Primus Brazil Local office 1 st level support 2 nd level support Provides input Hardware/Software Provides input maintenance Software updates DBA maintenance Beyond what is mentioned in the table above, any local issues such as regulatory requirements, specific market issues and any other issues specific to the country requiring the installation must be reported in advance by the country manager. These issues may impact time-to-deliver. Factors Affecting VoIP service Quality VoIP is still an emerging technology and the VoIP call quality and customer experience relies heavily on the bandwidth of the customer s DSL or cable Broadband access link (the higher the bandwidth, the better), the IP Peering capacity and connectivity of Primus platform to the major ISPs and DSL providers, and quality of international routes on Primus PSTN network. This is why it is important to house the platform in a well connected data hosting center or IP-peering hub center that will result in minimum latency delay for the VoIP packets. Another important element of market success will be how well we can help customers in their initial set up of the ATAs at home. This requires a good training of the customer service personnel who will be taking the customer calls. This aspect will be addressed in the on-site training. Network Capacity In the initial configuration, we should be able to service up to 10,000 VoIP lines. This may vary somewhat depending on the hardware, ATA bandwidth setting, etc. but we believe that we should be able to service at least 6000 lines. Thus far, one of our systems has 3000 lines active and it is only using 25% of the capacity at its peak period. Primus Potential Competitive Advantage Primus entities are in a position to build a community of VoIP users (in the Residential and SME segments) in different countries whereby they can call any of the Primus customers ( or customers signed by any of its resellers or white Label partners) free at Revised on Feb 20th 2006 6
any time and for unlimited use. This means that any of the Lingo customers or customers on Primus OSS platform will have a unique feature that the local cable or DSL providers won t be able to match. This type of differentiation and competitive advantage calls for aggressive deployment and building up of a large global community of users on our own two platforms (i.e. Lingo and OSS platform) as fast as we can. In this regard, we should also leverage our Global Wholesale Group to sell this service around the globe through other carriers and resellers at a healthy profit margin. Revised on Feb 20th 2006 7