Wireless operators in Haiti have struggled to support the surge in text messaging since the country’s infamous earthquake in January. One operator, Voila, is responding with upgrades and expansions of its business support systems (BSS) and text messaging (SMS) capabilities from Comverse.
Voila is upgrading its Comverse real-time rating and billing platform with the Comverse ONE Billing and Active Customer Management solution. As part of the BSS project, Voilà will also replace its existing Comverse text messaging capabilities with the upgraded Comverse HUB Short Messaging Solution Center (SMSC) and Messaging Gateway.
"Since the earthquake earlier this year, we have seen a surge in text messaging," said Edgar Geidans, vice president of engineering and operations for Trilogy International Partners, Voilà's parent company. "This has been driven by the various support organizations on the ground in Haiti acknowledging SMS as the most efficient form of mass communications. We needed a higher-capacity messaging system for this additional traffic, and we expect SMS to remain as the preferred communication form for now."
Geidans also said this will be a significant upgrade to Voila’s network, which will benefit its customers with new features and functionality. Comverse ONE's real-time functionality also will allow Voila to customize marketing and promotional campaigns to encourage service usage and adoption among its subscribers.
Since its inception in 1998, under the name Comcel, Voilà has become one of Haiti's leading wireless operators. It serves more than 1 million customers. Trilogy International Partners LLC is a privately held company based in Bellevue, Wash. Over the past decade, $200M has been invested in the Voilà network, making Trilogy the largest U.S. investor in Haiti and one of Haiti's largest taxpayers. Voilà employs more than 540 people directly and indirectly supports nearly 35,000 people who distribute phones and service to customers throughout the country.
