An ordinary Danish household has TV, internet, and telephony spread out with different suppliers. This can be a costly affair. During the last eight years, the 100 percent Danish-owned company A+ has grown and expanded to such a size that today they can provide the Danes with the whole package – that is, independently of other companies’ copper. The result is a far better utilization of the technology, attractive data- and telecommunications solutions, and a smaller bill for the customer. NeoConsult is behind several of A+’s systems and solutions.
On a typical day at A+, internet, ip-tv, and ip-telephony are delivered to local antenna societies and housing societies in all parts of Denmark, with the exception of Bornholm and Greenland. The last many years have offered a solid growth, providing the ambitions with a long leash.
“We have been able to reach the market through the right setup, the right compentences, and the necessary courage to think innovatively. Today our vision is to be Denmark’s leading supplier of broadband and telephony and tv- and radio signals for local antenna- and housing societies in Denmark,” states Development Manager at A+, Lars Plumhoff.
A+ delivers its data- and telecommunications solutions via the company’s own infrastructure base on a nationwide fiber optical network, FWA- and radio network licenses.
Everything is possible
During the last four years A+ has collaborated with NeoConsult. Up until now this has resulted in three major projects and a good deal of work by consultants. The first project was arranged when A+ found themselves facing a challenge – they needed a number-porting platform. NeoConsult supplied the platform on the frame system NeoConsult Nomad, and A+ was able to deliver internet and ip to their customers.
A company like A+ has its focus on getting things solved, developed and accomplished quickly. It is a vital part of A+’s service and business philosophy that customers experience an easier everyday life through the company’s services, and that customers receive a fast and competent service. Here, NeoConsult has had a developing hand in it.
”During the last four years we have developed a close collaboration with NeoConsult. Characteristic of this collaboration is the fact that NeoConsult is an incredibly good company to collaborate with. They meet us with the attitude that practically everything is possible; and this attitude and competence has cut many Gordian knots at A+,” Lars Plumhoff states.
Free of monopolies
A+ operates in a very competitive market. The expanding company therefore needed to have its number-porting platform upgraded – due to the need for a functionality which could route calls to other operators more precisely. Again, NeoConsult entered the field.
”We saw a really good point in expanding our business and earnings by developing a database where we could see those numbers that are not ours and return them to the correct operator. Before, we delivered a form of transferal to TDC’s databases which contains all numbers and information regardless of which operator the customer has his number with. But of course TDC required to be paid for that,” Lars Plumhoff states and then continues:
“NeoConsult developed a new functionality so that we now can route calls to other operators ourselves. This means that today we don’t have to pay for transferal.”
The functionality was not a part of NeoConsult Nomad, but NeoConsult believed that the system could be further developed and had the competences to do it. During the development process NeoConsult realized that the upgraded system had the potential for ending up as a solution which other customers might also benefit from. The new system, NeoConsult Weasel ICH, therefore ended up as a standard solution, and the price on the invoice to A+ consequently became considerably smaller. NeoConsult Weasel ICH has just been finished, and A+ has had their number-porting platform integrated with their IN-platform.
Flexibility and service for the resellers
The collaboration between A+ and NeoConsult continues. A+’s business customers (resellers) today benefit from access to the telephony net and to the possibility of porting new customers’ old telephone numbers. NeoConsult made a solution which means that the resellers today themselves can log on to the number porting system and make their own portings. This is far more efficient both for A+ and for the resellers – you can skip a link and thereby economize on manpower.
NeoConsult has also delivered a system which enables A+ to charge the end-user directly. Previously, A+ charged a cost price per customer to the reseller. This meant a lot of extra work and heavy administration because the reseller himself had to charge the end-users in turn.
”Using NeoConsult’s system, NeoConsult Chayn Billing, we are able to charge the business customers’ customers directly, and we can do it in separate systems. NeoConsult Chayn Billing does the same as a billing system – enters call data and distributes it on end-customers and then creates a billing file,” Lars Plumhoff explains.
Scaleable systems and flexible people
When A+ uses NeoConsult, it is primarily for development of systems and solutions. But during the collaboration A+ has also made use of the possibility of having a developer placed on site at the company, in close collaboration with A+’s own technicians.
”It can often be problematic to describe precisely the needs you have. Therefore, we have made use of the possibility for placing developers from NeoConsult with our own technicians. And this has been positive. NeoConsult’s developers now have a very unique knowledge of our systems and of the way our technicians do things. The close dialog between developer and technician has meant that our needs have been understood very quickly and that both developer and technicians could start working immediately,” Lars Plumhoff states and then concludes:
“NeoConsult do not sit back and wait for us to tell them about our needs and new challenges, they are always proactive. Naturally we do not buy all ideas. But I would rather say ‘no thanks’ to a proactive project suggestion than I would want to lose the opportunity of being presented with a solution that can lift our business.”
”NeoConsult always meets us with the attitude that there is really nothing that cannot be done. That attitude and competence has cut many Gordian knots at A+.”
Lars Plumhoff, Development Manager at A+
About A+
A+ is engaged in retail sales and wholesale of data and telecommunication. The primary focus of the company is delivery of broadband, telephony and tv signals for local antenna and housing societies. Today A+ is Denmark’s 3rd largest supplier of broadband to households that are connected to a cable tv network. In 2006 A+ bought 49 percent of the tv company FastTV A/S, and lately the company has bought the service company FasCom A/S and has thereby strengthened its position on the market. A+ has 65,000 paying customers and 130,000 households connected in household and local antenna societies.
Contact
To learn more about the number porting solution, NeoConsult Chayn Billing or our other solutions or services, please contact sales@neoconsult.com
Professional - Innovative - Proficient
A+ reference (pdf)