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Iristel Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1999
HeadquartersMarkham, Ontario, Canada
Key people
Samer Bishay
President & CEO

Number of employees
~200
SubsidiariesIce Wireless
Websitewww.iristel.com

Iristel is a Canadian provider of Voice over Internet Protocol services, and is designated as a competitive local exchange carrier.[1] The company was founded in 1999, and is headquartered in Markham, Ontario.

Iristel has also deployed multiple, redundant switching facilities and points of presence (PoPs) nationally. Iristel's coast-to-coast-to-coast coverage includes cities in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island,[2] Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, thus making Iristel a national VoIP CLEC.[3]

Iristel’s offerings include: Residential and Business Voice, Data & Fax Solutions; Virtual Phone Numbers; Hosted PBX and Wholesale SIP Trunking Services; and, Wireless IP Services.

Its clients include: residential and business customers; Incumbent local exchange carriers; and CLECs with Canadian local access requirements.

Background

Iristel was established in 1999 when founder Samer Bishay set up a VoIP technology business to address the needs of under-served African markets.[4] The company was granted a carrier license by the Canadian Radio-Television Commission in 2000.[1] Today, Iristel also has domestic operator licenses in Algeria, Dominica and Romania with an additional 20 points of presence throughout the world.

Iristel launched its High Definition (HD) VoIP Telephone Service in February 2007.[5]

By May 2007, the company added Domestic and Global SIP Trunking and Hosted PBX to its portfolio of Enterprise VoIP Solutions.

In December 2007, Iristel began to offer dual mode Wi-Fi-enabled GSM mobile phones to Canadian customers.

In June 2008, Iristel began offering Iristel IP Mobility, a wireless IP service that combines VoIP over Wi-Fi/GSM, Single Number Reach and Fixed Mobile Convergence. VoIP industry pundits describe Iristel IP Mobility as a "harbinger of things to come".[6]

Iristel IP Mobility provides users with a single point of contact for fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi calls. Users have on single phone number for both inbound and outbound calling across multiple devices. They can also switch calls back and forth between the mobile network and the VoIP network without interruption to help lower cellular charges. Settings may be configured by users through an online portal.[7]

Iristel has partnered with various carriers and service providers across the world who have chosen to route their wholesale and retail traffic through Iristel, or to rely on Iristel's DID coverage to service their own residential and corporate markets.

In January 2009, Iristel and Algeria Telecom announced an exclusive agreement to offer Inbound Direct Inward Dialling (DID) services to subscribers around the world who want an Algerian number for their existing phone line [8][9]

In February 2009, MTS Allstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and a communication solutions provider in Canada, has chosen Iristel Inc., for the conversion of its Time-division multiplexing (TDM) voice traffic to Internet Protocol (IP)-based traffic.[10]

In August 2011, Gogii Inc, the makers of textPlus, announced the app can be now used with free Canadian telephone numbers, provided by Iristel.[11][12] textPlus is an app supported by iPhone, iPod touch and Android which allows users to send free unlimited group text messages [13]

Iristel has performed various interoperability tests with the most important VoIP hardware & software manufacturers: Polycom, Mediatrix, Avaya,[14][15] Grandstream,[16] Toshiba,[17] 3CX Phone System,[18] Snom [19] and Yealink.[20]

In May 2012, Iristel became a major shareholder in Ice Wireless.[21] Ice Wireless is a Northern Canada-based telecommunications company that provides 3G/4G Mobility Services, Mobile Broadband Internet, and Fixed Line Telephone to the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Ice Wireless is a roaming partner for Rogers Wireless, Fido and Videotron in Northern Canada.[22][23]

In Octobre 2018, Iristel purchased Telecommunications de l'est (TDE), an Eastern Quebec company. TDE therefore integrates ImobileCa, an Iristel subsidiary created in May 2018 with the acquisition of ImobileCa by the Ontario company. The latter had a non-operating cellular license in eastern Quebec. TDE saw the opportunity to join a group present in the cell phone niche.

The objective is to combine Iristel's expertise in cellular telephony, the frequencies held by ImobileCa (TDE owned company), as well as the teams and branches of TDE to create a new cellular network serving Eastern Quebec. The development of this network should take place in two parts, said TDE. The network will be set up in urban areas. It will also be located in uncovered areas based on requests from municipalities and government agencies.

Services

Iristel has three corporate divisions: Retail Solutions, Enterprise Solutions and Wholesale Services.

Its Retail Solutions are used by both residential and business clients, and include: Voice Solutions (digital telephone service, PC phone service and long distance calling plans), Internet Services (high-speed DSL Internet), Voice and Data Bundles (digital telephone and Internet services), Virtual Fax Services (Internet fax ), Hardware Solutions (VoIP gateways and IP phones), Wireless IP Services (Iristel IP Mobility), Virtual phone numbers.

Enterprise Services offered by Iristel include: Hosted PBX, VoIP Virtual Private Network, Hosted Auto Attendant.

The company’s Wholesale Services include: SIP Trunking, Inbound DID.

Network

As a fully licensed CLEC,[1] Iristel does not resell other operator’s services. The company has its own VoIP network infrastructure.

The Iristel network features international gateway switches in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Paris, France, and London, U.K., with subsidiary offices in Romania; a 24x7-monitored Network Operations Centre; and systems to monitor/manage TDM and IP telephony networks.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Competitive Local Exchange Carriers – CLEC List". Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  2. ^ "Iristel Coverage Map".
  3. ^ "Ice Wireless and Iristel partner to end North America's last telephone monopoly and expand cellular service in Canada's North".
  4. ^ Gardiner, Rebecca (September 2005). "Business, African style". Profit Magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  5. ^ Kretkowski, Paul D. (March 5, 2007). "The Truth About HD VoIP". VoIP News. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  6. ^ Stevenson, Ted (July 16, 2008). "F/MC Watch: A Consumer-Oriented Approach". Voip Planet. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  7. ^ Solomon, Howard (June 24, 2008). "Iristel adds fixed mobile convergence". IT World Canada. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  8. ^ "Algeria Telecom Partners with Iristel to Offer Algeria Connect".
  9. ^ "Algeria Telecom Partners With Iristel to Offer Algeria Connect".
  10. ^ "MTS Allstream Selects Iristel for IP Conversion of TDM Phone Traffic".
  11. ^ "textPlus Brings Free Phone Numbers to Canada". Bloomberg.
  12. ^ "S.O.S. for SMS: Never pay for text messages again".
  13. ^ "textPlus – About us".
  14. ^ "Iristel Selected for Membership in Avaya DevConnect Program".
  15. ^ "Iristel SIP-Based Solution Now Avaya Compliant".
  16. ^ "Iristel and Grandstream complete Interoperability Tests".
  17. ^ "Iristel Grows Solutions Portfolio with Toshiba IP PBX Products; Completes Network Interoperability Testing".
  18. ^ "Iristel SIP Trunking Service Now Compatible with Software-based IP PBX from 3CX".
  19. ^ "snom Teams With Iristel to Deliver Hosted VoIP solutions".
  20. ^ "Iristel and Yealink Complete Successful Interoperability Tests".
  21. ^ "Ice Wireless and Iristel partner to end North America's last telephone monopoly".
  22. ^ Ice Wireless Roaming, Ice Wireless Corporate Website. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  23. ^ [1], Ice Wireless Corporate Website. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
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