Self-provisioning of programmable phone keys by customers
You can now let your cloud PBX customers configure phone keys for functions like speed dialing or call parking, and apply these settings across multiple IP phones via a self-care portal – without needing to contact you or to manually configure each phone through its web interface.
This feature is available in the CloudPBX Self-Care Portal, or you can implement it in your own portal using the PortaBilling API. Currently, it supports the Yealink T58W, with more phone models coming soon.
Example
Say a service provider, Owl Telecom, offers cloud PBX services and supplies Yealink T58W IP phones with auto-provisioning. ABC Company, one of Owl Telecom’s customers, wants to simplify employee onboarding by pre-configuring the commonly used functions on the phone keys:
- For customer service agents: Call Pickup and Call Parking
- For sales managers: BLF for pre-sales engineers’ extensions and Speed Dial to the billing department
Adam, ABC’s PBX admin, logs into the self-care portal and creates a “device profile” for the Yealink T58W for each department (“Customer Service” and “Sales”), assigning the required functions to specific phone keys using the phone’s visual layout – for example, setting Speed Dial to 5000 (the number of the billing department ring group) on key 1. When a new sales manager joins, Adam links their phone to the “Sales” profile. Once the phone connects to the internet, the settings are automatically applied, and the phone is ready to use with BLF and Speed Dial keys.
What’s improved?
Better customer experience
Cloud PBX customers can independently manage programmable phone key setups.
Find more details here.
Self-provisioning of corporate phone books by customers
With MR120, cloud PBX customers can now self-provision corporate phone books on multiple IP phones, ensuring quick access to essential contacts for employees. Two types of phone books can be provisioned:
- Auto-generated phone book: Automatically created and updated based on existing extensions in PortaSwitch.
- Custom phone book: Can include any relevant numbers, such as those of suppliers or VIP clients, with the option to add them manually or upload from a .csv file.
As with programmable phone keys, this feature is available in the CloudPBX Self-Care Portal, or you can implement it in your own portal using the PortaBilling API. Currently, it supports Yealink T58W, with more phone models coming soon.
Example
ABC Company needs two phone books for their customer service agents: one for extensions and another for supplier contacts.
To set this up, Adam, the PBX admin, logs into the self-care portal and creates two phone books: “All extensions” (auto-generated) and “Customer service contacts,” for which he uploads supplier contacts from a .csv file. He then activates these phone books in the device profile assigned to the agents’ IP phones. Once an IP phone is connected to the internet, it automatically downloads the phone books from the remote server. Agents can switch between the two phone books via the phone’s web interface.
What’s improved?
Better customer experience
Cloud PBX customers can easily manage corporate phone books across all employees’ IP phones.
Find more details here.
Seamless switching between devices during a call (Call pull)
PortaSwitch now supports the “Call pull” feature, enabling users to move an active call seamlessly from one device to another – such as from a web app on a laptop to a mobile app – without interrupting the conversation.
Currently, the feature allows a call to be “pulled” only from a softphone that supports it. Call pull via programmable softkeys on IP phones will be available in the future.
Example
John, a sales manager, is on a customer call using his web softphone at the office. He needs to leave for a meeting while the call is still ongoing, so John opens his mobile app and taps “Pull call” on the active call. Instantly, the call transfers to his mobile device, allowing him to continue the conversation while on the go, without the customer noticing any interruption. PortaSwitch treats this as a single call, and the call history reflects it as one call detail record.
What’s improved?
Better customer service
Users can move between locations, e.g., office to on-the-go, without needing to park the call or ask the other party to call back.
Find more details here.
Mobile Account Self-Care app
If you are a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), you can now let your subscribers manage their services right from their smartphone with a Mobile Account Self-Care app. This app provides access to the following features:
- Service management: Check remaining service units in a bundle and activate new bundles.
- Top-ups of active bundles: Purchase individual service top-ups (e.g., minutes) using the account balance or a credit card.
- Balance top-ups: Add funds using a credit card or scratch cards (vouchers).
- Transaction history: View account transactions, such as top-ups, pay-as-you-go charges, bundle renewals, and more.
To offer this mobile app to your customers, subscribe to the corresponding Add-on Mart module. The mobile app can be fully branded with a custom name, logo, and color scheme and is ready for publishing on Google Play under your account. Currently, the app is available for users on Android; an iOS version will be added in the future.
What’s improved?
No need to develop your own mobile app from scratch
Save money and staff resources on the launch of your own mobile app and its maintenance.
Better customer service
Mobile subscribers can get information or activate new services without needing to use USSD codes or contact customer support.
Find more details here.
Early renewals of prepaid bundles
With MR120, you can allow mobile users to manually renew their prepaid (“balance-dependent renewable”) bundles once they are low on or have used up the allocated services, without waiting for their current bundle to end.
Early renewal is available within a specified period, such as 7 days before the end of the bundle’s lifecycle, and can only be done if the customer has sufficient funds. Admins can renew bundles through the PortaBilling web UI. For customers, you can add this functionality to your own self-care portal or app using the PortaBilling API.
Example
A mobile operator offers a $19 bundle with 500 domestic minutes, 100 SMS, and 10 GB of data for 30 days. The bundle renews automatically if the customer has enough funds and can be manually renewed up to 7 days before expiration. Any unused minutes, SMS, or data will roll over to the next cycle.
Robert activates this bundle on April 1. By April 25, he has 30 minutes and 20 SMS still unused, but he has used up all of his data. Rather than use an ad-hoc top-up or wait for the automatic renewal on May 1, he decides to renew early through the self-care app. Robert is charged $19 and receives a fresh allocation of 500 minutes, 100 SMS, and 10 GB of data for the next 30 days. His remaining 30 minutes and 20 SMS roll over, giving him a total of 530 minutes and 120 SMS.
What’s improved?
Improved cash flow
Receive revenue sooner with early renewals.
Better customer service
Subscribers can enjoy continuous service.
Find more details here.
Upload and download origin-based rate decks
You can now manage origin-based rates by uploading and downloading rate decks from/to a file (.xlsx or .xls), just like with standard rates.
Example
Suppose a service provider, Owl Telecom, partners with GlobalNet, which charges a base price per destination and applies surcharges on top of the base price depending on the call’s origin. GlobalNet provides an Excel file of rates that includes the following sheets:
- Basic rates (e.g., $0.05 per minute to Turkey-Mobile Turkcell)
- Destination code groups (e.g., Turkey-Mobile Turkcell includes prefixes 90530, 90531, etc.)
- Origin-based surcharges (e.g., $0.02 surcharge for calls to Turkey-Mobile Turkcell from the EU)
- Origination code groups (e.g., a code group “EU” includes prefixes 31, 32, etc.)
Adam, an admin at Owl Telecom, uploads the file to the tariff, marking which sheets represent base prices and which represent origin-based surcharges. He also maps the columns to the rate parameters, such as codes, rate code groups, and prices. After reviewing the rates, he clicks “Upload,” adding them to the vendor tariff.
What’s improved?
Easier administration
Streamline the management of tariffs with origin-based rates.
Find more details here.
Time-limited subscription discounts
With MR120, when you need to adjust a subscription fee for a specific customer – such as offering a 20% discount for the first three months – you can schedule the start and end dates for that adjustment.
Admins can set up time-limited fee adjustments (discounts or upcharges) for already assigned subscriptions for one or more periods using either of two methods:
- Set specific dates for each period (e.g., February 18 – May 18), with the option for an open-ended final period.
- Set a fixed number of billing periods (e.g., 3 months).
Example
Owl Telecom, a service provider, rents WiFi routers to customers for a monthly subscription fee. To secure a long-term contract with ABC Company, the Owl sales team agrees on the following pricing:
- First month (February 25 – March 24): Rent is free.
- Next three months (March 25 – June 24): Rent is discounted by 30% while ABC Company launches the service.
The fee adjustments for each period are applied automatically, with no action needed by Owl Telecom staff.
What’s improved?
Easier administration
Admins can manage individual subscription discounts more easily, reducing the risk of costly human errors.
Find more details here.
Extending discount periods for assigned commitments via API
For service providers that manage commitments externally, e.g., from a CRM system, MR120 adds the ability to extend periods of recurring and sales discounts for already assigned commitments via the PortaBilling API. By offering discounts for an extended period, service providers can reduce churn and encourage continued service usage, especially in competitive markets.
Example
John Doe, a customer of Owl Telecom, has a 12-month broadband internet commitment with a $5 recurring discount, paying $15 per month instead of the standard $20. As his commitment term nears its end, the Owl Telecom’s manager contacts John to discuss renewal. To encourage John to stay, the manager extends John’s discount period for two more months, allowing him to benefit from the lower rate for a longer period of time.
What’s improved?
Greater flexibility in managing commitments
Offer timely incentives for retaining customers.
Find more details here.
Global settings for voice applications
With MR120, you can now configure various global settings for voice applications such as IVRs, voicemail boxes, and auto-attendants using the new Global voice application settings panel. It includes options that are:
- Set globally only (e.g., permanently delete messages from all personal voicemail boxes, bypassing the Trash folder)
- Set globally but overridden for specific application instances (e.g., allow users to check account balances)
Example
After receiving customer inquiries about voicemail boxes remaining full even after deleting messages, an admin configures the system to delete messages permanently. To do this, the admin navigates to the Global voice application settings panel, opens the Personal voicemail boxes options, and enables the No Trash Folder in IVR option. This setting is automatically applied to all voicemail instances in the system, ensuring that messages are deleted permanently for all customers.
What’s improved?
Easier administration
Gain more flexibility in managing voice applications.
Find more details here.
More intuitive log submission to PortaOne support
When admins submit a ticket to PortaOne support, they often need to send the log of the affected call or internet session. The log submission process from PortaBilling is now more intuitive: when an admin opens the Log Viewer page, they will see the self-explanatory Send to Support button. In the submission dialog, there’s a reminder to create a ticket before submitting logs, along with a tooltip explaining how to obtain the trouble ticket number.
What’s improved?
Easier administration
Admins can save time when submitting session logs to PortaOne support.
Find more details here.
Call recording unavailability explanation
If a customer inquires about a missing call recording, admins can now instantly see the reason. An admin simply locates the call, opens the Session details dialog, and hovers over the Info icon to view an explanation like “Recording was disabled” or “Unsupported codec was used.”
What’s improved?
Save time on troubleshooting
Admins can resolve inquiries related to missing call recordings faster.
Find more details here.
