Case Study
Enabling Collect-Calling for Text Messages with HSL
A collect-call, as it is known in the USA & Canada, or a reverse charges call as it would be known in the UK, is a phone call in which the calling party wishes to place a call at the receiver's expense. Typically this is done when the caller has insufficient credit to place a phone call.
Up until now, this type of reverse charge billing is only supported with standard phone calls, not text messages. FreebieSMS provided a solution to this through its network of websites, and since 2004, has been offering a reverse charged text messaging service to over 3.8 million people worldwide.
FreebieSMS selected HSL in February 2008 to become it's interconnect partner in most key markets in Europe, the US, and Australia. This was initially selected on the basis of HSL's highly competitive wholesale pricing, and beneficial credit terms. HSL's wholesale model allowed FreebieSMS to benefit from the lower costs of Bulk SMS volumes, yet without a contractual obligation to withhold massive volumes should there be a sudden market decline.
Furthermore, since cash flow is the life blood of any business, credit terms were important also. With many Bulk SMS providers, it is necessary to pay in advance for SMS messages that have not yet been sent, and constantly top-up that account to ensure service availability. With HSL, the simple monthly billing cycle, allows for easier management, and predictable cash flow.
HSL's credit card facilities for smaller payments also benefit cash flow, in the sense that a fraction of the cost is held for a time by the credit card provider.
FreebieSMS, which is a registered trading name of Open Merchant Account Ltd., covers a network of websites that currently spans 27 countries, including most of Europe, USA, Australia, South Africa and Malaysia. This coverage spans only a subset of that provided by HSL. To date, the comprehensive cover that HSL provides has been more than sufficient to cover every required network, and each one with competitive pricing to match.
"We are extremely happy with HSL's performance and reliability, we would certainly recommend HSL to anyone looking for Bulk SMS services" - Fiach Reid, Director, Open Merchant Account Ltd.
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