Bangladeshi mobile VoIP solutions provider REVE Systems has established a flagship service for branding Bangladesh as a software-exporting country across the world.
REVE is the only VoIP solutions provider from the entire South Asia to be attending this year’s mobile world congress in Barcelona.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has come across as a negative telecom term in Bangladesh because of its widespread illegal use. But REVE brought it up for Bangladeshi users because of the service’s popularity around the globe.
Although founded in Bangladesh, the company has over the years sidelined some high-profile operators from the race.
“We serve global customers. Operators are very happy with our solutions because they can make the cheapest of offers to their customers,” said Rezaul Hassan, founder and group CEO of REVE Systerms.
In this year’s congress, REVE has a stall in hall 5. The Dhaka Tribune reporter got hold of Rezaul in front of that stall.
“Our company is based in Singapore, but most of our manpower are from Bangladesh,” said Rezaul.
In Bangladesh, REVE has a development centre with 350 staff. Another 150 people work in a similar development centre in India.
“I have always wanted to have all of our development centres in Bangladesh. But because VoIP and similar services are banned in Bangladesh, testing our software becomes a problem,” Rezaul said.
Headquartered in Singapore, the company has offices in Hong Kong, UK, USA and a few other important places. It has been attending the mobile world congress since 2009.
“I am not complaining but it would have been really good for us if we could have our headquarters in Dhaka. It would have really helped if people knew that this is a Bangladeshi company,” Rezaul said.
REVE’s free VoIP solutions app is available on Apple’s App Store for those who want to make calls from iPhone, iPad or iPod.
According to REVE Systems, the global VoIP industry is expected to get a significant share of the estimated $1bn voice market by 2015 and the Bangladeshi IT outsourcing industry is more than ready to grab this opportunity.
They believe that if the regulatory authorities in Bangladesh can ensure a business-friendly environment, the fact that VoIP is considered unethical will not hurt the billion-dollar business opportunities.
Imran Ahmed, chairman of the parliamentary watchdog on telecom ministry, said: “It could be that Bangladesh is the only country where VoIP is a negative word. This is unfortunate; the local market has not been able to flourish because of this.”
REVE has also developed smart services such as REVE Chat.
Other popular services include Softswitch and Billing, Carrier Grade Platform, Instant Messaging, Peer-to-Peer calls, mobile top-up and Bandwidth Optimisation and Tunnelling. A new security domain service will be launched in May.
Rezaul expects that other Bangladeshi companies will soon start attending the mobile world congress.
Some 230 service providers from 78 countries have taken VoIP solutions from REVE Systems.