February 2020 Summaries

Microsoft is retiring Skype for Business Online on July 31, 2021. The decision was made to consolidate products and focus resources on a single UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) platform - Teams. Teams offers features such as communication, collaboration, and productivity, combining the capabilities of Skype for Business with Office 365 and Slack-like tools. Companies need to plan their migration from Skype for Business Online to another platform like Teams or other alternatives. Microsoft has made it easy to migrate to Teams, but businesses should consider change management, features needed in the new platform, and futureproofing their tech stack during this process.

Compliance is a significant issue in telecommunications, as setting up an international network involves numerous legal requirements and documentation. Non-compliance can lead to service downtime, lost revenues, negative customer experience, poor brand perception, increased marketing costs, and hefty fines from regulators. The complexity of compliance increases with the number of countries involved, as each has its own set of regulatory standards. Automating compliance through APIs can help streamline this process by automating functions such as submission of required information to regulators, understanding local service restrictions, number porting, and verifying end-user details. However, some countries prefer using CSVs instead of APIs, making automation inconsistent in certain cases. Despite the challenges, automating compliance can save businesses time and allow them to focus on their core operations.

iNum was initiated by Bandwidth in 2008 as a global dial code for IP communications, allowing local call rates across international connections. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocated the non-geographic code +883 for this purpose. Despite adoption by various organizations, limited network support and surcharges hindered its widespread use. With the rise of virtual numbering, iNum has become largely redundant, leading Bandwidth to transition its management to ITU in Q2 2020. Businesses actively using iNum can continue to do so, but should procure numbers directly from ITU for any related queries or concerns.

On Valentine's Day 2019, over 160,000 texts were not delivered across all carriers due to a failed server. The messages remained undelivered for nine months until the server was brought back online and they were released into the wild. This incident caused confusion and awkwardness among recipients who received unexpected or out-of-context messages from loved ones, exes, or even deceased individuals. While this event is rare, it highlights the importance of server redundancy to avoid similar communication failures in the future.

The increasing mobility of modern enterprises and employees presents challenges in providing precise user location information for 911 calls, especially with stricter FCC rules like RAY BAUM's Act and Kari's Law. Microsoft Teams users face difficulties in maintaining compliance with E911 regulations while ensuring fast emergency response times. Bandwidth's Teams E911 solution leverages Presence Information Data Format Location Object (PIDF-LO) XML format to provide precise user location information for 911 calls, integrating seamlessly with leading Microsoft Teams-certified SBC providers and offering unique "933" testing capabilities. The solution is supported by a team of experienced 911 and Teams migration experts, ensuring regulatory compliance and employee safety.