PingTone uses NexOSS for fraud protection and routing

The Challenge

PingTone needed a solution to automate dynamic least cost and quality of service routing, coupled with fraud prevention, that would integrate seamlessly with their BroadSoft and Oracle Acme Packet infrastructure.

Result

PingTone chose NexOSS from TransNexus to complete their VoIP network. The TransNexus system provides dynamic least cost and quality of service routing to maximize profits and call quality. In addition, telecom fraud detection and control is integrated so fraudulent calls can be blocked or diverted automatically.

Customer Take Away

“From a business perspective, the payback from our TransNexus investment was immediate. We saved more money during the evaluation trial than we paid for the software.”

About PingTone

Pingtone Communications delivers premier hosted business VoIP as a service since 1999. Their innovative telecommunications and unified communications solutions enable enterprise organizations to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively, while providing a highly reliable, best-in-class customer service and experience.

Headquartered in Northern Virginia’s Dulles technology corridor, PingTone’s founders envisioned business class VoIP delivered to corporate customers as a turn-key service. Today PingTone’s focus is clear: deliver the competitive advantages of VoIP and unified communications while freeing companies from the need to invest in new voice equipment and technology staff.

PingTone serves organizations in energy, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, associations, professional services, technology, emergency response, and government.

The Challenge

PingTone uses the BroadWorks softswitch platform from BroadSoft and other subsystems to provide its services. For security purposes, PingTone uses Oracle Acme Packet Session Border Controllers (SBC) at the edge of the network. To optimize their network profitability, PingTone needed a solution to automate dynamic least cost and quality of service routing. In addition, PingTone required a solution that would integrate seamlessly with their BroadSoft and Oracle Acme Packet infrastructure.

A second critical requirement was telecom fraud control. “International calling fraud from customers whose network, passwords, or VoIP endpoints have been hacked is a huge risk that can cost tens of thousands of dollars per fraud event. To avoid that risk, we needed a fraud tool that could block fraudulent calls in near real time” says Glen Gaillard, PingTone’s Vice President of Engineering.

PingTone knew that both the BroadWorks and the Oracle Acme Packet SBC were collecting a significant amount of data and Call Detail Records (CDRs). They just needed a way to access and analyze that information. By analyzing the CDR files, PingTone would be able to gain deeper insight into the quality of service that their customers were experiencing. Additionally, they would be able to detect suspicious call traffic, and subsequently reduce the amount of money fraudulent calling cost them.

The Solution

PingTone chose a complete routing, operations, and billing support system from TransNexus to complete their VoIP network. The TransNexus system provides dynamic least cost and Quality of Service routing to maximize profits and call quality. In addition, telecom fraud detection and control is integrated with the TransNexus routing engine so fraudulent calls can be blocked or diverted automatically.

The following diagram illustrates the TransNexus solution for PingTone’s BroadSoft implementation.

The BroadSoft Network server instructs (message 4) the BroadWorks application server to send all long distance calls to the TransNexus platform for call routing instructions. The BroadWorks sends a SIP INVITE to the TransNexus server (message 5) which returns a SIP 300 Redirect message to the BroadWorks with a list of destinations, rank ordered based on PingTone’s routing cost and quality of service policies.

As calls are completed, CDRs are sent from BroadWorks as either RADIUS accounting records or CDR files. Each CDR is rated in near real time to calculate a fraud score based on the destination. The TransNexus platform monitors the fraud scores in five minute windows for each GroupID and UserID. If fraud is detected an E-mail or SNMP alert will notify the Network Operations Center (NOC). In addition, the TransNexus software will automatically send an OCI command to the BroadWorks with instructions to modify the routing policy for the specific the GroupID or UserID.

In addition to fraud detection, the TransNexus software can also enforce credit controls by GroupID. If a GroupID exceeds their hourly or daily spend limit, the TransNexus software can send an alert to the NOC and send an Open Client Interface Provisioning (OCI-P) command to the BroadWorks to change the routing policy for the specific GroupID.

The same TransNexus solution is also integrated with the Oracle Acme Packet SBCs to provide dynamic least cost routing and telecom fraud control for calls from PingTone’s legacy softswitch.

In this call scenario, the Oracle Acme Packet sends a SIP INVITE routing query (message 4) to the TransNexus software for all long distance calls. The TransNexus software returns a SIP 300 Redirect message with routing instructions based on cost and quality. The TransNexus software collects RADIUS accounting records from the SBC and scores them in near real time for fraud detection by calling number. If fraudulent calls are suspected from any calling number to a specific dial code, an e-mail or SNMP alert will be sent to the NOC and the routing table in the TransNexus routing server will be updated to temporarily suspend calls from the calling number to the specific dial code.

“The TransNexus solution has been a great tool for managing our network because it is designed for easy integration with our BroadSoft and Oracle Acme Packet platforms. Having extensive reports and fraud control as an integral part of our routing solution provides us additional visibility and control of our operations” said Gaillard. Bill Smedberg, CEO of PingTone adds, “From a business perspective, the payback from our TransNexus investment was immediate. We saved more money during the evaluation trial than we paid for the software.”