In the telecommunications world, there's an unwritten law: if something seems too simple, you've probably missed at least three layers of complexity along the way.
However, complexity isn't just an impression when it comes to voice services. Numbers, interconnections, regulations... Each piece requires attention, expertise, and, of course, time. The funny thing is, at a certain point, you get used to it.
Once you stop questioning it, complexity becomes part of everyday work, but it's worth stopping for a moment and asking yourself: does voice really have to be so complicated?
Il Number Hosting TodayOperators often tell us about their challenges:
These issues slow down the commercial development of local operators, who have a strong presence in the region and offer a more personalized service than the big companies. The term number hosting is often interpreted reductively, as if it were simply the management of numbers on behalf of an operator. In reality, number hosting, when structured, is a way to offer professional voice services with your own numbers, without having to build all the necessary infrastructure in-house. This means being able to have dedicated prefixes, distinctive number ranges, and advanced services (such as intelligent routing, value-added services, geographical and non-geographic numbers) while leveraging a ready-made, regulatory-compliant platform. In practice, instead of investing time, resources, and expertise in designing softswitches, SBCs, interconnections, provisioning, monitoring, and billing systems, operators can focus on what truly differentiates them: their brand, their commercial offering, and, above all, the customer experience. Technical complexity remains "under the hood," but control over service, numbering, and end-customer relationships remains firmly in the hands of the operator. This is where the new FVNO (Fixed Virtual Network Operator) model shines. |
Over the years, the MVNO model has made the world of mobile telephony more accessible and dynamic. Today, even in the fixed telephony panorama, a natural evolution is emerging: the Fixed Virtual Network Operator.
To all intents and purposes, an FVNO is a voice operator. It has its own numbers, addresses end customers directly and builds a distinctive value proposition in the market. What changes is not how this is accomplished.
In fact, in a FVNO model, the operator maintains full control over his identity and the relationship with the customer, without having to develop each technical component internally or deal with the entire regulatory complexity independently. Instead, you can count on a ready, solid and compliant infrastructure, which allows you to focus on what really matters: service and the relationship with the customer.
The Fixed Virtual Network Operator model is designed for operators who wish to develop their fixed line business in a structured way, without however making significant infrastructure investments. It offers a compliant, scalable and professional operating model, capable of accompanying the evolution of the company over time.
Adopting this approach means being able to have your own geographical numbers, operate independently, guarantee full regulatory compliance and quickly scale your service. All this by offering advanced and secure voice solutions, without having to bear the technical, operational and regulatory complexity that these activities normally entail.
An FVNO also allows you to centrally and intuitively manage all the main operational functions: from the activation of VoIP services to the management of number portability, up to anti-fraud diagnostics and billing systems. The infrastructure grows together with the business, without the need for hardware investments, always maintaining high standards of reliability and security. In this way, even companies operating in the business and SOHO segment can offer voice services at a quality level comparable to that of a national operator.
To understand the value of number hosting and the FVNO model, we must consider that making telephone calls today means managing a myriad of elements simultaneously.
Detailed technical regulations (ST.769, ST.763xy, Number Portability, CLI Screening, DCPR)
Obligations related to legal interceptions and data retention
Anti-fraud systems are always active
Integrated billing platforms
Voice infrastructure (soft switch, SBC, routing)
All this is necessary to operate correctly, but for many operators it also means taking time and energy away from their own development. This is where number hosting shows its true usefulness, because it allows access to an already functioning ecosystem, in which numbers are managed correctly, the voice infrastructure is already operational, anti-fraud systems are active, billing is integrated and regulatory compliance is already taken care of.
In other words, it allows you to work as an operator without having to build everything from scratch.
Professional Link and Connecting Project approachProfessional Link's number hosting is part of a FVNO model developed together with Connecting Project. The two entities play complementary roles: Professional Link manages the infrastructure and regulatory aspects, including numbering, interconnections, networking, and traffic control; Connecting Project provides the application and support components (management platforms, operational tools, and regulatory support). We can provide a systematic way of managing complexity and provide a system that makes sense in various scenarios: • For switchless operators, it represents a way to enter the voice world without building an infrastructure. • For switched operators, it can be an opportunity to integrate or simplify an existing structure. • For companies that operate as resellers, it allows them to offer voice services with greater robustness and control. Having reached this point, it's natural to ask, "What's the catch?" For PLINK and Connecting Project's FVNO solution, there is not, but there is a change of perspective toward complexity. As of now, it has been delegated only to those who have already been structured to handle it. As a result, operators will be able to focus on growing their markets and their customers. |