Freshtel picks up call centre work

in brief Internet telephony supplier Freshtel has inked a deal with local call-centre outsourcer Quantum Multimedia Communications which will see the firm's outbound calls to mobiles passed over Freshtel's network.

"This new wholesale service offering will provide a new source of ongoing call-time revenue to Freshtel," Freshtel said in a statement this morning, noting QMC had picked up a specially negotiated rate for the "significant amount of voice traffic" it would push through Freshtel.

Freshtel chief executive Rhonda O'Donnell said the deal demonstrated that internet telephony was a viable option for businesses looking to reduce their operational costs.

The executive added the deal showed Freshtel, which has struggled over the past several years, had diversified its model to look to local businesses as potential customers. The company had previously focused on inking wholesale deals in which its service was sold by others as a so-called "whitelabel" package.