Mobistar launches first virtual mobile switchboard in Belgium

Brussels, 19 August 2014 - Mobistar is launching Mobiline, a unique B2B solution for SMEs that replaces the conventional fixed phone equipment and fixed line with a virtual mobile switchboard in the cloud - retaining all the fixed line advantages. Flexible working regardless of location while keeping your fixed number, organising conference calls at home and abroad. all of this is now possible with mobile phones alone. Companies that use Mobiline no longer need fixed phones or landlines, saving up to 50% on the cost for fixed telephony services. They can calculate the cost savings with a convenient calculator at mobistar.be/mobiline. Mobiline is 'plug and play', with nothing more than a SIM card and a web interface. Mobistar is the first operator to introduce such a solution on the Belgian market.

The customer at the centre: professional services via fixed numbers without fixed infrastructure.
A survey from a Dutch research company demonstrates that three in four consumers - especially at first contact - prefer getting in touch with a supplier using a fixed number than with companies only available on a mobile number. Mobistar's new Mobiline now brings all fixed line functionalities to the mobile phone via a web interface, and allows to connect one or more fixed numbers to mobile numbers. Companies can be reached anywhere, anytime while managing their own outgoing caller ID.

Working flexibly now becomes even more comfortable for SMEs
A study by Data News shows that 67% of companies rank a mobile strategy somewhere between "important" and "a top priority". According to Stéphane Beauduin, Chief Enterprise & Wholesale Officer at Mobistar, "we are currently undergoing an evolution where the economy as a whole is becoming more mobile. Tablets are replacing laptops and smartphones are making fixed phones obsolete. People are no longer tied down to a fixed workplace. Mobistar is responding to this trend by launching mobile solutions that also make SMEs more mobile and easier to reach. Mobistar wants to accelerate and facilitate the integration of a mobile strategy for its B2B customers. Mobiline is a huge step forward in this process."

In practice this means that employees can personally programme the days and hours they are "on the job" (or not), independent of their location at any given time. For instance, the virtual switchboard automatically switches from Professional mode to Private mode and vice versa. In Private mode employees can be reached at their mobile number and their fixed number(s) will go to their voicemail, while outgoing calls are automatically made with their mobile number. In Professional mode employees can be reached on both their mobile and fixed number(s) and outgoing calls are automatically made with their professional fixed number. Private and professional calls are kept completely separate.