Iristel was established in 1999 when founder Samer Bishay set up a VoIP technology business to address the needs of under-served African markets. The company was granted a carrier license by the Canadian Radio-Television Commission in 2000. Today, Iristel also has domestic operator licenses in Algeria, Dominica and Romania with an additional 20 points of presence throughout the world. Iristel launched its High Definition VoIP Telephone Service in February 2007. By May 2007, the company added Domestic and Global SIP Trunking and Hosted PBX to its portfolio of Enterprise VoIP Solutions. In December 2007, Iristel began to offer dual mode Wi-Fi-enabled GSMmobile phones to Canadian customers. In June 2008, Iristel began offering Iristel IP Mobility, a wireless IP service that combines VoIP over Wi-Fi/GSM, Single Number Reach and Fixed Mobile Convergence. VoIP industry pundits describe Iristel IP Mobility as a "harbinger of things to come". Iristel IP Mobility provides users with a single point of contact for fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi calls. Users have on single phone number for both inbound and outbound calling across multiple devices. They can also switch calls back and forth between the mobile network and the VoIP network without interruption to help lower cellular charges. Settings may be configured by users through an online portal. Iristel has partnered with various carriers and service providers across the world who have chosen to route their wholesale and retail traffic through Iristel, or to rely on Iristel's DID coverage to service their own residential and corporate markets. In January 2009, Iristel and Algeria Telecom announced an exclusive agreement to offer Inbound Direct Inward Dialling services to subscribers around the world who want an Algerian number for their existing phone line In February 2009, MTS Allstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. and a communication solutions provider in Canada, has chosen Iristel Inc., for the conversion of its Time-division multiplexing voice traffic to Internet Protocol -based traffic. In August 2011, Gogii Inc, the makers of textPlus, announced the app can be now used with free Canadian telephone numbers, provided by Iristel. textPlus is an app supported by iPhone, iPod touch and Android which allows users to send free unlimited group text messages Iristel has performed various interoperability tests with the most important VoIP hardware & software manufacturers: Polycom, Mediatrix, Avaya, Grandstream, Toshiba, 3CX Phone System, Snom and Yealink. In May 2012, Iristel became a major shareholder in Ice Wireless. Ice Wireless is a Northern Canada-based telecommunications company that provides 3G/4G Mobility Services, Mobile Broadband Internet, and Fixed Line Telephone to the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Ice Wireless is a roaming partner for Rogers Wireless, Fido and Videotron in Northern Canada. In Octobre 2018, Iristel purchased Telecommunications de l'est, an Eastern Quebec company. TDE therefore integrates ImobileCa, an Iristel subsidiary created in May 2018 with the acquisition of ImobileCa by the Ontario company. The latter had a non-operating cellular license in eastern Quebec. TDE saw the opportunity to join a group present in the cell phone niche. The objective is to combine Iristel's expertise in cellular telephony, the frequencies held by ImobileCa, as well as the teams and branches of TDE to create a new cellular network serving Eastern Quebec. The development of this network should take place in two parts, said TDE. The network will be set up in urban areas. It will also be located in uncovered areas based on requests from municipalities and government agencies.
Services
Iristel has three corporate divisions: Retail Solutions, Enterprise Solutions and Wholesale Services. Its Retail Solutions are used by both residential and business clients, and include: Voice Solutions, Internet Services, Voice and Data Bundles, Virtual Fax Services, Hardware Solutions, Wireless IP Services, Virtual phone numbers. Enterprise Services offered by Iristel include: Hosted PBX, VoIP Virtual Private Network, Hosted Auto Attendant. The company’s Wholesale Services include: SIP Trunking, Inbound DID.
Network
As a fully licensed CLEC, Iristel does not resell other operator’s services. The company has its own VoIP network infrastructure. The Iristel network features international gateway switches in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Paris, France, and London, U.K., with subsidiary offices in Romania; a 24x7-monitored Network Operations Centre; and systems to monitor/manage TDM and IP telephony networks.
