A wide range of calling features and reliability up to the five 9 levels are a must for public telephone services. Needless to say, the switch has to carrier-grade, engineered to operate under heavy traffic loads and harsh conditions. It will be better to check if the equipment is tested and already operating with live customers.

n Capability and Manageability: Since switching is a long-term investment, operators want to put in their money on a long-term basis. And price is a function of such factors as per line cost of equipment, the services that can be operated by the equipment, interoperability, scalability, ease-of-operation and manageability.

n Beyond the Cost: True, the cost of the equipment is a critical factor in equipment procurement. However, if the purchased equipment requires a long installation period and/or if technical support is not available onsite, the benefits of the new equipment are not realized. Thus, it is very important to work with a vendor with a proven track record for timely and customized technical support.

n State-of-the-art Technologies: India having very low teledensity, there is a huge opportunity to adapt new technology, as legacy infrastructure is still low. Operators should look for the latest technology in the market which is able to evolve to the next generation networks without much investment in opex and capex. This helps the operator to offer new services.

n Multi-service Capability: Switch should be multi-service and capable for multiple network application simultaneously (local, transit, mobile). Ensure that the switch is based on an open architecture that eliminates dependence on suppliers for new products and services.