Chatterbox | Somleng

Chatterbox Solutions, a Phnom Penh-based technology company, operates Somleng, an open-source Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) and Telco-as-a-Service (TaaS). The innovation journey for Somleng, which means 'Voice' in Khmer, began in 2012 when CEO and Co-founder David Wilkie started discussions with the non-profit People in Need (PIN) about using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for emergency support in Cambodia. The predecessor to Somleng was a voice and SMS-powered dating service called Chibi, which at its peak had over 120,000 subscribers before declining with the rise of smartphones. Chatterbox was co-founded by David Wilkie, an Australian living in Cambodia for over a decade, and Samnang Chhun, the CTO who is a seasoned software developer specializing in Ruby on Rails.

The company's core offering, Somleng, provides an open-source implementation of Twilio's REST API, allowing developers to programmatically integrate voice and SMS capabilities into their applications. This makes it a direct, lower-cost alternative for organizations, especially in emerging markets where communication costs can be prohibitively high. The platform is designed to be decentralized, enabling local telecommunication companies, mobile network operators (MNOs), and aggregators to deploy their own branded CPaaS solutions, thereby cutting out intermediaries and reducing costs. All applications within the Somleng ecosystem are released under the permissive MIT License. Revenue for Chatterbox is generated through a Software-as-a-Service model, offering hosting, professional support, and customization services for Somleng.

Somleng's client base primarily consists of development organizations, NGOs, governments, and businesses looking to reduce communication expenses or bring their cloud communications in-house. A significant milestone was achieved in 2016 when Chatterbox became one of the first five companies to receive investment from the UNICEF Innovation Fund, which has been its main investor. This partnership has been pivotal, enabling Somleng to scale its solutions globally. Notable projects include powering an early warning system in Cambodia and supporting a cash assistance program in Somalia, where it reduced programmable voice costs by 95% compared to Twilio. The platform has also been adopted by C3ntro Telecom in Mexico as a white-labeled solution and is being used in a blockchain-based cash distribution pilot in Nepal. In November 2022, Somleng was the sole Cambodian awardee at the Alibaba Cloud AsiaStar 10x10 awards in Singapore.

Keywords: open-source CPaaS, TaaS, Twilio alternative, programmable voice, programmable SMS, Interactive Voice Response, IVR, telecommunications API, David Wilkie, Samnang Chhun, UNICEF Innovation Fund, humanitarian technology, communication software, Cambodia tech, decentralized communications, cloud communications, Telco-as-a-Service, white-label CPaaS, REST API, emergency communication systems, cost-effective communication, digital public good