Comptel Spring06d1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 1

Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 1

Day 1

Show Show Dailyproduced by COMPTEL Monday, March 20, 2006 — Vol. 6, No. 1Published by: Stevens to Keynote COMPTEL PLUS With Special Guest Martin This afternoon at COMPTEL PLUS in San Diego will be devoted to a current contribution mechanism “is broken and it needs reform,” Stevens said at the keynote speech discussing the telecom policy changes floating throughout Washington, KEYNOTE ADDRESS winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners D.C. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, during the 25th Anniversary COMPTEL (NARUC) in February. Monday, March 20 event, will highlight his work on and expectations for updates to the Tele- FCC Chairman Kevin Martin supports a numbers-based approach and Stevens told communications Act of 1996; he will be followed by special guest speaker 12:45 - 1:45 p.m. NARUC the Commerce Committee wants to examine that structure. The numbers-based FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin. Randle Ballroom CDE system would assess USF fees of $1-$2 more per month to everyone with a landline Stevens has been vocal during his committee hearings and at association speeches telephone, regardless of whether consumers make long-distance calls. Martin is widely about matters he considers pertinent to a Telecom Act rewrite, especially expected to begin tackling USF changes this spring. intercarrier compensation and Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. Stevens Martin’s speech, meanwhile, also is likely to take on issues surrounding is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee telecom reform. As the COMPTEL Show Daily went to press, President and has been spearheading a telecom rewrite. He also was one of the key Bush had nominated Robert McDowell, COMPTEL’s senior vice president authors of the ’96 Act. “As a staunch advocate for competition and con- and assistant general counsel, to fill the FCC’s remaining commissioner’s sumers, attendees of COMPTEL PLUS will have a unique opportunity to hear seat. If McDowell is confirmed, Martin for the first time in his tenure will be firsthand his views on the issues that affect our industry,” said Earl Comstock, working with a fully staffed commission made up of three Republicans and president and CEO of COMPTEL. two Democrats. For Stevens and Martin both, fixing the USF contribution mechanism is a “As someone COMPTEL previously recognized as a ‘Champion of top priority. The multibillion-dollar USF is the subject of much scrutiny Competition,’ we are delighted and honored to have Chairman Martin at our on the Hill, in Congress and at the FCC. Policymakers are considering spring show,” said Comstock. “We look forward to hearing what he has to say several approaches, including whether to assess all revenue — intrastate and and continuing our dialogue with him on key issues for the competitive com- interstate — alike; or assess phone numbers; or charge per connection. The Sen. Ted Stevens Kevin Martin munications industry.” COMPTEL Celebrates 25 Years, An Evening of Music Looks to the Future With Kenny Loggins 2006 marks COMPTEL’s 25th anniversary and the association is celebrating that GRAND OPENING After a full day of exploring the show floor milestone with pomp and circumstance as it also trains a watchful eye on pending telecom REMARKS at the COMPTEL PLUS Spring 2006 legislation reform. Convention + Expo, get ready to rest your feet Monday, March 20 “The organization has grown considerably since 1981, but the basic issues remain the same — name- but keep your toes tapping. This evening’s enter- ly how to ensure a competitive environment in which entrepreneurial companies can offer consumers the 12:45 - 1:45 p.m. tainment — “An Evening with Kenny Loggins” products and services they want,” said Earl Comstock, president and CEO of COMPTEL. “The fact that Randle Ballroom CDE — is being presented by Compass Global and COMPTEL is still here is a testament to the strength and resiliency of the competitive sector.” held at 8:15 p.m. at “345 B St” (4th and B; one Some of the competitive industry’s greatest challenges are yet to mile from the Hyatt). come, Comstock predicted. “The FCC has significantly altered the rules Classic movie theme songs like “I’m which previously governed our industry. Congress is considering legisla- Alright” (from Caddyshack), “Footloose” tion that could further change the regulatory environment, either for bet- (from Footloose), “Danger Zone” (from Top ter or worse. Now more than ever the competitive industry needs to speak Gun) and “Nobody’s Fool” (from Caddyshack with a unified voice, and COMPTEL is the forum through which the II) are just a few of Loggins’ greatest hits. industry’s voice will be heard.” Other popular songs of this two-time Grammy Comstock will share these thoughts and more with COMPTEL PLUS winner include “Your Momma Don’t Dance,” members and attendees during his remarks ushering in the association’s 25th “This Is It,” “House at Pooh Corner” and Anniversary Conference + Expo today. He also will be joined by J. Sherman “Danny’s Song.” Loggins has sold more than Tonight’s entertainment — Henderson III, COMPTEL’s chairman of the board, and president and CEO 20 million records in his 30-year career. “An Evening with Kenny Loggins”— will be presented by Compass Global. of Lightyear Network Solutions LLC, who has been instrumental in the com- “Compass Global wanted to participate in th petitive carrier industry. Earl Comstock Sherm Henderson this special 25 anniversary of COMPTEL as a tribute to our customers and COMP- Comstock said that as policymakers craft updates to the TEL members,” said Dean Cary, President and CEO of Compass Global. “We feel Telecommunications Act of 1996, COMPTEL and its members must work to preserve the law’s pro-competitive principles that “are Kenny Loggins is an appropriate choice for this occasion as his hits appeal to audi- under assault from the incumbent telephone and cable operators.” Comstock especially wants to work with legislators to make sure ences of all ages. We assure you this will be an event you won’t want to miss.” “transmission network operators have an incentive to build and operate broadband networks, while at the same time ensuring the Additional support for this event is being provided by Homisco, Sansay Inc., Sirius nondiscriminatory interconnection of competing networks, and a level playing field for all of the content and service providers, Telecom Inc. and Veraz Networks. Transportation will be provided from the Hyatt start- including the network operators, that seek to use those networks to reach consumers.” ing at 7:30 p.m. The location is a 21+ venue only so attendees must be 21 years or older. On Sunday, March 19, COMPTEL held its “Champions of Competition” Awards dinner, during which time leaders recognized Rep. F. This is a ticketed event open to COMPTEL attendees registered with either a VIP, James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Comstock said Sensenbrenner has helped ensure full conference or exhibitor registration. that consumers benefit from communications competition and choice. During today’s afternoon break at 1:45 p.m., which is sponsored by Don’t miss the chance to kick off your “Monday” shoes during tonight’s Progress Telecom, COMPTEL will serve cake to celebrate its 25th anniversary. fun-filled evening! Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 2

Carrier Panelists Share Strategies for Finding,Acquiring Funding Before service providers can say “show me the money,” they need to understand exactly what consistent, free cash flow to service debt; and a company’s ability to grow without taking on venture capitalists and investment banks are looking for when they consider doling out funds. In “FINANCE-ABLE” any undue risk in terms of geographic and product expansion. He said PAETEC has been the session “‘Finance-able’ Service Providers: Finding and Securing Funds from Investors,” pan- SERVICE PROVIDERS: approached by public and private investors, but the carrier turned them down because it does elists will discuss just what it takes to secure the public or private financing needed to expand FINDING AND SECURING not need new equity participants “as our investors are pleased with the performance.” operations or enter new lines of business. FUNDS FROM INVESTORS He recommends other competitive carriers looking for financing also address risk man- Slated speakers include Kevin Coyne, CFO of FiberLight LLC; John Siegel Jr., general part- agement issues, which include regulatory, competitive and technological items. The biggest Monday, March 20 ner of Columbia Capital; Richard Smith, president and CEO of Eschelon Telecom; and Keith challenge PAETEC faced was “finding the appropriate comparable benchmarks to structure Wilson, CFO of PAETEC Communications Inc. Vik Grover, CFA: managing director of invest- 4 - 5 p.m. our financings. The sector continues to be widely dispersed in terms of operational, regulato- ment banking at Merriman Curhan Ford & Co., will lead the panel. Randle Ballroom CDE ry and technical models. This makes it difficult to assess the appropriate structure for financ- Eschelon Telecom is one of the few CLECs to have gone public successfully. ings — either debt or equity as compared to other transactions done in the market.” “Approaching investors with a CLEC business model has been challenging — and that is an Investors, Wilson said, are just beginning to view the CLEC sector as better than “dis- understatement,” said Smith, explaining that is because investors have been wary of CLECs’ historically poor tressed,” which should bode well for carriers seeking financing. performance and significant number of bankruptcies. The only way to win over skeptical investors, he advised, Finally, FiberLight’s Coyne will talk about the feedback the dark fiber network owner has received from venture “is to prove your execution abilities.” capitalists and investment banks. He said investors want a proven model; ROI discipline, and preferably a less To do this, service providers need to maintain high-quality financial and operating metrics; a cleaned-up balance capital-intensive business; a management team with past success as a team; understanding of the market and the niche sheet; and they need to approach investors and convince them of their worth, Smith said. In this session, Smith will opportunities in the respective markets; and appropriate incentive arrangements. go over how Eschelon Telecom raised more than $240 million so other carriers can do the same. Service providers seeking financing further need to consider the high cost of equity and the risk inherent in noncash Meanwhile, PAETEC’s Wilson also will highlight some of the privately held company’s financial strategies. pay structures, Coyne said. They also should keep in mind risks such as how long it will be until there is free cash flow PAETEC last year started an IPO, but did not complete it because “it was primarily driven by overall sector valua- and the potential penalties for missing expectations, as well as realize the cost of operation relative to competition. tion multiples, which we view are still on the lower side.” FiberLight was in the midst of restructuring when it got funding and that sort of business model requires investors Wilson said PAETEC primarily has dealt with banks as its source of investment funding. “We have not had an supportive of those changes, Coyne pointed out. “The most important issue we came across was that most investors equity need for over six years,” said Wilson. He noted investors look for operational stability; the ability to generate wanted to see a clear exit and/or positive cash flowing out of the business sooner than later,” he said. Qwest Enhances Wholesale Portfolio Control Point Adds Revenue Qwest Communications International Inc. (Booth 1204) recently announced an important addition to its wholesale product portfolio. Qwest IP Solutions is a WAN solution that simplifies complex data communications for Assurance to Margin Management wholesale customers. Based on Qwest’s nationwide MPLS network, Qwest IP Solutions is designed around customers’ needs, which are Control Point Solutions (Booth 1323) has enhanced its integrated Margin Management Solution for carriers, growing more complex as businesses implement new applications, such as VoIP and real-time streaming multimedia. combining revenue assurance and expense management. Qwest IP Solutions also is backed by industry-leading SLAs that measure performance. “New software enhancements to our revenue-assurance practice have strengthened our professional services capa- Derek Koecher, director of wholesale for Qwest, said, “With Qwest IP Solutions, customers do not have to render bilities,” said Theresa McClure, Control Point Solution’s director of revenue assurance. “We now employ rough call their current networks obsolete. Instead, we help them use their existing investments to implement a better solution.” detail record level usage audits and new automation to find stranded assets. Our revenue-management strategy is to Qwest IP Solutions underscore an important shift in the telecom industry, as traditional voice services are install controls to monitor the revenue stream. We now are adding new capabilities to automate that process.” expected to decline, and data and IP solutions continue to grow. Qwest is committed to delivering next-generation Control Point Solutions’ revenue-assurance programs include an end-to-end review of carriers’ process and solutions, including VoIP, and IP termination and origination. The introduction of Qwest IP Solutions continues the systems. This includes product and service delivery; sales order management; switch translations; provisioning; company’s push into strategic and advanced solutions that help wholesale customers bring their end users to the next revenue leakage studies; event processing; billing and accounts receivable; and more. The programs address com- level of communications. mon operational problems: Another important trend Qwest is supporting is the use of OCN billing strategies. To ensure wholesale customers • Reconciliation of billing systems with provisioning activity get the best value, Qwest has announced a new enhancement to its IP voice terminating service, providing OCN billing • Elimination of revenue leaks from pricing promotions to wholesale facilities-based carrier customers. The new billing option provides pricing at the individual OCN/LATA • Identification and billing for usage that is not collected or sent to a “stranded” system level, giving customers the ability to easily reconcile their billing, and manage costs more effectively. • Reconciliation of revenue and costs for products to meet carriers’ financial objectives “Offering IP voice terminating services with our OCN billing solution is a telling example of how we’re design- “The market is actively seeking better ways to manage revenue,” said Jeff Hegan, vice president of carrier ing our services around our customers’ needs,” said Koecher. sales for Control Point Solutions. “These new capabilities strengthen our expense management capabilities of reducing access and interconnection costs through audits and strategic sourcing benchmarking to ensure carriers’ rates are competitive.” The company said it has helped clients improve their bottom line by $1.5 billion through a focus on revenue UDP Launches CRM Program assurance and expense management. UDP (Booth 1420), a national provider of billing and order management systems, has launched a new CRM program within COMET, the company’s flagship end-user customer care and billing platform. Much of the data are pre-populated and companies are able to work from one database, which captures all interactions with customers. CRM screens show when the customer was last contacted, contacted by whom, the ComTec Upgrades Print Platform average monthly revenue the customer adds to the company, birthdays, anniversaries, contact information, and ComTec Inc. (Booth 1422), a print and electronic customer communications provider, has announced plans prospect-tracking. to upgrade its printing technology and install state-of-the-art highlight color printers in its facilities in The module also has data mining capabilities. It further reveals what services a customer has subscribed to, and Minnesota and New Jersey. via pop-up windows, helps customer service representatives upsell additional services on the spot. In addition, the According to ComTec, the Docutech 180 Highlight Color printer is among Xerox’ latest innovations in pro- CRM feature allows companies to create inbound and outbound marketing campaigns to subscribers and prospects. duction printing and places the company at the forefront of its industry and among the elite companies implement- “Our customers have the option to go out and buy a generic CRM system, but we chose to build one for the ing this printing technology. The Docutech 180 HLC printers offer the highest resolution in their class with 2400- telecom industry. It’s designed specifically to help our clients maintain and grow their customer base,” said Joel dpi black-and-white and 600-dpi highlight color resolutions. Daniels, UDP’s CIO. Most importantly, the company’s technology upgrades will increase throughput by almost 100 percent, from 92 pages per minute to 180. The efficiencies gained in producing client correspondences nearly twice as fast will be passed on to the company’s clients, providing more automation, faster turn-around time and improved cash flow, Excell Expands CRM Capabilities according to the company. “Clients expect service providers such as ComTec to stay on the leading edge of technology and printing inno- Excell Services (Booth 1516), a provider of directory assistance and operator services, has announced the expan- vation,” said Peter Christensen, CEO and chairman of ComTec. “This investment in a superior printing platform is sion of its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) group. a prime example of our commitment to that model.” Although it already provides inbound customer care services, Excell has expanded its CRM infrastructure in its Lubbock, Texas, and San Antonio call centers in order to accommodate the increasing inbound customer care needs of its wireless, LEC and IXC clients. Excell’s CRM strategy involves taking advantage of all possible communication paths — telephone, Internet, live Tailored Solutions Satisfy Customers agents or interactive voice response. Thus, the customer care offerings include inbound customer service, sales, billing and technical support using multiple channels, such as phone, e-mail, chat, fax and mail. Enterprise customers demand a higher level of service and a portfo- Excell’s wholesale directory assistance offering features live agent or automation, provides access to more than 160 lio targeted at their needs. So a standard menu of products and services THE CUSTOMER IS million listings and makes available a variety of enhanced features from movie listings to stock quotes. Excell also just won’t satisfy. During Tuesday’s session “The Customer Is Always ALWAYS RIGHT: offers call-completion options to its clients regardless of their connectivity method to the Excell network. Right: Tailoring Offerings for the Enterprise,” enterprise customers includ- TAILORING OFFERINGS Excell’s operator services offering utilizes nationwide tariffs on wholesale, retail and unbundled service programs. ing John Graf, director of IT of Kalypsys Inc., a San Diego-based compa- FOR THE ENTERPRISE ny in the medical research field, and Barry Bryson, associate director of engineering for the Utah Education Network, will offer valuable insights Tuesday, March 21 about the solutions they need and how service providers can deliver them 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. DSET Shows Off Service Bureau Offering more effectively. Nancy Lubamersky, vice president of marketing for Randle Ballroom B DSET Corp. (Booth 516) has showcased its service bureau “gateway” offering at COMPTEL. TelePacific Communications, will moderate the session. Launched last year, the service bureau portfolio consists of local services, access services (including preorder), trou- Among the forces that will affect what enterprise customers are look- ble administration, number port, caller ID, E911, calling cards and primary interexchange carrier care functionality. ing for as services is the move to fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). According to the Yankee Group, FMC is expect- The service bureau offerings are hosted at DSET’s facility and maintained on a round-the-clock basis. DSET ed to take hold in the large enterprise segment in the next five years, creating new service models around high-value software enables telecommunications providers to implement electronic Trading Partner Networks (TPNs) to access managed telephony services. “Today, enterprises are not demanding converged solutions and are largely uninformed the hosted services; each client company has its own private and secure database and can access services remotely of FMC technology,” said Nicholas McQuire, Yankee Group senior analyst of wireless/mobile enterprise solutions. from a Web browser. “However, demand will rapidly grow as awareness of FMC’s benefits reach enterprise decision makers, such as a DSET also provides the installation, interoperability-testing, training and maintenance services required to put reduction in and greater control of mobile costs, enhanced productivity and greater mobility. FMC will also enable TPNs into production and maintain smooth operation. service providers to achieve lower customer churn levels, increased enterprise penetration and grow average revenue The gateways target all tiers of providers; they can handle an unlimited number of trading partners and thou- per enterprise. Perhaps most importantly, FMC telephony will also enhance their strategic standing with valuable enter- sands of transactions per day, the company said. prise customers as well.”

2 COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 ATTwhole-ComptelSD06-FP4Ctab 3/6/06 3:47 PM Page 1

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COMPTEL Show Daily Roadblocks on the Information Superhighway Produced by PHONE+, xchange and New Telephony For the past 18 months I have been thinking a lot about peer-to-peer traffic and how it might impact GROUP PUBLISHER the many networks that combine to form the Internet. Understanding that this kind of traffic can only MIKE SAXBY [email protected] continue to grow, I thought it could begin to burden the network without providing it with revenue. I asked a number of backbone carriers to go on record about the potential impact it might have on their facilities and what, if any, plans they have to “monetize” this traffic. Carriers all acknowledge their EDITORIAL concerns, but none would tell me when or how their companies might address it. KHALI HENDERSON Group Editor [email protected]

Of course, the largest telcos and cablecos now have revealed their intentions. I predicted today’s PAULA BERNIER Editor in Chief all-you-can-eat plans would be replaced with something more closely tied to bandwidth [email protected] consumption. But I did not anticipate the Bells’ proposal, which goes beyond measuring usage to CHARLOTTE WOLTER Editor at Large [email protected]

restricting access to content. MEGAN MCCOY Managing Editor Certain content providers — let’s say deep-pocketed corporations or advertisers — would have [email protected] first priority on our computer and television screens while other information — like that from CARA SIEVERS Assistant Managing Editor [email protected]

competitors or peer-to-peer communications — would get a lower priority or even be blocked. MANYESHA BATIST Assistant Managing Editor They want to carve the Internet up into private networks that they control completely. This doesn’t mean we won’t be able to get [email protected] on the Internet. I’m sure they will be more than happy to offer us consumers access as long as we buy all our voice/data/video TARA SEALS Associate Editor [email protected]

services from them. I am sure they are eager to support our company IP VPNs on their network and those of their paying peers, which KELLY M. TEAL Online Editor by the way, our preferred competitive carrier is not one, so we’ll have to move our entire data center to new facilities. [email protected] If you are a competitor reliant on Bell facilities, disregard for “common carrier” obligations is plenty to get your attention. But

the ramifications of ending the Internet’s neutrality and putting its control into the hands of just a few companies goes beyond ADVERTISING destroying the business models of many innovative startups. It undermines information flow. BETSY CHANDLER Associate Publisher Control of the Internet, which in many ways is evolving as an interactive substitute for radio and television, will have far-reaching [email protected] impacts on public discourse. (Think “Media Ownership, The Sequel;” it’s so scary because it could come true.) So, we may no longer AHMED SHAMS Account Executive be able to visit the blogs we like because they conflict with gatekeeper’s views. We may no longer be able to stream news that reports [email protected] SUZY KELLEY Account Executive negatively about the gatekeeper’s company or its affiliates/supporters/advertisers. In other words, the public interest will be [email protected] abandoned. It may seem like I am overreacting, here. But it is not unprecedented behavior for the Bells and cablecos, which have lobbied against public interest mandates requiring they provide for public access TV stations. PRODUCTION Opponents of net neutrality say it dampens investment in infrastructure, but that argument — while accepted by the FCC when it CHRIS VERNAM Production Director

recently lifted network-sharing requirements from Bell broadband pipes — doesn’t make sense. Says net neutrality advocate DOLLY AHLES Director of Art Lawrence Lessig in his blog of Jan. 13, “Broadband is infrastructure — like highways, if not railroads. If you rely upon ‘markets’ TAMARA ELLIOTT Art Director alone to provide infrastructure, you’ll get less of it, and at a higher price.” KIMBERLEE BOWERS Group Traffic Manager DANIELLE DUNLAP Lead Traffic Coordinator

And, it’s turning out they may not take you where you want to go. MARGIE BEALL Traffic Manager

MATT COURTER Lead Advertising Art Director

KAREN WILLIAMS Advertising Art Directors

ANGELA WRIGHT

BRUCE BECK Classified Art Director

MAKEASA ROSEMOND Classified Traffic Coordinator

ROB JACKSON Web Ad Coordinator

Khali Henderson CIRCULATION Group Editor SIMONE KJOLSRUD Circulation Director [email protected] Circulation Sales, ext.1285 Agenda Circulation List Rental, ext. 2081 Monday, March 20 TRADESHOW DIVISION

7:30 - 9:30 a.m. 1:45 - 2 p.m. Session Leader: DANA HICKS Trade Show Director th Vik Grover, CFA: Managing Director, Investment CEO Council Breakfast Meeting 25 Anniversary Afternoon Break SARAH WASCHLER Trade Show Manager Banking, Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. Randle Ballroom AB Sponsored by Progress Telecom DANICA CULLINS Exhibitor Sales Coordinator Presenters: DAWN CARTER-NOE Production Coordinator 2 - 2:30 p.m. Kevin Coyne, CFO, FiberLight LLC 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. MARLO SNEDDON Education Coordinator John Siegel, Jr., General Partner, Columbia Capital Registration Special Guest SEAN EGAN Art Director Richard Smith, President and CEO, Eschelon The Honorable Kevin J. Martin, Chairman, FCC 9 a.m. - Noon Telecom Exhibit Hall Open 2:45 - 3:45 p.m. Keith Wilson, CFO, PAETEC Communications VIRGO PUBLISHING Elizabeth and Manchester Ballrooms Extreme Makeover: Service Provider Edition 4 - 6 p.m. JENNIFER L. BOLTON President/CEO Randle Ballroom CDE Networking Reception in Exhibit Hall 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. TERESA DUNAWAY CFO Hear from executives who have knocked down their Elizabeth and Manchester Ballrooms Deal Center Open old business model to capitalize on new technologies KELLY RIDLEY Controller and opportunities, and have met head-on the 8:15 p.m. LINDA MADDOX Director of Human Resources 12:30 - 12:45 p.m. challenges faced in the communications marketplace. An Evening with Kenny Loggins Atlantic-ACM Best-in-Class Session Leader: Presented by Compass Global U.S. Wholesale Awards Earl Comstock, President and CEO, COMPTEL Additional support provided by Homisco, Randle Ballroom CDE Presenters: Sansay, Sirius Telecommunications ATLANTIC-ACM unveils its Best-In-Class domestic Bill Capraro, CEO, CIMCO Communications Inc. and Veraz Networks wholesale carriers with over a thousand ratings by Hank Carabelli, President and CEO, Pac-West “345 B St.” (one mile from Hyatt) carriers’ customers. Michael Gallagher, President and CEO, First Avenue 4th and B Networks 12:45 - 1:45 p.m. A 21+ venue; must be 21 years of age to enter Bill LaPerch, President and CEO, AboveNet This is a concert event only, cash bar is available Grand Opening Remarks & Keynote Address (Transportation will be provided from Hyatt starting at 7:30 p.m.) 4 - 5 p.m. Randle Ballroom CDE “Finance-able” Service Providers: Earl Comstock, President and CEO, COMPTEL Published by Virgo Publishing Finding and Securing Funds from Investors J. Sherman Henderson III, Chairman of the Board, P.O. Box 40079 COMPTEL; and President and CEO, Lightyear Randle Ballroom CDE Phoenix, AZ 85067-0079 Network Solutions LLC +1 480 990 1101 FAX: +1 480 990 0819 Service providers need to understand exactly what E-mail: [email protected] venture capitalists and investment banks are looking Web: www.phoneplusmag.com Keynote Address for when they consider doling out funds. Case studies Randle Ballroom CDE of successful service providers will be presented to The Honorable Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; show just what it takes to secure the public or private Chairman, Senate Commerce, Science & financing needed to expand operations or enter new Transportation Committee lines of business.

4 COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 5

XO Introduces Global Crossing,Telstra Deliver Converged IP Services Global Crossing (Booth 1120) has partnered with Telstra Inc., the U.S. subsidiary executives, solutions engineers, and service and delivery managers who manage busi- Voice Origination of global carrier Telstra Corp. Ltd., Australia’s leading telecommunications and infor- ness opportunities with their partners as a single team. XO Communications (Booth 1412) announced an mation services company. Telstra will leverage Global Crossing’s Fast-Track services As part of this arrangement, Telstra is providing Global Crossing with dedicated expansion of its wholesale VoIP solutions, introducing a to immediately commercialize its offer to enterprises in critical markets in the private-line connectivity and a range of managed services at the core backbone level new voice origination service that offers service Americas and bypass expensive and time-consuming network buildouts. throughout the Asia-Pacific region, enhancing Global Crossing’s capabilities in that region. providers a more scalable and cost-effective means for Global Crossing’s Fast-Track services, provided to partners through its “Telstra has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Global Crossing in the U.S. originating voice calls nationwide. Global Partners Program (GPP) is a portfolio of enterprise-focused business solu- and Latin America, and we look forward to expanding that relationship to other regions The new service, XO VoIP Origination, provides tions that enable service providers to increase their speed-to-market and revenue of the world,” said Andrew Morawski, Telstra’s senior vice president of sales and mar- broadband telephony providers, cablecos and other realization by expanding their geographic reach, broadening their range of con- keting. “Our success depends on providing customers with seamless, end-to-end serv- service providers with interconnection, transport and verged IP service offerings, and providing a unified experience to customers ices, and this partnership highlights our ongoing focus on serving customers effective- origination of local calls nationwide through a single IP around the world. ly and transparently, anywhere they do business.” connection on the XO IP network. With the ability to “Telstra’s confidence in Global Crossing clearly demonstrates the exceptional Drew Kelton, managing director of Telstra Global Business, added, “We’re confident originate local calls through a single IP connection, value and revenue realization opportunities our Global Partner Program delivers,” said that this relationship will bloom into a highly strategic arrangement over time. We already service providers can eliminate the need to purchase and Ted Higase, Global Crossing’s executive vice president of worldwide carrier services. have interconnects with Global Crossing and the GPP provides us with a massive oppor- maintain expensive voice gateways in markets where “We’re confident they’ll leverage our global capabilities, dedicated sales teams and tunity to collaborate and provide even greater added value services to our customers.” they offer service, enter new markets more quickly and state-of-the-art services to their best advantage.” Global Crossing was founded on a vision of convergence of voice, video and data, manage voice traffic more efficiently nationwide. Global partners utilizing Fast-Track leverage a range of support services to quick- and other rich media. Today, its network has more than 200 PoPs in North America, “XO now offers service providers end-to-end solu- ly drive customer acquisition and maximize revenue, including dedicated account Europe, Asia and Latin America. tions for originating, terminating and transporting IP- based voice calls nationwide,” said Ernie Ortega, president of carrier sales at XO Communications. “Through our extensive softswitch platform and national IP network, customers can leverage the power, scope and eco- nomics of IP to cost effectively develop and deliver services to their end-user customers.” XO VoIP Origination offers service providers the following features: • In-bound/local origination service nationwide • Reliable intercity transport • SIP or TDM interconnection to XO IP network • Local number portability • Directory listing • Caller ID with name • 24/7 network management and proactive network monitoring • Interconnection and usage reporting • Easy-to-use Web portal for service changes and orders With XO VoIP Origination, incoming calls can originate in either IP or TDM format and are routed across the XO OC192 class-of-service enabled network at the highest level of priority. The calls then are routed directly to the service provider’s network through an IP or TDM connection. With this flexible network architecture, the XO VoIP platform meets the needs of customers with legacy networks or new entrants that have more advanced network architectures. XO has one of the industry’s largest IP-based switching platforms, supporting both traditional circuit-switched voice and packet-based VoIP. Five years ago, XO began implementing VoIP technology in its national IP network with the deployment of softswitch technology from Sonus Networks, a provider of VoIP infrastructure solutions. XO has deployed Sonus softswitches to support the delivery of VoIP in more than 60 metropolitan markets and, today, carries more than 2.2 billion minutes of VoIP traffic each quarter. VoiceLog Touts 10 Years,100 Million Calls ÊiÌÜÀÊÜÌ Ê Third-party verification provider VoiceLog LLC (Booth 1021) announced at the COMPTEL PLUS ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÀi>Ê ÀÃi«ÜiÀ Convention + Expo it has processed more than 100 million calls, just in time for its 10th anniversary. ÌiÊ«ÀÛìÃÊ>ÊÃÕÌiÊvÊL>`Ü`Ì ÊÃiÀÛViÃÊÌÊ>``ÀiÃÃÊÞÕÀÊ To commemorate the milestone, VoiceLog is run- LÕÃiÃÃÊii`ÃÊ>ÌÊ>ÊV«iÌÌÛiÊ«ÀVi]Ê>Ü}ÊÞÕÊÌÊÌ>iÊV>ÀiÊ ning a 100-day challenge to users of other TPV services. For the next 100 days — until June 9, 2006 — vÊÞÕÀÊVÕÃÌiÀÃÊÜ iÊÜiÊÌ>iÊV>ÀiÊvÊÞÕÀÊiÌÜÀ°ÊÌiÊÃÊ VoiceLog’s automated TPV service is free to companies `ÀÛiÊÌ\ that switch from a different TPV supplier to VoiceLog. “Whether you try us for one day or 100, we’re con- UÊÜÊ>ÊviÝLiÊ>ÌiÀ>ÌÛiÊÌÊVÃÌÞÊ>`Ê«À}i`ÊiÌÜÀÊLÕ`Ã°Ê vinced our 99.999 percent uptime, superior sell-through UÊ*ÀÛìÊvÀÊi>ÃiÀÊ>VV`>ÌÊvÊ`Þ>VÊiÌÜÀÊV >}iÃ°Ê rates and legendary client support will keep you with us,” said Larry Leikin, vice president of VoiceLog. UÊ"vviÀÊÞÕÊ>ÊÃ}iÊ«ÌÊvÊ>VVÕÌ>LÌÞÊvÀÊiÌÜÀÊ«iÀvÀ>Vi°Ê “We’ve never made an offer like this and probably never UÊ Õ`ÊÃÌÀ}ÊÃiÀÛViÊÀi>ÌÃ «ÃÊÜÌ ÊÕÀÊVÕÃÌiÀÃ°Ê will again, but we thought it would be a fun way to give the few companies that don’t use us the opportunity to -ÊvÜÊ,Þ>Ê iÜ>½ÃÊi>`Ê>`Ê}iÌÊÜÌ ÊÌiÊÌ`>Þ° experience the best in TPV service at no risk.” In addition to automated third-party verification, 6ÃÌÊÕÃÊ>ÌÊÌ iÊ «/iÉ- /ÊVÛiÌ]ÊLÌ Ê£x£ä° VoiceLog offers Web-based recording retrieval; Any Ì>VÌÊÕÃÊ>ÌÊ>V°V>ÀÀiÀ°iÌÜÀ°ÃÕÌÃJ>Ìi°V° Language on Earth language support; integrated live and automated verification services; and state- specific scripting. Other recent introductions include a VoiceXML-based speech-recognition platform, VoiceLab script testing facility, and real-time dash- boards for performance tracking. The company now provides third-party verification for telecom, competitive electric and natural gas iÀÌ>ÊÀiÃÌÀVÌÃÊ>««Þ°Ê-iÀÛViÊÌÊ>Û>>LiÊÊ>Ê>Ài>Ã°Ê providers, financial services and health care providers, Ì>VÌÊ>ÊÌiÊ7 iÃ>iÊ ÕÃiÃÃÊ,i«ÀiÃiÌ>ÌÛiÊvÀÊìÌ>Ã° and recording and monitoring services for call centers.

COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 5 Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 6

Taking Advantage of New Business Models THE EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINT: A NEW VOICE Google,Yahoo! and a host of other Internet powerhouses have begun to challenge the telephony status quo with their ware. “The only hardware that you need is an off-the-shelf server to run FOR THE INTERNET own free VoIP offerings. How will market dynamics change as these companies give away the very voice services that it on like other back-office applications,” Landry said. traditional telephone companies sell for profit? Are these VoIP offerings truly free? That fits in with another trend in voice over IP, SIP trunking, in Tuesday, March 21 The “Executive Viewpoint: A New Voice for the Internet” panel will explore how this new voice paradigm is which enterprises link to service providers over all-IP trunks. “They 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. poised to change the voice business as we know it. don’t really need media gateways anymore.” Having that all-IP pipe Todd Landry, senior vice president, Sphere Communications; Jeff Ganek, chairman and CEO, NeuStar Inc.; and not only reduces voice expenses and makes deployment of new fea- Randle Ballroom D Tom Kershaw, vice president, next-generation services, VeriSign Inc., will provide focused insight into these questions. tures easier, it also makes it possible to link voice to yet another trend “The topic tees up a good question,” said Landry. “The prospect of free voice has been around for a long time. So in business, namely service-oriented architectures (SOAs). you have to ask yourself why would this not be true for business?” The difference, Landry said, is “what the business Here, businesses use business management software, such as SAP or BEA, and various human resources financial needs are and what the expectations are of communication for their businesses. In many respects it is mission-critical.” and sales automation systems, “and one of the premises of SOA is to give those systems a way to communicate with What businesses already are adopting, mostly smaller businesses now, is the technology of free services, namely each other so they can optimize different transactions,” Landry described. Communication also should be a part of that hosted voice. For larger businesses, those that have IT organizations, “first and foremost they see their jobs as running linked architecture. this stuff in a business, and they already run a lot of back-office applications. Plenty of companies run their own CRM For example, if a new employee joins a company, the human resources contact should not only brief the person and rather than salesforce.com,” Landry said. provide company resources, but also be able to authorize and assign the phone on that person’s desk as an automated An IT staff wants to control mission-critical applications for their businesses, “which means they want to part of the process, rather than sending e-mail to other individuals to do that task. manage deployments themselves. At the same time, developers of technology, like Sphere, are making that solu- For service providers, the message is, “Why wait to reach this middle market?” Landry asked. “Someone will either tion more economical, more software-oriented, making it easier to deploy and operate every day.” deploy it themselves or buy hosted. It is analogous to buying Centrex or circuits.” Service providers can sell suites of Sphere Communications, a developer of IP PBXs recently has released a new version of its product that is all soft- bundled services but on the premises have installed software that the customer can use to control everything. SkyPilot Partners With SwiftTalk to Bring Mesh to Africa SwiftTalk Ltd., an ISP and network operator headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, has selected SkyPilot Networks SwiftTalk is deploying SkyPilot’s full product family including the SkyGateway carrier-class base station, (Booth 317) equipment to roll out advanced wireless voice, data and Internet access services in that country. SkyExtender high-capacity mesh backhaul device, and SkyConnector CPE. SwiftTalk currently is deploying services in three Nigerian cities: Lagos (where it operates five networks), “We put a high priority on low equipment costs for our customers,” said Irabor Ighedosa, sales manager of Port Harcourt (with three networks) and Warri. Future deployments in Nigeria — some of which will involve SwiftTalk, “so the relatively low cost of the SkyConnector is an important benefit.” SwiftTalk’s own deployment strategic partners and alliances — will expand network coverage to Aba, Abuja, Ibadan, Jos and Onitsha. costs are minimized because the SkyConnectors are discovered automatically by the network and use visual feed- SwiftTalk serves business and residential markets, providing a combination of data communications, Internet back of signal strength to ensure proper installation. access and telephony services. For businesses, the SkyPilot-powered wireless network will provide intra-city vir- “The ability to expand our offering into Wi-Fi access with SkyPilot’s SkyExtender DualBand is another sig- tual private network links between company locations, interconnectivity for POS/credit card/ATM terminals, nificant benefit,” said Austin Uwudia CTO of SwiftTalk. The SkyExtender DualBand combines 802.11b/g access multisite VoIP/IP PBX services, and home Internet access and home office links for company employees. For res- point functionality with long-range mesh backhaul, so Wi-Fi clients can connect directly to it, without the need idential subscribers, the network provides Internet access, peer-to-peer VoIP and international VoIP calling. for intermediate CPE. Its dual-radio architecture eliminates interference between subscriber access and network “Internet access to the home and small offices is still a novelty in Nigeria,” said Oyom Ojo, CEO of backhaul services, boosting network capacity. SwiftTalk. “There is a greenfield opportunity in virtually every city in Nigeria — both large and small — that we SwiftTalk also selected the SkyPilot solution for its ease of deployment and support, cost effectiveness can capitalize on with SkyPilot’s mesh architecture and cost-effective coverage capabilities. This will allow us to and long-range coverage. Non-line-of-sight capabilities also were important — particularly in dense deploy wireless access rapidly and cost efficiently in our current and planned operating areas. It also will let us urban areas such as Lagos, where high-rise buildings block signal paths and produce high levels of multi- quickly scale that network as demand requires.” path interference. Coastal Technologies Upgrades OSS Connect, Intelliverse Debuts Hosted VoIP Intelliverse (Booth 617), a service provider for the wholesale marketplace, announced the Adds Order Flow launch of a new company name and its new service, Talking Planet, a private-label VoIP service for CLECs, hosting companies and other communication VARs. By Khali Henderson Intelliverse was formed from the combination of Voicecom Telecommunications LLC (Booth 618), a 20-year veteran of the telecommunications industry providing IVR products for Coastal Technologies Group (Booth 1314) announced a standalone, but the compelling component is when they work the business-to-business market, and iNuntius Inc., a SIP VoIP and unified communication soft- major upgrade to its automated service order delivery tool, OSS together,” he said. ware developer which Voicecom acquired in November 2005. Connect, as well as the addition and integration of Order Flow, a Order Flow tracks orders from when the sale is consummated Talking Planet is Intelliverse’s first offering combining Internet phone and video communi- new business workflow tool. to the installation. “All the steps in between are tracked by Order cation service with IP technology and the features of unified communications. OSS Connect Version 3.1 is 90 percent different than previ- Flow,” he said, noting one of the steps initiates OSS Connect. Talking Planet’s wholesale solution is powered by seven highly evolved core competencies. ous versions of the software, which first was launched about a Order Flow is customizable by Coastal techs or the customer. Providing total program support and tailored to meet business objectives, the VoIP offering max- year ago, said Jay Bowker, vice president of global sales and mar- “We have predefined elements that you can drag and drop into the imizes profitability and extends competitive advantage into residential and SMB markets. keting for Coastal. order you want,” he said. Intelliverse rapidly can deploy the Talking Planet Business solution as a private-label serv- One of the significant enhancements, Bowker said, is the addi- Order Flow is offered on an ASP basis. Subscriptions are ice and provide the flexibility for complete integration of such functions as account provision- tion of pre-order validation to ensure that orders sent from one car- based on the number of users. Bowker said it also will be providing, product fulfillment and billing within a company’s existing infrastructure. rier to another are completed accurately. “Each service order has ed as a turnkey software solution on a licensed basis on request. Highly scalable, the comprehensive turnkey service accommodates an unlimited number of dozens of fields to be populated,” said Bowker, noting if any one of OSS Connect also is offered on an ASP basis; customers pay subscribers. Talking Planet provides a true end-to-end VoIP solution, offering unlimited local them is not filled out or filled out incorrectly, the order can be reject- per order submitted. “It’s less expensive and less hassle,” said and long-distance calling, as well as features including caller ID, call waiting, three-way called. Redoing it takes time and resubmission may incur extra charges, Bowker, noting that Coastal takes care of updating the program to ing, E911, video calling, unified inbox, follow-me and voice-activated dialing. he added. “This tool saves time and money.” reflect semiannual changes from the Ordering and Billing Forum. For small and medium businesses, Intelliverse Talking Planet Business provides IP Centrex OSS Connect 3.1 also is integrated with a new tool, Order OSS Connect also can be provided turnkey for an annual functionality, such as auto-attendant, call transfer and conference bridging regardless of geo- Flow, that is a business process workflow tool. “It could be used license fee. graphical location. INDATEL: One Group — 23 States Tekelec Solutions Deployed at Burlington The Independent Alliances Telecom Group (INDATELgroup, Booth 616), a trade association of carriers, has grown its membership to include nearly half of the United States. New York’s Telecom,Crocker Telecommunications Independent Optical Network (ION) and Indiana’s Fiber Network (IFN) are the latest to join. All 23 Tekelec (Booth 704) announced two CLECs — “Tekelec delivers a flexible switching solution that inte- statewide networks are owned by the independent telephone companies in their respective states. Burlington Telecom and Crocker Telecommunications LLC grates with our existing network infrastructure and enables Carriers can contract with them individually to provide high-quality, cost-effective broadband access — have deployed the Tekelec 7000 Class 5 Packet Switch the cost-effective delivery of the latest services that our cus- into underserved rural areas — and metropolitan areas — via fiber-optic SONET routes. and Tekelec 6000 VoIP Application Server to deliver rev- tomers demand,” said Matthew Crocker, vice president for INDATEL President Max Huffman said, “These are companies that have been in business enue-generating voice, Internet and video services. Crocker Telecommunications. for generations, and are in the business for the long haul. They touch the major cities but tend to Burlington Telecom, the new fiber-optic public network The Tekelec 7000 fully integrates with IP and time divi- cross the rural landscapes.” operated by the city of Burlington, Vt., has deployed sion multiplexing network interfaces, enabling a smooth net- These networks provide opportunity for diverse, protected routes, and they often can do it Tekelec’s next-generation switching platforms to enable the work migration to VoIP while reducing operational costs. with a cost benefit to customers. The states covered and member companies include: launch of triple-play broadband Internet, cable television and The Tekelec 6000 VoIP Application Server integrates with Arizona — ALECA New York — Independent Optical Network voice services in early 2006 for the city’s residents, busi- Tekelec’s switching platforms to enable delivery of feature- Georgia — US Carrier North Carolina — Access/On nesses and government institutions. rich voice, data, video and wireless services. More than 220 Idaho — Syringa Networks North Dakota — Dakota Carrier Network “We evaluated many products, and Tekelec’s combined customers have purchased more than 400 Tekelec 6000 and Indiana — Indiana Fiber Network Ohio — Independents Fiber Network Class 5 packet switch and VoIP applications server was the 7000 systems. Iowa — Iowa Network Services Oklahoma — Oklahoma Networks best choice to help us quickly roll out reliable services for “We understand the pressures on local carriers to Kentucky — East Kentucky Network South Carolina — PalmettoNet our community with minimal impact to our network invest- provide the latest new services while keeping operational Michigan — Great Lakes Comnet South Dakota — SDN Communications ments,” said Chris Burns, COO at Burlington Telecom. costs low,” said Tricia Hosek, president and general manag- Minnesota — Aurora Tennessee — IRIS Networks Crocker Telecommunications, a family-owned operator er of the Tekelec Switching Solutions Group. “Our Missouri — Missouri Network Alliance Texas — Texas Lone Star Networks based in Greenfield, Mass., delivers advanced voice and data combined Tekelec 7000 VoIP softswitch and Tekelec 6000 Montana — Montana Advanced Information Network Wisconsin — Wisconsin Independent Network services, including broadband Internet, ISDN, colocation and application server lay the foundation for IP-enabled Nebraska — Nebraska Independent Telecom Networks Wyoming — Advanced Communications Technology Web hosting, to business and residential customers in services and allow operators to continue leveraging their New Mexico — New Mexico Networks Western Massachusetts. existing investments.”

6 COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 Profitec-ComptelSD06-FP4C 2/24/06 10:35 AM Page 1 Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 8

COMPTEL wishes to thank the following sponsors for their support of its Spring 2006 Convention + Expo Platinum Sponsors: Gold Sponsors: Silver Sponsors: Cisco Systems Inc. Edison Carrier Solutions Homisco Tellabs Compass Global Microsoft Corp. Progress Telecom Vanco Qwest Communications International Inc. RCN Business Solutions Sansay Inc. Veraz Networks Sirius Telecom Inc. XO Communications

Additional Sponsors: Premier Media Sponsors: AT&T Wholesale PHONE+ Broadwing Communications xchange Control Point Solutions Additional Media Sponsors: CoStreet Communications Capacity Magazine Covad Communications FatPipe Davis Wright Tremaine LLP FierceVoIP Fibernet Intele-CardNews Hatteras Networks Internet Telephony hkcolo Ltd. Telecommunications Magazine InterMetro Communications Inc. TelecomWeb Kelley Drye and Warren LLP Telephony LightCore VoIP Business News Looking Glass Networks Mpower Communications Other Partners: Syniverse Technologies CCMI Vero Systems Inc. IMS Forum VLM International Inc. PTC ‘06

Company Booth Company Booth Company Booth Company Booth 3PV - Third Party Verification Inc...... 1316 Dynavar Corp...... 714 Lightyear Network Solutions LLC ...... 1016 SRP Telecom ...... 1015 ADVA Optical Networking Inc...... 214 ECI Telecom ...... LogiTel. . . . Corp.. . . .1505...... 320 Stealth Communications ...... 522 Advanced Software Concepts (ASC) ...... 1517 Edison Carrier Solutions ...... 1218 Looking Glass Networks Inc...... 1416 Step 9 Software Corp...... 1121 Advantage Telcom ...... 705Emdeon Business Services ...... 712 Martin Group Inc...... 1004 Syniverse Technologies ...... 1100 Alliance Group Services ...... 1320 Endeavor Telecom ...... MetaSwitch. . . .321 ...... 513 SysMaster Corp...... 608 ALLTEL Communications ...... 1510 Enventis Telecom ...... 1023 Mpower Communications ...... 1417 TCAST Communications Inc...... 1514 AT&T Wholesale ...... 1205 Equinox Information Systems ...... 1317 Multipoint International ...... 1122 Technologies Management Inc...... 1118 BellSouth Interconnection Services ...... 1504 EUR Systems ...... 1217 NCIC Operator Services ...... 1321 Tekelec ...... 704 BeQuick Software Inc...... 315 Excell Services ...... 1516 NEON Communications ...... 1201 TELCAP LTD...... 621 BillSoft Inc...... 521 FPL FiberNet ...... 1221 New Paradigm Resources Group ...... 600 TelCove ...... 1411 BlueTie Inc...... 412 GigaBeam Corp...... 1421 NexTone Communications ...... 310 Telecom Compliance Services Inc...... 1011 BridgeWave Communications ...... 416 Global Crossing ...... 1120 Norlight Telecommunications ...... 1301 TeliaSonera International Carrier ...... 419 Broadwing ...... 1305 GlobalTouch Telecom Inc...... 611 NTS Communications ...... 1008 Telispire ...... 216 BSG Clearing Solutions ...... 1005 Grande Communications ...... 1310 OnFiber Communications ...... 1223 Tellabs ...... 319 Cavalier Business Communications ...... 1419 Hatteras Networks ...... 1108 Onvoy Inc...... 1520 telx ...... 414 C-CAMS Inc...... 1513 hkcolo Ltd...... 417 Orca Wave ...... 1502 Thermo Credit LLC ...... 519 CentricVoice Inc...... 601 Homisco ...... 509 OSG Billing Services ...... 1215 Transaction Network Services ...... 505 Cisco Systems Inc...... 1212 ILD ...... 709 PacketFront Inc...... 421 TransNexus ...... 420 Citynet ...... 1423 IMS Forum ...... Pac-West...... 424...... 211 UDP ...... 1420 Coastal Technologies Group ...... 1314 INDATELgroup ...... 616 PAETEC Communications ...... 1319 Vanco ...... 413 Communications Data Group ...... 418 Info Directions Inc...... 520 PERSONIX ...... 201 Veraz Networks ...... 316 Compass Global ...... 423 INFONXX ...... 1000 PHONE+ and xchange ...... 218 Verizon ...... 504 ComTec Inc...... 1422 Integretel ...... 1123 PPL Telcom LLC ...... 217 Vero Systems Inc...... 512 ConferencePlus ...... 318 Intelliverse/Voicecom ...... 617, 618 Profitec Billing Services ...... 1119 Vertek Corp...... 1519 Conference Group, The ...... 1518 InterMetro Communications Inc...... 604 Progress Telecom ...... 1019 Virtual Back Office Software Inc. (VBOS) ...... 1418 Consolidated Communications ...... 1222 Internet Telephony Magazine ...... 716 Qwest Communications International Inc...... 1204 VLM International Inc...... 620 Control Point Solutions ...... 1323 Interoute Communications ...... 1018 RCN Business Solutions ...... 1522 VoiceLog LLC ...... 1021 CopperCom Inc...... 518 Interstate FiberNet/ITC^DeltaCom ...... Sandy. . .Beaches . . .1104 Software ...... 1322 VoIP Inc...... 304 CustomCall Data Systems Inc...... 1501 Iowa Network Services (INS) ...... 1010 Sansay Inc...... 717 White Rock Networks ...... 500 D2C Telecom ...... IRIS. . Networks...... 219...... 517 SDN Communications ...... 619 XO Communications ...... 1412 Dagda Mor Media ...... 1521 ITS Communications ...... 1318 Seawolf Technologies ...... 613 Xspedius Communications ...... 1114 DataProse Billing Solutions ...... 1515 KDL ...... 1009 sentitO Networks ...... 313 Zhone Technologies ...... 400 DCI Voice Solutions ...... 612 KeySpan Communications ...... 615 Sirius Telecom Inc...... 323 DDR Broadband Networks ...... 1509 Level 3 Communications ...... 210 SkyPilot Networks ...... 317 As of March 2, 2006 DSET Corp...... 516 LightCore Inc...... 305 Sprint Nextel ...... 1211

8 COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 GenBandWdth-CPSD06-FP4Ctab 2/24/06 2:17 PM Page 1

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beyond voice Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 10

Service Provider Panelists Look at CLECs in a World Without UNE Facing regulatory mandates restricting the availability of UNEs, service David Malfara, Sr., president and CEO of Remi Communications, will take the dis- providers have a number of access options to evaluate for line migration and THE ALTERNATE ACCESS UNIVERSE: cussion up the stack to Layers 2 and 3. “We need to make efficient and effective use of growth. A panel of service providers Tuesday will discuss what’s available and OPTIONS FOR THE UNE TRANSITION all available access methods and use Layer 2/Layer 3 technology (MPLS, VPLS, H- when to use them. VPLS, 802.1Q VLANs, VLAN stacking, prioritization, etc.) as a way to accomplish Panelists will take a look at the subject one layer of the OSI model at a time, Tuesday, March 21 that goal,” said Malfara. starting with Layer 1 access. Mike Miller, president and CEO of FiberLight, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. “Bottom line: the business model is changing again. Economic realities will discuss fiber as a replacement for UNE-L, fiber-wireless interfaces, fiber require carriers to make more efficient and effective use of first-mile access facil- aggregation and ways to divide fiber into gigabit pipes. Randle Ballroom A ities. We, as carriers, can ill-afford to ignore any method of available access to “Many customers are replacing UNE with special access rates under sepa- our customer, but the efficiency and effectiveness of use of those access methods rate contract to avoid having to install facility-based applications,” said Miller, needs to improve. Layer 2 aggregation technology is where this happens.” noting the cost of building and installing physical locations in each CO often is prohibitive. “If you can cut Ernie Ortega, president of carrier services for XO Communications, also will talk to Layer 3 and replacements for the cost of the backbone to cover the traffic, then the cost to install becomes more justified. By using this UNE-P contracts, which were phased out earlier this month. He will talk about alternative access services offered by fiber in a pay-as-you-grow plan, companies can start migrating from special access in high-density COs wholesalers to UNE-P resellers that are moving to their own or partitioned switching facilities. sooner and become less dependent on the BOC.” The panel will wrap up their discussion by questioning the premise of the panel — whether it’s neces- Miller will discuss options to install fiber and pay on a capacity basis. He also will talk about installing sary to avoid UNEs altogether. “There are a number of ways to reach the customer,” said Malfara, noting customers in tandem locations and providing fiber to a carrier hotel or node to cut the costs of transport in a these may include wireless, fiber, Ethernet over copper or even UNE loops. “With one customer, we may use metro environment. He will touch on something he calls a “hybrid fiber wireless interface” for point-to-point four different [methods]. What’s critical is aggregating them into a metro area network.” and multipoint deployments of PCS or WiMAX as alternatives to UNE and special access pricing. The bigger challenge for providers is normalizing service delivery across all access types. Personix Unit of Fiserv Recognized TelCove Continues to Expand Network in Best Practices Study Reach and Density The Personix unit (Booth 201) of Fiserv Inc. has received the highest rating of participants in a 2005 TelCove (Booth 1411), a leading provider of business critical telecommunications services to enterprise customers and study of best business practices conducted by Madison Advisors, a Texas-based consulting firm spe- carriers, experienced extensive network growth throughout 2005. TelCove’s Carrier Server group, which offers a broad cializing in customer communication technologies. Personix also received the highest rating in the 2003 array of wholesale service products, now offers carrier customers significantly more reach and coverage across TelCove’s version of this biannual study. 70 interconnected markets. Madison Advisors Best Practices Study measures business practices associated with the compo- TelCove expansion includes: sition, production and delivery of personalized documents such as statements, transaction summaries • Total markets served, which have grown from 52 to 70 markets as a result of the acquisition of KMC Telecom’s mar- and checks for both print/mail and electronic (Web) delivery. The Best Practices Study analyzed 34 kets, customers and network assets, and expanded from four operating regions to five participants, with 14 in-house print facilities and 14 independent document service providers, • Buildings served, which have increased from approximately 3,300 to over 3,800 — a 15 percent increase including Personix. The study captured more than 600 data points from each participant to identify • PoPs and LSOs connected, which have risen from 400 to well over 500 leading practices in 21 areas of document production. “During 2005, TelCove greatly improved [its] ranking compared to the largest national and regional competitive serv- Personix exceeded the overall average in 20 of the 21 measured areas and attained at or near ice providers,” said Brian Lippold, vice president of TelCove’s Carrier Services Group. “In terms of markets served, total “Best Practice” scores, the highest mark possible, in the following areas: network metro miles, total long haul miles, and buildings on-net, TelCove ranks either No. 1 or No. 2 nationally compared • Electronic Print Costs to other major competitive providers.” • Equipment Utilization Additionally, TelCove is allocating a significant capital budget in 2006 to further extend our network to new customers, • Functionality always increasing our reach and density — boosting TelCove’s buildings on-net and the metro miles in service for our car- • Hardware rier customers.” • Mass Mail Machine Insertion Costs Carriers can choose from TelCove’s industry-leading metro and intercity Ethernet services, other local and intercity • Miscellaneous Processing Costs transport services, colocation, IP services, voice services, and wholesale frame and ATM data services. TelCove’s 22,000 • Processes and Procedures miles of fiber-optic network connect its markets from Burlington, Vt. and South Florida, to Houston and Wichita, Kan., and • Quality Metrics many locations in between. • Service Level Agreements TelCove’s Carrier Services Group specifically is aligned to focus on providing the highest level of service and support • Software to CLECs, ISPs, MSOs, IXCs, international carriers and wireless providers. • Workflow Todd Stine, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Personix, said the Personix overall score was the highest in the Madison Advisors Best Practice Survey. “The only measured area not exceeding the overall average was ‘capacity utilization’ and that was due to our heavy equipment commitment to Mpower Completes Fiber Expansion in Las Vegas meeting client quarter-end schedules,” he said. “Personix exceeded average scores in the study by 25.5 percent thanks in large part to a series of policies and software tools that help drive costs down and qual- Mpower Communications (Booth 1417), a leading provider of data and voice services to wholesale and retail busi- ity up. Our 2005 Software score increased significantly from 2003 as a result of a new print manage- ness customers, has expanded its facilities-based network with a 141-route-mile fiber network. The new fiber network ment system used for all jobs in each facility, in addition to enhancements to our client Web interface has two fully survivable rings, which connect Mpower’s switch and the majority of its colocation facilities in Las Vegas. tool (WC3).” Out of the 16 local service offices available in Las Vegas, Mpower will be on-net in 12 of them. This SONET-based network ring topology ensures high reliability and service levels for all Mpower customers in Las Vegas. The company’s comprehensive end-to-end network connectivity in the city includes dedicated backbone transport and direct last-mile connections to its customers. It also includes their colocation at Switch Connections Syniverse Technologies Launches ENUM Group, which is now on-net with the new fiber. The colocation at Switch Connections Group will allow Mpower to Syniverse Technologies (Booth 1100), a leading provider of mission-critical technology interconnect with many long-haul IXCs. services to wireless telecommunications companies worldwide, has launched Operator ENUM “This Las Vegas fiber backbone complements our California fiber network and gives us substantial fiber Database Service to route voice and data services efficiently over an IP network. assets in our largest markets,” stated Russ Shipley, Mpower’s president of wholesale and chief network services Syniverse’s Operator ENUM Database Service provides the network intelligence required to executive. “With this network in place, we have lower transport costs, enhanced network quality and shorter determine, in real time, the owner of a given phone number, the advanced services associated provisioning intervals. We also gain greater flexibility and more control over the connections to our customers with- with that number, and the most efficient route to reach that number. Additionally, the service out relying on the ILEC.” validates interconnect agreements that operators utilize to establish interworking for services The fiber network opens up new business opportunities for Mpower as it passes through key business centers of such as VoIP and multimedia messaging (MMS). concentration in the city and creates wholesale opportunities for Mpower’s private-line offering. Mpower also recent- Leveraging Syniverse’s experience with network database services, number portability ly completed renovations on its network operations center in Las Vegas and is opening a new switching service center solutions and operator interconnectivity, Operator ENUM Service enables a straightforward in the city some time this year. migration path to next-generation IP services while enabling operators and carriers to reduce Mpower has been serving the telecommunications needs of the Las Vegas market since 1996 and currently employs operational costs and improve interoperator network efficiency. Syniverse’s service reduces more than 300 people in that market. operators’ capital investment by enabling the operator to utilize a high-performance ENUM query engine without the expense of buying and operating private ENUM servers. Syniverse’s Operator ENUM Database Service works by enabling carriers’ switches to query the most recent routing information for a given subscriber’s telephone number, including Progress Telecom Offers FlexBand ported number information, to complete a call or message to that subscriber. Operators Progress Telecom (Booth 1019) now offers customers the ability to bundle current and future bandwidth needs into a utilizing IP-based services such as MMS interworking can submit routing queries in-band over single transaction, thereby qualifying for volume discounts. Under the FlexBand program, Progress Telecom gives cus- the IP network, versus utilizing external SS7 transport networks, reducing costs and gaining tomers the ability to grow their bandwidth as needed by activating circuits as business growth dictates. efficiencies. As operators and carriers migrate to VoIP and other IMS-based services, they can FlexBand addresses customer demand for future connectivity, as well as the flexibility for circuit termination to a mix utilize the same ENUM database to provide routing resolution for those services. of pre-defined locations. Customers are able to order, activate and bill smaller increments of bandwidth needs over a spec- “As the telecommunications industry migrates to IP-based services, operators can look to ified timeframe to fulfill their total commitment. FlexBand takes individualized, easy-to-use solutions to a new level — by Syniverse to reduce the complexities by leveraging our SS7 transport, database queries and focusing on transactions of scale. Progress Telecom collaborates with its customers to create total, long-term solutions that number portability capabilities,” said Linda Hermansen, vice president of business development save them money. for Syniverse. Progress Telecom offers a variety of options for service deployment including 10-day on-net intervals, and scheduled “This service adds another component to the Syniverse portfolio of services that enable an plans based on customer needs. FlexBand is available for customized DS1, E1, DS3 and OCn configurations and offers a efficient migration from the circuit switch to next-generation packet-switched fully redundant, geographically diverse network topology. FlexBand customers receive 24/7/365 network performance networks. It enables wireless, wireline, cable and VoIP service providers to fully leverage their monitoring and guaranteed network availability. infrastructure investments and interconnect agreements for today’s services and provides an FlexBand is part of Progress Telecom’s Private Line Service as SONET or SDH, and also will be available as Ethernet economical path to advanced services.” in many locations.

10 COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 11

Will Telecom Rewrite Inspire Provider Makeovers? When their current business plan goes out of style, companies need a fresh new look tially having to do this yet again if Congress were to significantly change the rules once again.” to attract customers and increase profitability. In today’s executive roundtable, COMPTEL EXTREME MAKEOVER: Comstock is frank about the negative impact current proposals to rewrite attendees will hear from members who have revamped their business models to keep up SERVICE PROVIDER EDITION the Telecommunications Act of 1996 might have on its members’ businesses. “Certainly, if the with the changing times. Ensign bill or either of the Barton drafts or the DeMint bill were adopted that would have sig- Panelists include Hank Carabelli, president and CEO of Pac-West Telecomm Inc.; Bill Monday, March 20 nificant adverse consequences for the entire competitive industry,” he said. Capraro, CEO of CIMCO Communications Inc.; Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of First 2:45 - 3:45 p.m. Last fall, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee were upset when Avenue Networks; and Bill LaPerch, CEO of AboveNet Inc. Randle Ballroom CDE Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, brought out a revised version of an earlier draft of the Broadband “We’ve gone through some rather turbulent times in terms of transitions at the FCC and in Internet Transmission Services (BITS) Act that went much further toward serving Bell companies’ terms of changes in the rules,” said COMPTEL President and CEO Earl Comstock, who will interests than before. The House committee draft differs in some respects from the leading Senate lead today’s discussion. “Many of these companies have had to do extreme makeovers of their bill on telecom reform, Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act, which was introduced business plans to continue to function. I think these folks have been successful at making that transition.” last summer by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., but in overall thrust, the two measures are largely in sync. Pac-West, for example, has transitioned from a regional CLEC to a nationwide enabler of custom phone companies. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduced the “Digital Age Communications Act of 2005” in December 2005. It The company divested its retail CLEC business in a sale to TelePacific Communications and is in the midst of expand- also takes a laissez-faire approach to broadband. ing its network nationally to provide a platform bridging the PSTN and the Internet for VoIP, wireless, Internet and other “The common issues most COMPTEL members are concerned about is where does interconnection and service providers. access to networks fit into the picture?” said Comstock. And, First Avenue is formerly Advanced Radio Telecom Corp. (ART), a peer to the ill-fated LMDS providers. He concedes today’s roundtable is, in part, “an effort to help educate the industry on the potential impacts of ART filed and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2002. Its name change was not merely cosmetic; proposed changes to the law and also galvanize them to be heard in Congress and see that the changes that would the company has been rebuilding with new assets (it bought Teligent’s 24GHz spectrum licenses in 2004) and a adversely affect them would not be made.” primarily wholesale business model. The lack of required interconnection and the imposition of a two-tiered Internet are among the provisions Comstock said the roundtable presents an opportunity to talk about these transformations and “how they see poten- most likely to inspire opposition, he said. ILD Celebrates 10th Anniversary Like COMPTEL, ILD (Booth 709) too is celebrating an anniversary. The company has announced its 10th tomer’s local phone bill. This also allows local phone companies to open anniversary, highlighting a decade in which it has seen tremendous growth while maintaining financial stability. their bills to a wide range of services, from ISPs and messaging to online At the time ILD was formed in 1996, the company was solely a switchless reseller of long-distance and operator periodicals and other subscription communication services. Today, services. Later, ILD added other services with the acquisition of the operator services division of WorldCom in August ILD’s alternatives to the credit cards now help service providers and 1997. Along with that acquisition came a set of LEC billing agreements, the central assets from which ILD’s payment merchants reach new markets using the monthly phone bill. services division evolved. According to Eddie Brooks, CFO of ILD, “To survive and grow in this In December 1997, ILD acquired InterLink, a prepaid calling card provider with the infrastructure to support alter- industry, we had to make sure we managed the business efficiently. We run native payment options, such as prepaid calling for medical and correctional facilities and payphone operators. The each division as an autonomous business with corporate oversight and company added more than a dozen such prepaid providers from 1997 to 2000, and in 2001, that operation expanded direction. This management strategy has proven to be successful across the further with the addition of the global travel card business of Cable & Wireless and the infrastructure that supports it. board because each division treats every dollar like their own. We are in a strong financial position right now, and that’s 2001 saw the addition of a third division, the ILD ROLLCALL Business Conferencing division. ROLLCALL in part due to the fiscal responsibility in this structure.” uses Avaya Inc. bridges to provide automated and live conferencing services, Web conferencing and collaboration to Brooks added, “We had to show our customers that we could operate efficiently so they could be reassured that enterprise accounts, agents and resellers, as well as disaster recovery for larger carriers. we would be around tomorrow. We got to know their various products and related business practices, and then devel- The company has processed securely more than $2 billion through its payment division, clearing all kinds of oped innovative tools to help them manage and grow their businesses, just as we are growing our own. We strive to communication-related services, including voice, content and value-added services. be the least-cost provider of the most innovative products in the industry.” For example, ILD provides many payment options for customers of EarthLink Inc., offering check by phone, ILD is celebrating its “Decade of Excellence” with various new business promotions for the COMPTEL com- LEC billing or phone billing. This means the monthly charge for EarthLink’s ISP services can be put on the cus- munity, like its a referral program, which pays customers 10 percent of any 10 leads that generate new business.

COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 11 Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 12

C-CAMS Signs Kansas City’s Pager & Phone Co. C-CAMS Inc. (Booth 1513) has signed The Pager & Phone Co., one of Kansas City, Missouri’s most suc- The CCAMS solution also originates all customer, account, service and workflow activity in billing so every cessful niche communications companies, as a customer of its CCAMS customer service and billing suite. billable event is captured and reported as soon as a customer’s services are provisioned. The application’s auto- Under the terms of its sales contract, C-CAMS will provide The Pager & Phone Co. with a full-service solu- matic operation and reporting capabilities allow users to verify revenue flow from network activity to the cus- tion that incorporates customer care, account maintenance, service order processing, provisioning, client field tomer’s final invoice with virtually 100 percent accuracy. service, workflow management, rating, commissioning, billing, point-of-sale and accounts receivable. “We needed a robust, malleable software that could run a large, growing business with the diligence and The CCAMS suite is a multitiered, browser-based solution, with all of its modules designed as part of an attention to detail we enjoyed as a small company,” said Dale Schmick, CEO of The Pager & Phone Co. integrated solution, not as code pieced together as new applications emerge. Feature-rich and flexible, the “CCAMS was the only software on the market that delivered.” CCAMS suite integrates quickly and easily across LANs and WANs. Established in 1995 as an affordable communications provider for low-income customers, The Pager & The solution supports ILECs and CLECs by handling all aspects of TCSI code processing, VoIP, TDMA, Phone Co. offers cellular/PCS service from Boost, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., as well CDMA, GSM, CDPD, GPRS, SMS, HSCSD, NENA 2, CDR, IPDR and DDR rating, taxation interface, and as paging, long-distance service, prepaid residential telephone service and prepaid Internet access. LNP conversions. With 107 employees and 17 stores in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, The Pager & Phone Co. has been one According to C-CAMS, its technology allows customer service representatives to provision services direct- of Kansas City’s fastest-growing companies for the past seven years and is recognized as the area’s second- ly, in seconds; new service plans also can be deployed almost as quickly as they can be conceived. largest minority-owned business. Cisco Track to Address Next-Gen Profitec Releases VoIP-Specific Offerings Profitec Billing Services (Booth 1119) has announced the release of its newest product offerings tailored to meet Networking and Security the billing and OSS requirements of a wide array of VoIP service providers. Profitec’s OmniVON combines service bureau billing, CRM, customer care, trouble management, provisioning, The technology track sponsored tomorrow by Cisco Systems Inc. TECHNOLOGY TRACK online order entry and electronic bill presentment into a single integrated solution paid for on an “as-you-drink” basis. will address hot topics such as how to migrate from legacy to next- As a service bureau offering tailored to startup VoIP communications companies, OmniVON has modest startup generation networks, how best to secure networks, and interoperability Tuesday, March 21 expenses and very low minimums. challenges and solutions. THE CTO VIEWPOINT: “For more than 20 years Profitec has been successfully working with hundreds of telecommunications com- “The CTO Viewpoint: What Keeps Them Awake at Night?” session first WHAT KEEPS THEM panies to meet billing and administrative software requirements for a wide range of service providers,” said thing Tuesday morning will feature Keith Coker, CTO at Nuvox; Timothy AWAKE AT NIGHT? Randy Minervino, vice president of sales and marketing. “We currently support almost 30 traditional telepho- Dunne, CTO at RCN Corp.; and Cisco’s Mike Koons, senior director of U.S. ny providers who have added VoIP to their current product portfolio. This has allowed us to demonstrate that service provider systems engineering, as the session leader. 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. our traditional OmniBill offering can successfully mix legacy products with voice over network applications to Coker said his No. 1 concern these days is interoperability — specifically, Randle Ballroom E produce integrated billing and administrative solutions.” how to validate interoperability between equipment such as softswitches, ses- Profitec has brought online many new client companies that do not offer traditional telephony products and sion border controllers, ATAs and integrated access devices in the telephony SECURING THE IP may not have the requisite infrastructure and industry experience helpful to facilitate the success of their busi- environment. Another key focus for Coker is how to expand his existing oper- NETWORK: THE ness strategies. “For new businesses entering this complex marketplace, there are many facets of their business ational support systems to support the next-generation network environment. SERVICE PROVIDER which require critical attention,” said Minervino. “For them, our goal is to take on as much of their billing and NuVox operates both legacy and next-generation networks today to support its IMPERATIVE support requirements as possible in order to free them to concentrate on launching their business, recruiting and small and medium business clientele. He also will address how to enable lega- 9:45 - 10:45 a.m. training a sales force and formulating their marketing attack strategies. cy OSSs to deliver customer self-fulfillment. Another key challenge for CTOs “It has been our experience that traditional telephony providers are operating in a mature environment utilizing a like Cox today, he said, is how to adapt from a telephony culture to the culture Randle Ballroom E ready pool of trained product sales people marketing proven technology to a receptive customer base,” he added. of managed services. THE FUTURE OF “However, due to the latency of voice-over-network offerings, consumers are cautiously adapting to the opportunity The Cisco-sponsored session on “Securing the IP Network: The Service INTERNET: IT DOESN’T and existing telephony sales people need to be re-educated on the technology and capabilities of this important new Provider Imperative” will discuss how important it is to offer a secure network END AT VOIP medium. Technical aspects need to be assimilated and ultimately presented to the prospect community in a non- and how service providers can use that as a differentiator. Among the speakers threatening manner. This alone requires great effort and expense to new service providers, who may also be engaged on this panel are Mitch Ferro, senior director of IP and enhanced services 11 a.m. - Noon in recruiting, training and filling support positions.” product management at Broadwing; Bob Moore, vice president of IT at Randle Ballroom E New wholesale service providers continually are entering the marketplace leading to “very nonstandard back- PAETEC Communications; and Randy Nicklas, vice president of engineering office procedures, which are continually changing,” said Minervino. “Dealing with underlying wholesale providers for XO Communications. Vic Northrup, vice president, U.S. Service Provider, requires a great deal of flexibility, and service initiation processes, which may require site surveys and other techni- Cisco Systems Inc., will act as the session leader. cal aspects. It has been our experience that now more than ever new market entrants require service providers who Ferro of Broadwing notes that the Internet is a double-edged sword. While it provides great opportunities to can take on as much of the responsibility as necessary to help them achieve their strategic business directions. To help enhance the efficiencies of businesses, there are security threats including viruses, spam and different types of attacks make it easy on this potential customer segment we are releasing a group of product offerings which de-emphasize that can intrude and prevent legitimate users from accessing a Web site or other data. “There’s a requirement to provide traditional telephony components and focus almost exclusively on voice-over-network requirements.” more security inherent in the connection that we provide the customer. At the same time, we’ll see standard Internet Profitec’s OmniVON combines market-proven VON billing and customer care capabilities; agent-based online access service, and here’s a secure Internet service. A kind of ‘clean pipe,’ is how we can talk about it,” said Ferro. order entry and sales management tools; and consumer-oriented EBPP systems into a single integrated solution. “The Future of Internet” session, meanwhile, will forecast the next disruptive wave of Internet services, such as Profitec provides server and Web-based software systems as well as service bureau billing and print/mail facilities. presence-based communications and mobility, integrated and rationalized communications. In addition to session OmniBill ASP goes one step further and eliminates the need for client-provided IT infrastructure by providing a host- leader Northrup of Cisco and Koons, speakers include Carl Drueckhammer, technology director at Syniverse, and Kirt ed OmniBill option while providing OmniAgent and OmniView software, which can operate on a client’s Web serv- Jorgenson, director of market management at Cisco. er. Hosted OmniBill enables client-powered customer service, provisioning and all other administrative components. Charter Communications,Level 3 FiberNet Telecom Group Showcases Sign Multiyear Voice Services Agreement New Subsidiary,ENUM Offering Charter Communications Inc. and Level 3 Communications (Booth 210) have extended their rela- FiberNet Telecom Group Inc.’s Availius subsidiary this week showcased its Phonomenum offering at tionship with a new, multiyear agreement under which Level 3 will support Charter’s expansion of con- COMPTEL PLUS. sumer and small business telephone services. Level 3’s (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service will enable With a diverse portfolio of services for network operators and data facility user, Availius custom designs, Charter to reduce the time-to-market associated with its deployment of VoIP-based services. implements and manages network, infrastructure and business solutions to solve critical business issues. The agreement extends the portfolio of services Level 3 delivers to Charter, which currently includes Phonomenum, launched last October, is an ENUM-based technology platform that enables carriers, cable (3)Voice Termination service, (3)CrossRoads IP services, (3)Link Dark Fiber service and (3)Link operators and VoIP service providers to establish peering connections and exchange VoIP traffic. Intercity Private Line service. “Phonomenum answers the challenge of interconnecting multiple voice-over-IP service providers to direct- The latest service to be adopted by Charter, (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service, is a telephone solution ly exchange VoIP traffic,” said Ernest Hoffmann, vice president of engineering for FiberNet. “This platform that will increase the speed and efficiency of Charter’s launch of IP-based local and long-distance com- also incorporates a carrier-class implementation of ENUM to address the need for an extremely reliable, high- munications services. (3)VoIP Enhanced Local service provides local phone numbers, local number ly scalable service that can handle hundreds of millions of phone numbers as demand for VoIP service grows.” portability, fixed location E911 and local trunking. Level 3 is able to offer these services in 4,300 rate ENUM refers to the Internet Engineering Task Force protocol that maps telephone numbers to resources on centers, in part as a result of its CLEC status in all 50 states. the Internet in much the same way a Domain Name System architecture maps domain names and host names “By working with Level 3, we can leverage a full suite of local, long-distance and E911 voice serv- to IP addresses. It is a key technology that enables VoIP calls to be routed directly between VoIP providers. ices to accelerate our telephone deployment and expand into new markets,” said Ted Schremp, senior FPL FiberNet is a wholesale carrier in Florida. FiberNet Telecom Group owns and operates integrated inter- vice president and general manager of Charter Telephone. “Our relationship with Level 3 provides speed- connection facilities and diverse transport routes in the two gateway markets of New York/New Jersey and Los to-market benefits which will allow us to more quickly capture market share.” Angeles, designed to provide comprehensive broadband interconnectivity, enabling the exchange of traffic over In addition to unlimited local and long-distance calls, Charter Telephone customers receive caller ID, multiple networks. voice mail, call waiting and call waiting with caller ID, speed dialing for eight different numbers, and anonymous-call rejection. The Charter network also has a backup system in case of a power failure, and customers benefit from Charter Telephone’s E911 emergency service. Equinox Signs GTA As a wholesale provider and enabler of network solutions, the Level 3 network makes it possible for cable companies like Charter to implement quick-to-market solutions, providing a competitive advantage Equinox Information Systems (Booth 1317) has announced that TeleGuam Holdings LLC (known as GTA), has to retain and build its customer base, according to Level 3. licensed its Collector and TeleLink software. “The cable segment is an important area of focus for Level 3 and we are excited to extend Collector and TeleLink comprise the Equinox mediation platform for downloading and integrating usage data our relationship with a leading cable operator like Charter,” said Myrle McNeal, senior vice president from the switch-to-billing applications and other operational support systems. GTA will use the mediation software of local voice services for Level 3. “Our nationwide local voice network, extensive voice experience to download usage data from its Nortel DMS 250 switch. and the scalability and flexibility of our solutions have a proven track record of helping cable TeleGuam Holdings, in partnership with Shamrock Holdings and General Electric, purchased the assets of the operators quickly introduce and immediately differentiate their voice services from traditional Guam Telephone Authority in 2005. It provides fixed landline communications to nearly 65,000 business and res- phone service.” idential customers in Guam along with the MPULSE GSM mobile phone service.

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Lightyear Receives Cisco-Powered ASC Announces Carrier Network Status for XSTREAM VoIP Relationship Management Solution Lightyear Network Solutions LLC (Booth 1016), a residential and business telecommunications service provider, Advanced Software Concepts (ASC, Booth 1517), a tailored telecommunications contract lifecycle manage- has earned Cisco Systems Inc.’s Powered Network status for its Lightyear XSTREAM VoIP. ment (CLM) solutions provider, announced today at the COMPTEL show its new Carrier Relationship Management Based on Cisco’s network technology, Lightyear XSTREAM VoIP provides customers with an array of advanced solution. With ASC’s CLM engine, ASC Contracts, at its core, this solution automates the buying, selling, pricing, telephone customization options that far exceed the capabilities of traditional VoIP services, according to Lightyear. quoting, ordering and auditing activities between carriers. “Cisco Powered Network status provides instant integrity and credibility to all of our VoIP products as business “ASC appreciates that the single biggest purchases and sales made by telecommunications organizations are owners understand and respect the Cisco endorsement of our network,” said Sherman Henderson, Lightyear’s CEO. with other carriers. It is critical to their overall financial success that they be able to effectively manage these carri- Cisco developed the partnering program to distinguish service providers offering the highest levels of quality and er relationships,” said Shawn L. King, president and CEO of ASC. “ASC’s Carrier Relationship Management solu- reliability. Less than 400 service providers in the world are members of the Cisco Powered Network. tion efficiently manages the selling and buying of network services while facilitating the billing and invoice valida- “Having the Cisco Powered Network status differentiates us as a service provider,” Henderson said. “There are spe- tion processes.” cific requirements regarding Cisco in the use of our solutions, and we meet or exceed those criteria, guaranteeing a ASC’s Carrier Relationship Management offering is a Web-based solution that leverages the “ASC Best high-quality level of service for our VoIP network.” Practices” framework and is tailored to each carrier’s environment and processes. The solution encompasses man- Participation in the Cisco Powered Network program demonstrates to individuals and businesses agement of carrier agreements, automation of the carrier RFQ process and carrier order tracking while providing a Lightyear’s ability to provide industry-leading services that are based on Cisco solutions. The service central tool to facilitate off-net circuit auditing. provider also benefits from its Cisco Powered Network designation through joint marketing and technology Using ASC’s Carrier Relationship Management solution, carriers have a platform in which all carrier buy, sell sharing with Cisco. and reciprocal agreements are housed and managed through a single process and with a central, easy-to-access “We are pleased to have a network provider such as Lightyear,” said Nick Bauer, major account manag- repository, according to the company. Armed with a complete picture of its suppliers, carriers will be able to better er for Cisco. “The company is committed to delivering high-quality, secure and reliable services to its cus- negotiate terms and conditions, isolate unneeded facilities, and definitively identify supplier invoice problems. The tomers, meeting the most stringent standards for network reliability and performance.” net result is improved control over off-net carrier costs. PacketFront Helps PAXIO Deliver Compass Global Leverages Sansay Advanced FTTH to Bay Area Session Control for Cost-Effective VoIP PacketFront Inc. (Booth 421) has announced that Anaheim, Calif.-based PAXIO Inc., a CLEC providing Compass Global Inc. (Booth 423), a leading operator of IP-based international voice and data communications Internet and VoIP services, has chosen PacketFront’s unique BECSTM control and provisioning system for the networks, is using Sansay Inc.’s VSX VoIP session control systems to minimize operating costs while maximizing deployment of advanced IP services in new residential developments in California. the QoS to hard-to-reach destinations. “We had originally been looking to complement our TDM switch with VoIP, Working closely with one of the nation’s largest home builders, PAXIO is offering FTTH to the rapidly but it quickly became obvious that the world was moving toward a global VoIP-to-VoIP infrastructure,” said Dean growing technology hub of California’s Bay Area. PAXIO’s FTTH network offers homeowners virtually unlim- Cary, founder and CEO of Compass Global. “Sansay was the only company who really listened, understood and ited bandwidth that provides Internet connection speeds of up to 1gbps, a speed far superior to those provided appreciated the significance of what we wanted to do.” by telephone or cable networks, according to PacketFront. This allows homeowners to easily download movies As a result of converting to an IP-based infrastructure based on Sansay systems, and tight integration with their from the Internet, effortlessly conduct multiple downloads at one time and use VoIP services. PAXIO offerings in-house Global Traffic Management software, Compass Global enjoyed immediate gains in performance and prof- start as low as $26.50 per month. itability for both its wholesale and retail networks. BECS automates the IP services delivered across the new FTTH infrastructure to disparate geographical sites “Before we migrated to Sansay, our TDM switch alone cost between $75,000 (and) $90,000 per month for and provides support and management facilities to each site. PAXIO is able to manage all end users from a central- power and other environmentals, with DS3s, SS7 links and other facilities adding another $100,000,” Cary said. ized location, which has raised customer service standards and reduced resources required for moves, additions and “With the new IP infrastructure we can replace what used to take up 2,500 square feet with four Sansay units the changes to subscriber services. size of DVD players and consume less power than a hair dryer. We’re saving $180,000 (to) $200,000 each month “PacketFront has provided us with some sophisticated new tools that help us deliver on our motto ‘True Broadband, and our quality improved dramatically by eliminating conversions of voice traffic between TDM and IP.” True Choice’,” said Phillip Clark, president of PAXIO. “We are a rapidly growing company, dealing with broadband deployments over a vast geographical area. As such, it is vital that we have complete control over our networks from a central location, and that we can troubleshoot problems quickly and efficiently. We feel the introduction of PacketFront equipment and management systems will have a significant long-term effect in reducing OPEX.” NGT Launches VoIP Rental Service To keep pace with the high demands of PAXIO’s customer base, a more sophisticated Layer 3 design was nec- New Global Telecom Inc. (NGT) has launched its IPower session border control leasing service, giving carriers essary to manage advanced FTTH services. This was achieved by replacing PAXIO’s existing access layer with exclusive access to a fully licensed and supported NexTone Multiprotocol Session Controller (MSC). PacketFront ASR routers, managed by BECS. This enables PAXIO to provide service control right up to the net- The services will be sold under the company’s General Telecom brand, and will complement existing IPartition work edge, while allowing the rest of PAXIO’s existing network infrastructure to be retained. hosted softswitch services. In addition to BECS, PacketFront has supplied PAXIO with its Subscriber Management Tool (SMT) and Helpdesk “This is the next logical step for many of our customers,” said NGT President and CEO Rich Grange. “IPower Management Tool (HMT) software solutions. clearly helps us serve the growing VoIP market and strengthens NGT’s leadership in outsourced wholesale VoIP SMT delivers self-registration and self-activation capabilities to end users, while HMT provides customer solutions to world-class carriers.” visibility and enables remote troubleshooting of problems. IPower options will include CDR reporting, enhanced call-rating, CDR-based alarming and automated least- “We are very pleased to be involved with such an exciting and up-and-coming company in California,” said cost routing capabilities. Martin Thunman, CEO of PacketFront. “The BECS system is ideal for challenging, large-scale deployments such Service providers using the new IPower rental services will have access to: Stand-alone MSC collocated at as those carried out by PAXIO. Not only does it offer complete automation and control over service provisioning, NGT’s world-class facilities; NGT bandwidth to handle higher traffic volumes; Maintenance support from highly but also offers high levels of functionality in vital areas such as security, traceability, QoS and conditional access.” trained and qualified NGT technicians; and 24/7 monitoring by the NGT NOC. Remi Communications DCI Voice Solutions Expands Selects MetaSwitch for IMS Least-Cost Routing Tables Remi Communications, a Pennsylvania-based smart communications provider, has selected MetaSwitch (Booth DCI Voice Solutions (Booth 612) announced it has expanded its Least-Cost Routing Table to include 513) for its IMS implementation. additional routing capabilities in response to a wide range of client quality and pricing requirements. The new Designed to address the challenge of delivering competitive, flexible telecommunications services to large enter- tables, referred to as DCILCR, offer clients comprehensive access to multiple carriers through five specialty prise and government users, Remi’s network is built on MetaSwitch’s proven session control, media/signaling gate- routing products: Select, Premium and Economy Domestic, and Select and Premium International. way and application server components. IMS call session control function is implemented by MetaSwitch CA9020 International calls terminated through U.S. domestic products will be routed through DCI’s Select call agent servers deployed in two hubs in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. MetaSwitch MG3510 media gateways are International LCR table. The domestic tiers are as follows: located throughout Remi’s serving area to achieve the levels of redundancy and reliability demanded by Remi’s • Select: This table is DCI’s original U.S. domestic LCR platform and was developed to provide access blue-chip customers. to multiple carriers offering a balance of price and quality. This is DCI’s standard U.S. domestic prod- In addition to robust call control and media gateways, Remi selected MetaSwitch for its award-winning IMS uct and the U.S. domestic component of DCILCR’s Premium International product. VoIP carriers and application server, the UC9000 unified communications system. The UC9000 platform delivers a compelling range aggregators are among the list of providers targeted. of new services integrating presence and instant messaging with traditional voice calling. These services are avail- • Premium Domestic: Large carriers, including ILECs and CLECs, can use expanded features such as able to all Remi subscribers, whether they are using IP phones or regular analog handsets. LRN availability. “I strongly believe in the potential of IMS to enable the ‘holy grail’ of convergence and an open feature creation • Economy Domestic: This product was designed for the most aggressive pricing needs. environment,” said David J. Malfara, Sr., Remi’s president and CEO. “I also knew that we needed a solution that was built for prime time, including the ability to deliver full equivalence for legacy Class 5 features including E911, As for international, U.S. domestic calls terminated through Premium International will be routed CALEA and LNP. MetaSwitch offered the only solution that provided proven Class 5 capabilities, including busi- through DCI’s Select U.S. domestic product. Calls terminated through Select International can be used in ness-class services, with an open IMS architecture. For our customers, this translates into continued support of all conjunction with any of the three DCILCR U.S. domestic products. their existing features — plus the availability of exciting new services such as unified messaging, PC-based call con- • Select International: This is DCI’s original international LCR platform and is the companion to DCI’s trol and support for IP endpoints such as softphones.” Select U.S. domestic product. As DCI’s standard international product, Select International serves as the The MetaSwitch solution also provides an open platform for the development of new services in the future, international component of DCILCR’s U.S. Domestic Select, Premium and Economy products. based on the SIP standard as specified by IMS. • Premium International: This product is the international companion to DCI’s Premium Domestic product. “For carriers such as Remi, who are strongly focused on meeting customers’ next-generation communications The DCILCR products can be used separately or, when multiple solutions are desired, simultaneously by needs, MetaSwitch recognizes the integral role IMS will play in fueling an open applications environment that setting up a different trunk group for each product. promises to completely change the rules of telecom,” said Andy Randall, vice president of marketing for “The products presented by DCILCR enable us to offer one of the most comprehensive termination solu- MetaSwitch. “MetaSwitch is committed to enabling carriers to quickly and cost effectively architect their next-gen- tions available,” said DCI Executive Vice President Neil Rosenblit. “Companies seeking wholesale products eration networks for new multimedia-enhanced IP services — without compromising any of the legacy capabilities at wholesale rates are often limited to a very narrow scope of service. DCILCR and the flexibility it offers they need to continue supporting to enable a smooth migration.” widen that scope considerably.”

14 COMPTEL • MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2006 Comptel Spring06D1 3/30/06 9:32 AM Page 15

ADVA Releases Enhanced Fiber Service Platform ADVA Optical Networking Inc. (Booth 214) recently announced the The FSP 3000 highlights the following new features: general availability of a new release of its flagship optical platform, the • 40gbps Linespeed — New transponders/muxponders offer unprecedent- • Slimline Shelf — With single-rack-unit height, ADVA’s product offers Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000. Combining new features into a WDM ed scalability for the fastest commercially available speeds, effectively the industry’s smallest form factor. platform with an extensive application scope, the FSP 3000 Release 7 future-proofing the network for the next major step in higher bit rates. • GMPLS Control Plane — Generalized multiprotocol label switching allows a best-in-class value proposition across a broad range of networks, • Modular Hybrid ROADM — The modular ROADM creates control plane delivers increased provisioning and management intelli- according to ADVA. an incremental approach to offering dynamic network configurations gence. With Release 7, ADVA enables a staged approach, first attempt- The platform delivers three families of transponders and muxponders without the high cost and complication of full ROADM architectures. ing open shortest path first (OSPF)-routing and then constraint-based — access, core and enterprise — which enhance the ability of carriers • Raman Amplification — New amplifier modules offer a single-span routing for network traffic when necessary. and enterprises to evolve their networks, deliver new services and imple- reach of up to 200 km to extend network distances beyond 600 km with- • GFP and OTN Multiplexing — Standardized generic framing proce- ment systems that are easy to use. out regeneration. dure and optical transport network aggregation capabilities support “The new FSP 3000 release represents a significant step in next- • 80 Wavelengths — Increasing from 64 wavelengths in prior releases, interoperability between ADVA and other industry devices. generation WDM transport while integrating multiple advanced features the 80-wavelength capability allows up to 640 applications to be trans- • Tunable DWDM lasers — Ease of use, cost savings on sparing and into a single world-class platform,” emphasized Brian P. McCann, ported over a single fiber pair. network planning simplification streamline DWDM network deploy- ADVA’s chief marketing and strategy officer. “This platform takes our • 4G Fiber Channel and 4x Gigabit Ethernet Muxponder — Support for ments. optical/Ethernet innovation strategy to a higher level and provides the the 4G network interface leverages the cost-per-bit benefits of 4gbps TDM • Pluggable SFPs — The universal small form-factor pluggable port most versatile optical provisioning platform in the industry.” aggregation compared to muxponders with 10gbps or 2.5G line interfaces. design provides expanded flexibility, reduced logistics and sparing costs The new release will be sold directly by ADVA and through all the for local interfaces and CWDM or DWDM remote interfaces. company’s sales partners, including Fujitsu Network Communications • G.709 Digital Wrapper — The ITU standard enables more seamless integration with other devices and provides SONET/SDH-like OAM visibility, • Single Wavelength Add/Drop — This feature enhances scalability on a Inc. and Siemens Information and Communication Networks Group. offering significant enhancements over the capabilities of SONET/SDH. more granular basis than a banded or full-band WDM add/drop node. Vertek Launches Industry-First Managed Financial-Assurance Program Vertek Corp. (Booth 1519), a leading provider of business solutions, process outsourcing and business consulting With MFAP, Vertek captures, discovers and automates existing business rules, and streamlines data man- for the telecommunications industry, announced today the release of its Managed Financial Assurance Program (MFAP). agement routines so that employees and systems operate more efficiently. The system provides the docu- Vertek’s MFAP is a hosted data management platform offering state-of-the-art analytical tools specifically engi- mented proof that service providers need to support dispute claims and have timely credits issued. neered to acquire, validate and reconcile the accuracy of service providers’ monthly operating costs and billing, all at MFAP enables customers to monitor the progress of monthly vendor costs, network utilization and cus- a low fixed monthly fee, without CAPEX or integration expenses. MFAP addresses service providers’ needs for cost tomer revenue performance through an online Web portal that offers a comprehensive list of configurable management and vendor invoice administration, revenue assurance, product profitability and margin analysis. reports including: vendor scorecard, billing account reporting, invoice summary and detail, vendor usage “Whether you are a CLEC reselling services from multiple partners, or a carrier engaging with a new content charges, revenue assurance discrepancy and scorecard reporting, customer margin performance, vendor mar- provider partner for DSL or IPTV services, chances are you are experiencing some revenue leakage, unnecessary ven- gin performance, carrier traffic analysis and trending, and vendor invoice dispute and settlement tracking. dor costs and invoice overpayment,” said Brad Soutiere, president and COO of Vertek. “MFAP resolves these issues “The typical service provider, large or small, gets files, disks and thousands of pages of invoices from while optimizing the operating costs and revenues for new service offerings. Vertek has developed the interoperation, vendors every month with various detailed charges for network access, leased facilities and equipment, billing reconciliation and settlement standards for this offering that enables service providers to determine the health new content services, service charges, directory items, to name a few,” said Tom Nolting, senior director of their partnerships and to gauge how well their partners are living up to commitments specified in existing contracts of Vertek’s Financial Assurance Services. “These invoices need to be rationalized and reconciled with and SLAs.” growing volumes of usage transactions, order and inventory records, and contract and enterprise data, Vertek’s MFAP removes the considerable time and resources required to administer and process vendor invoic- often in disparate formats that make it very difficult to match up and validate. MFAP can save service ing and charges internally, and gives carriers access to meaningful exceptions and analysis of financial performance. providers millions of dollars by catching billing discrepancies, collecting lost revenues, resolving historical It finds the source of discrepancies that cause unnecessary costs, record fallout, pervasive data integrity issues, miss- disputes, analyzing contract-to-bill and switch-to-network discrepancies and by reducing customer imple- ing accounts and uncollected revenue. mentation timeframes.” 3PV’s AssureSign Ensures Integrity of Electronic Signatures 3PV — Third Party Verification Inc. (Booth 1316) has launched an electronic signature called AssureSign that “Our proven encryption process ensures the utmost protection while eliminating time-consuming copying, fax- permits anyone with a computer to sign one or more documents securely over the Internet in a matter of minutes using ing and mailing,” said Brinkman. their mouse. No special equipment or software is needed, and the signature is legally binding. Here’s how it works: Users send the documents to be signed, along with the contact information for their customers, 3PV employs a patented process that, among other security features, adds a serial number and a watermark to the to 3PV’s dedicated, secure AssureSign Web site. 3PV sends each customer a secure e-mail that takes them to the signature and then encrypts them with the document. The sequence, which is seamless and immediate, yields the only AssureSign page where the document is housed. The customer is provided with easy-to-follow directions for how to sign service-based, electronic, handwritten signature on the market today, according to 3PV. the document simply using a mouse. Once the customer submits the signed document, 3PV employs its patented “Even more important than the efficiency of our AssureSign process is the integrity of the signature,” said 3PV’s process, stores the encrypted document electronically, and makes it accessible to both the company and its customer. CEO David Brinkman. “We can match the signature for authentication in much the same way as a traditional signa- AssureSign permits companies to obtain signatures anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes, not days or ture.” Should an AssureSign signature ever be copied fraudulently to another document, the watermark and serial weeks, according to Brinkman. He said the product is a perfect fit for not only the telecommunications industry, but number will not change, allowing 3PV to independently identify each signature and document signed, he explained. also lawyers, medical professionals, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, real estate developers and other businesses Furthermore, if a document is alleged to have been signed with AssureSign and the watermark and serial number are that require signatures on documents or agreements. missing, that signature and document is null and void. “It’s the simplest, most secure electronic signature available today,” Brinkman said. Four MVNOs Launch Info Directions’ CostGuard XG OSS/BSS Solution

Info Directions Inc. (Booth 520), a leading developer of net-centric billing, rating, order management, workflow and selling solutions for the telecommunications industry, has announced it has four service providers launching MVNO initiatives using CostGuard XG OSS/BSS software. Info Directions will manage rating, billing, customer care, electronic bill presentmentand payment, and channel CRM functions for their new and existing communications offerings. “This is a benchmark for Info Directions and for our clients. The MVNO market represents a significant opportunity to leverage existing customer relationships and enter new lines of business,” said Don Culeton, president of Info Directions. “Info Directions designed its wireless solutions to help reduce the time-to-market concerns facing service providers in today’s highly competitive mobile market. Each of our MVNO clients has a different business model for their offering and we are pleased that our solution supports them all.” The service providers launching MVNO services will target a range of markets from international travel- ers and affinity marketing groups to business and residential end users, said the company. Three of them are operating on the Sprint Nextel Corp. network and one is using Verizon Communications Inc. as a carrier. With Info Directions’ CostGuard XG solution, MVNOs can streamline their back-office operations and focus attention on customer care and revenue-generating initiatives such as product development, sales and marketing. In addition to handling new mobile services, each provider is leveraging Info Directions’ expertise to establish best practices for their wireless offering and other lines of service. CostGuard XG will manage their MVNO offering as well as other lines of business including local service, long-distance, calling cards, audio conferencing, data, VoIP and more. The ability to manage all their product offerings from a convergent environment was a key consideration by each MVNO in the selection of CostGuard XG. Several of Info Directions’ MVNO clients also have elect- ed to use the company’s sales CRM tool E-Finity and its online EBPP solution OnlineBill. “MVNOs need a partner with a flexible and scalable solution that allows them to customize their products and services to meet the needs of the customers they serve, as well as the experience to guide them through the challenges of entering a new line of business,” said Culeton. “It is our goal to help our MVNO clients launch their mobile business quickly and manage it successfully as it grows.”

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