US Signal selects Broadvox as a preferred SIP provider

US Signal selects Broadvox as a preferred SIP provider.
October 27th, 2010

New interconnect provides seamless Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
options for US Signal customers.

US Signal, a leading provider of MPLS data networks and dedicated Internet access in the Midwest, today announced its selection of Broadvox as their first preferred SIP provider. US Signal and Broadvox have established a dedicated connection providing US Signal Internet customer's seamless access to the Broadvox VoIP/SIP services.

Utilizing VoIP on the US Signal network, customers have experienced unmatched voice service while reducing monthly phone bills. Now with the US Signal and Broadvox peering relationship, US Signal Internet customers can enjoy same QoS provided excellence previously unavailable when using VoIP over the Internet. US Signal customers adding SIP trunking services from Broadvox can access the Public Switched Telephone network (PSTN) without
expensive local PSTN gateways and costly ISDN Primary Rate Interfaces (PRIs).

"US Signal is excited to launch our "Preferred SIP Provider Program" and we targeted Broadvox as our first preferred SIP provider because of their robust product offering and history of excellence. We are very happy about our peering connection and the simplicity it brings to meeting our customers VoIP and SIP trunking needs" said Steve Vander Pol, product manager for US Signal. "Using the US Signal network with QoS to access Broadvox SIP services provides the customer with a dedicated connection backed by a strong Service Level Agreement to ensure a high level of voice quality."

"Broadvox is very pleased to offer its services to customers of US Signal. US Signal has a well-deserved reputation for delivering quality broadband and service," said David Byrd, vice president of Marketing and Sales. "US Signal has an experienced and growing channel to sell and support its markets. This peering relationship will enable Broadvox to provide SIP
Trunks to expand those revenue opportunities and an industry leading SLA."

About US Signal
The US Signal debt-free, fiber optic network is one of the largest, fully deployed networks in the Midwest, covering Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri and Wisconsin. With more than 7,000 miles of long-haul fiber and over 900 miles of fiber optic metro rings in strategic tier-one, tier-two and tier-three markets, the US Signal optical backbone features Cisco Systems Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology and is designed with a SONET, redundant architecture. All of US Signal's services are delivered over this protected network to ensure resiliency, flexibility and scalability.

About Broadvox
Founded in 2001, Broadvox is a worldwide leader in providing integrated managed VoIP services to SMBs, enterprises and carriers. It has deployed one of the largest, full-featured global VoIP networks and is trusted by more than 250 telecommunications carriers, CLECs, ISPs and several thousand enterprises to terminate and originate over ten billion minutes annually.
The Broadvox network operations center provides the reliability, security and quality of service required by the world's most discriminating customers. Broadvox offers SIP Trunking, SIP origination and termination services and hosted communications solutions. Broadvox is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Please visit www.Broadvox.com for additional information.

Custom Value Pricing from Frontier

Custom Value Pricing Offers Frontier Communications' Customers Choice and Savings Choose More, Save More!

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct 25, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) has introduced "Custom Value Pricing," a new and simplified way for customers to pick and choose products that meet their needs and save money in the process. The customer decides the bundle of services best suited for their family, and Frontier's everyday low prices are discounted as the product bundle grows.

Custom Value Pricing is built around the customer experience. Frontier believes that customer conversations - whether by phone, email, tweets, or video - should be facilitated by their communications company. That is why Frontier customers can now mix and match all voice, video and data options and choose the right level of service - all while saving up to 15 percent.

"Most companies have prepackaged bundles of services, sometimes with a discount that has an expiration date," remarked Melinda White, Executive Vice President of Marketing and New Business Operations. "Frontier is inviting customers to build their own packages and receive additional discounts when any service is added. It's a brand new way of delivering
customer choice, simplifying the process and adding value. You no longer have to buy the four-pack bundle if all you want is the two-pack bundle."

White offered an example of the services customers can choose from. "We offer Digital Phone Unlimited -- which includes local and long-distance phone service - which could be combined with our High-Speed Internet service or our Peace of Mind product that offers Hard-drive backup, live 24/7 U.S.- based tech support and more. As the bundle grows, the discount grows -- up to 15 percent -- and you take only what you want."

Custom Value Pricing is available today for Frontier customers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.

"At Frontier it starts with listening to our customers. We want to make it easy and affordable to buy Frontier product bundles and easy to have conversations with us or your family, friends or customers," said White.

"Let us know what you think." Residential customers may call 877-866-0694 and Business customers 877-728-3956 for more information, or visit us online at www.frontier.com.

About Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications Corporation (NYSE: FTR) offers voice, High-Speed Internet, satellite video, wireless Internet data access, data security solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for small businesses and home offices, and advanced business communications Access Solutions for medium and large businesses in 27 states and with approximately 14,600
employees. Frontier's my fitv offers an extensive library of entertainment content, an easy-to-use site navigation /search function, and national and local TV content. More information is available at www.frontier.com, www.frontier.com/ir and www.myfitv.com.

SOURCE: Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications
Steve Crosby, 916-206-8198
SVP, Government and Regulatory Affairs
steven.crosby@ftr.com

Broadvox, Cypress Confirm Merger Plans

5 days ago by Khali Henderson, Editor in Chief, PHONE+

Seeking to quell rumors, VoIP providers Broadvox LLC, Dallas, and Cypress Communications Inc., Atlanta, issued a statement Friday confirming their intentions to merge. Because of the timing, few details of the transaction were disclosed.

David Byrd, Broadvox's vice president of marketing and sales, told PHONE+ the companies planned to give themselves another 30 days before determining details, including such things as structure, leadership and branding strategies. Because the companies are privately held, Byrd would not disclose revenues for the combined entity, but said Cypress and Broadvox are roughly the same size, so combining would create a company with twice either provider's revenue. In terms of employees, Cypress has 200 to Broadvox's 110, Byrd noted. Pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, the company expects the deal to close in 60-90 days.

In a press statement, Broadvox Chairman and CEO Andre Temnorod, attempted to put the brakes on the hype machine: "While we look forward to finalizing the transaction, it's important for our customers, partners and other stakeholders to know that it is 'business as usual' at both Broadvox and Cypress Communications."

So what do we know about the deal? For one thing, the companies have synergistic product line, addressing carrier, enterprise and SMB VoIP segments. Both offer hosted IP telephony products. Cypress offers a hosted unified communications services targeted at enterprises. Broadvox, meanwhile, launched in April its GO!VBX virtual PBX service (formerly GO!Hosted) for SMBs. Broadvox hosted PBX services are in addition to an existing SIP trunking portfolio it has been selling since 2007. It also has been offering wholesale SIP origination and terminating services to carriers for a decade.

Because there is no cross-over in the product lines, the companies did not expect its customers to be impacted by the merger. "Customers using Cypress' C4 IP product and those using Broadvox's GO!VBX will see no changes in their current feature sets, phones or technology platforms," the companies said in a press statement.

Between them the companies have more than 10,000 business customers (6,500 from Cypress and 4,000 from Broadvox) and about 300 wholesale carrier customers, Byrd said. In addition, Cypress will gain access to Broadvox's network backbone for direct origination and termination of voice traffic. Broadvox has more than 90 PoPs with major switching centers in Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami and Seattle. Broadvox also operates a NOC in
Cleveland.

Cypress also operates a nationwide layer 2 MPLS VPN with PoPs and local staff in 29 metro markets, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Tampa/Orlando, Miami, Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Stamford and Boston.

The companies have different go-to-market strategies. Cypress largely relies on direct sales while Broadvox uses an indirect sales channel. "We plan to marry the two models ..., but we want to minimize conflict," Byrd said.

"We ultimately will end up with software and services from Cypress that will strengthen our existing product offering and will broaden the line, so our channel should be very excited about that," Byrd said. "The ability for members of our channel to aggressively pursue large enterprise customers with a proven hosted platform and product suite – that should be of interest to them as well."

Business VoIP Revenue Up 8% in 1st half 2010

After seeing declines in 2009, the business voice-over-IP space is seeing
growth in 2010, according to Infonetics Research, which has released its
updated 2010 VoIP and Unified Communications Services and Subscribers
report.

Overall, revenues in the business VoIP increased 8 percent in the first half
of the year, and are expected to top out at 13 percent above 2009 numbers,
Infonetics noted. Part of that growth is attributable to a growing number of
hosted providers incorporating unified communication elements and mobility
into their standard offerings, which is creating new levels of service
differentiation.

The IP connectivity segment of the business VoIP services market became the
largest segment, surpassing the managed IP PBX and hosted VoIP/UC services
segments, Infonetics noted. In North America, consolidation continues to
drive the segment, with Comcast acquiring New Global Telecom and MegaPath
acquiring Speakeasy and Covad in the first half of the year.

On the residential side, the number of VoIP subscribers grew 10 percent
between the second half of 2009 and the first half of 2010 to 145.4 million,
according to the report.

Top 50 Channels Program Winners

• US Signal Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• PowerNet Global Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Smoothstone Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• AboveNet Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• ACC Business Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Accel Networks Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• ADTRAN Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• AireSpring Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Cbeyond Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Copper Conferencing Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Ernest Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Granite Telecommunications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Integra Telecom Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• MegaPath Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Verizon Business Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• NetWolves Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Star2Star Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• New Edge Networks Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• TNCI Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• tw telecom Selected as a PHONE+Top 50 Channel Program
• Nitel Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• TWC Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Qwest Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Avaya Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Broadview Networks Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Cisco Systems Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Covad Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Global Crossing Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Level 3 Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• TelePacific Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Windstream Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• One Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• PAETEC Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• Sprint Nextel Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program
• XO Communications Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program

US Signal Selected as a PHONE+ Top 50 Channel Program

PHONE+ magazine, a resource for the telecommunications indirect sales
channel, announced that US Signal Co. has been selected as a Top 50 Channel
Program. Details on this contest, including a list of all 50 winners, are
published in the October issue of PHONE+ magazine and in the online Channel
Program Guide. The winners also will be recognized at the Channel Partners
Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C., Sept. 20-22.

US Signal was selected from among hundreds of companies — carriers,
resellers, master agencies and hardware and software vendors — that
submitted their channel programs for the 2010 ballot. Winners were
determined by the more than 1,500 votes submitted Aug. 10-20 by indirect
sales partners.

"PHONE+ is proud to recognize these channel programs for their exceptional
service to the channel," said Larry Lannon, group publisher for PHONE+.
"These companies set a high standard for others in the indirect channel; how
much they're appreciated is evidenced by the number of partners that turned
out to vote for their favorites."

US Signal is a full-service fiber-optic solutions provider, offering a wide
range of carrier-class telecommunications solutions to carrier, wholesale
and enterprise customers throughout the Midwest. US Signal offers unlimited
high-speed capacity, colocation services and also works with customers to
design and build new network construction projects.

PHONE+ is the country's leading resource for communication distribution
channels. For more than two decades, PHONE+ has been the undisputed leader
in providing news, analysis, education and peer-to-peer networking to the
indirect sales channels serving the communications industry. It is the
unrivaled resource for agents, brokers, VARs, systems integrators,
interconnects and dealers that provide cloud-based communications and
computing services and associated CPE, applications and managed and
professional services.
PHONE+ includes a monthly print publication, a Web resource, daily and
weekly e-newsletters, webinars, e-books, directories and buyer's guides.
PHONE+ is available on Twitter and Facebook and it hosts the channel
community at the Channel Partners Network on LinkedIn.
PHONE+ also hosts the twice annual Channel Partners Conference & Expo. The
fall conference is Sept. 20-22 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention
Center in Washington, D.C. The spring conference is set for March 13-15,
2011, at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

PAETEC-Cavalier Combo Positive for Channel

PAETEC Holding Corp.'s pending acquisition of Cavalier Telephone Corp., a full-service telecom company serving the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southeastern United States, is expected to have a positive impact on the companies' indirect sales channels, according to the respective channel chiefs and some partners PHONE+ spoke to following announcement of the
transaction on Monday.

Buying Cavalier pushes PAETEC from about $1.58 billion in annual revenue to $1.95 billion, executives said on Monday, when the deal was announced. PAETEC will pay $460 million in cash and, in return, own valuable assets including Cavalier's Intellifiber Networks division. PAETEC will boast 10,609 metro fiber-route miles and 37,023 total fiber-route miles when the
deal closes.

PAETEC Channel Chief Donna B. Wenk told PHONE+ the acquisition will further strengthen both companies' agent programs. "Cavalier has had a successful channel program and their agents will share in our larger nationwide network and product portfolio," Wenk said. "For existing PAETEC agents, the fiber assets that Cavalier has will help our PAETEC partners serve high-bandwidth businesses with new options for access and transport."

Michael Gough, the new channel chief at Cavalier, said his team is "excited about the merger and look forward to working with such a strong organization." However, he noted that until the transaction closes, which could take up to six months, it's business as usual. "For now, there are no immediate changes to my team or our direction, nor do I see any forthcoming any time soon. My current direction is 'business as usual' and driving sales for September and meet our revenue objectives," he said.

PAETEC runs its channel in a distributed manner. There are four geographical regions with a regional president responsible for all sales and service in that region. Under each regional president is a vice president of channel sales who is responsible for channel sales and management of agent partners in that region. Wenk provides coordination and consistency among the regions.

Cavalier relaunched its channel program in 2010 with Gough at the helm. In the short time he has run the channel, Gough has revamped the agent contracts, beefed up the staff and systems supporting the channel.

Nevertheless, agents also see the upside in the deal. "We see consolidation among CLECs in a positive light in general," said Adam Edwards, president of Telarus Inc., which is a master agent for both PAETEC and Cavalier. "In this particular instance, we're thrilled to see two carriers with a channel focus combining. The increased network density should lower costs for PAETEC
as well as reduce downward pricing pressure in the shared footprint."

Another PAETEC agent told PHONE+ off the record he hoped that Cavalier's assets would help PAETEC better compete against lower-cost providers, such as ITC/Deltacom, in the Southeast region.

AT&T Settles With IRS, Takes $300 Million Hit

Shares of AT&T Inc. were down 7 cents about an hour before Wall Street's close on Monday as news circulated that the company will pay $300 million to the Internal Revenue Service in the fourth quarter.

AT&T said in a regulatory filing late last Friday it has settled with the IRS over issues from its 2008 federal tax return. AT&T tried to take some deductions that are not allowed.

Still, the news wasn't all bad for AT&T. The service provider also noted on Oct. 1 it will show an $8.3 billion gain in the third quarter to cover wireless-assets depreciation. In the filing, AT&T said "the cash flow impacts of the settlement are expected to be recognized over a 15-year
period," which started two years ago.

AT&T's stock price had fallen 7 cents per share by 2:56 p.m. Eastern, down to $28.74. The operator's 52-week low is $23.78.

Level 3 Communications Inc

Level 3 Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that it has enhanced its managed services capabilities through a new agreement with Presidio Networked Solutions, a managed IT services provider.

Working in tandem with Presidio, Level 3 will leverage equipment from industry hardware vendors such as ADTRAN, Cisco, Fortinet and Riverbed Technology in support of its managed services solutions for enterprise and government customers.

The partnership with Presidio will allow Level 3 to streamline its fulfillment, provisioning, management and repair of customer premise equipment-based services, including managed router, firewall, and wide area network (WAN) optimization.

"As most enterprises rethink their network architecture to support virtualization and cloud-based services, many will make the strategic decision that running networking hardware is not critical to ongoing revenue generation," Ted Chamberlin, research vice president at Gartner Inc., said in a media statement. "Many will look to their incumbent carrier, infrastructure and IT services partners to provide that level of ongoing configuration and change management with aggressive, but relevant, service-level agreements."

The services will be available for sale through the company's indirect sales channels. "There is a definite demand for these types of services, and many of our partners already do offer some of these themselves," said Russell Shriver, vice president of data and IP services for Level 3. "However, there is also a range [of our partners] that don't offer any of these, and this
gives them the ability to now broaden their own portfolio as they sell into their accounts."

"What this partnership will now help them do is add incremental value that will make it more relevant to the customer, satisfying a broader need for those enterprises," he added.