Telecom in the News: April 2012

NWMAP likes to review the top Telecom news stories for each month. This is what was happening in March and April.

March wrapped up the Channel Partners Conference and Expo in Las Vegas. For a complete review: https://nwmap.com/2012-channel-partners-vegas-telecom-conference-and-expo-review

Other news:

Communications network provider MegaPath Corp.’s aggressive Ethernet over Copper buildout has put the carrier among the nation’s largest providers of EoC service.

In the past year, MegaPath has aggressively expanded its EoC footprint. In September, it announced it would provide service nationwide.

 Read more: MegaPath among largest Ethernet over Copper players – FierceTelecom http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/megapath-among-largest-ethernet-over-copper-players/2012-04-17#ixzz1soNqkrlT

Windstream is offering new disastor recovery service. The drive here is about unburdening a business from having to build their own disaster recovery capabilities themselves. By handing these processes to Windstream, they can replicate and recover critical servers and data center infrastructure in the cloud at a lower cost.

Integra Telecom is adding another page to its growing medium-to-large business service cookbook by launching a new set of optical wavelength services. Targeted at large enterprises, health care, and financial service companies, the new service provides metro-area and long-haul private networking for a set of customers that want high-bandwidth, dedicated network transport between their locations. Delivered over Integra’s DWDM-based fiber network, the focus is on providing customers flexibility and choice. They get the service with either a TDM or Ethernet interface in increments of 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, or 10 Gbps.

 
In April, EarthLink Business will unveil IT services for smaller, single locations. The provider has offered an enterprise version but wanted to target other organization sizes as well.
 
Cloud computing and services is all the buzz. Cloud computing service delivery has a strong business case that includes cost reduction, service acceleration, and improved service delivery quality and reliability. Before developing the business case, however, it is necessary to define cloud services because the term cloud has been overused.

2012 Channel Partners; Vegas Telecom Conference and Expo Review

 The 2012 Spring Channel Partners Conference & Expo concluded on March 29 in Las Vegas at the Caesars Palace. With record attendance, it was the largest exhibition and the greatest participant engagement of any previous event hosted by Channel Partners.

 Lennie Green’s Review: It was a great show and plenty of quality time with carriers, learning what’s new. Cloud technology was all the buzz. Many carriers offering paid by month services ranging from Hosted IP to email integration.

 Integra, along with Comcast, will be offering a Hosted Solution the 4th quarter of 2012. We’re interested in seeing that.

 Airespring was a great luncheon, introducing Bring Your Own Internet.

 Larry Wilcox, agent winner of the NWMAP Las Vegas contest, joined us. It was a comprehensive show overall and looking forward to next year’s spring show- end of Feb- beginning of March at the Venetian in Vegas.

Join us next year! How to be an agent: https://nwmap.com/contact-us/become-an-agent

 

Updating Your Telecommunications System…and Saving Money

In the past few years companies have become more aware of their spending, bottom lines, and an overall sense of frugality. The Telecom industry recognizes these needs among companies to stay lean during this economic climate, but has also recognized some flaws in this way of thinking. Interestingly enough, many companies believe they are keeping their spending to a minimum by not updating or researching new technology.

The sad truth is companies (large and small) are hanging onto old technology (existing equipment) that is costing them more money. They unwittingly think they’re saving money, but this couldn’t be further from reality. Telecom communications/solutions can reduce costs when updated and consolidated. If you think you’re stuck, you’re not. Carriers and agencies, such as NWMAP (Telecom Brokers), have plenty of solutions for you to save money while giving you the best Telecommunications system fit for your needs.

Frugality and familiarity with current systems can be a company’s worst enemy. There is value in hosted VoIP for instance and many companies aren’t recognizing this. If security, size of your company, or ease of use is a concern, your Telecom carrier or agent can address these issues and give you assurance and a clear plan. Hopefully we’ll see more companies recognizing the value within hosted VoIP communications and the increasingly popular Cloud Communications.

Free Quote: https://nwmap.com/contact-us/request-quote

Selecting a Hosted VoIP Provider

For businesses considering Hosted VoIP service, a few things must be done prior to selecting one. You’ll need to do some research, but we’ve provided a quick guide to assist you and make this initial step easier.

  • When doing your research, find service providers who have ample experience- 10+ years is sufficient.
  • Find out what is important to the provider/ Agents. If you go directly through a provider/carrier, then everything will be biased, often the sales agents don’t have much experience, and they are out to sell you (mostly what is good for them). A Telecom Broker/Agency such as NWMAP believes customer service is most important.
  • Access and network: Does your Agent or provider have access to multiple Hosted VoIP providers? And networks? This will enable them to have an unbiased professional opinion about the best Telecom technology for your business. This is a huge advantage that a single carrier can not provide.
  • What kind of support does the Agent have from the providers or extend to end-users? Obviously the benefit of Hosted VoIP is to not pay a phone repair guy $100/ hour. You want great support, from installation to training to solutions.
  •  Look for guarantees, disaster recovery, QoS (quality of service) and auto-failover protection. 

If you have additional questions that need to be answered, contact us: https://nwmap.com/contact-us

If you missed the first 2 parts of this informational multi-part blogs series on Hosted VoIP, click here:  https://nwmap.com/how-hosted-voip-works (part1) and https://nwmap.com/selling-hosted-voip (part 2)

More info on selecting VoIP: http://www.voipforbusiness.biz/business-voip-articles/office-telephone-systems-help-picking-out-the-ideal-system-to-your-requirements.html

How Hosted VoIP Works

As businesses are realizing they can buy more and better Telecom services for less, hosted VoIP services are becoming part of those solutions offered. People are discovering “The Cloud” and as a result, requests for hosted VoIP are substantially increasing. Making the leap to hosted VoIP,  providers and Agents have to learn about this new technology. This post will be the first of a 3-part series on Hosted VoIP with the goal of being helpful for both buyers and sellers.

What it is:Hosted VoIP is a service billed to the customer monthly. It’s powered from a provider’s network operations center and monitored by technical engineers. Users can lease phones, purchase some, or use existing and compatible gear.

Advantages: 

  • No need for expensive service techs, It’s all taken care of for clients.
  • If the customer’s office connectivity goes down, inbound calls still reach the phones and voice mails or can be sent through alternate routes.
  • Long distance and toll-free plans as well as software upgrades.
  • Hosted VoIP prioritizes voice, video, and data traffic to ensure quality of service.

Who is suited for this service?: Multi-location companies, Companies with phones from more than one vendor, businesses with off-site and traveling employees, Enterpises in need of disaster recovery and fail-over back-up, Customers in need of updated technology in general.

Interested in this service for your business? Contact us: https://nwmap.com/contact-us

Interested in selling Telecom services and products? Contact us: http://www.nwmap.com/contact-forms/how-to-become-an-agent.php