Birch Communications' wholesale division appoints new director, adds clients

Birch Carrier Solutions, the wholesale unit of Birch Communications, has appointed 30-year telecom industry veteran Greg Hogan as its director of business development.

Hogan comes to Birch from Ernest Communications where he served as that service provider's VP of client services. Birch is in the process of acquiring Ernest's customer assets, a deal scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2013.

Vincent Oddo, president and CEO of Birch, said in a release that "With Greg's help, we plan to expand our wholesale portfolio in the near future, with new territories, new products and new clients."

During the quarter it also signed six new wholesale carrier customers, including Bullseye Telecom, Belgacom, Staratos, Telaris, 382 Communications, and Primus Telecommunications.

Being able to announce these six customers is a big milestone for Birch as it only launched the wholesale division last February.

The wholesale division leverages the $50 million the CLEC spent to build out its network in the Southeast and Southwest, an effort that included its own organic efforts and the acquisitions of other regional service providers.

This February, Birch completed the final phase of its multi-year network upgrade and expansion project, during which it added 43 central office colocations, for a total of 290 COs, and 15 wireless towers for its wireless local loop services in five states.

For more:
- see the release

Related articles:
Birch's Covista acquisition extends its presence into 10 new states
Birch waives fees for Mississippi storm victims
Birch finishes IP network expansion to 290 central offices
Birch Communications gets $12 million from CoBank