Voice Services

AT&T rolls out U-Verse for SMBs

Pete Wylie — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:54:49 -0500

AT&T announced expansion of its U-Verse offering to small businesses in 70 of its current markets. The package will include its high-speed 18 Mbps internet service and static IP addresses for domain hosting for email or websites.

AT&T has lagged in targeting this sector, as Verizon's FiOS offering has been offered to small businesses for three years, and cable companies have aggressively targeted the SMB market as well.

The packages, called U-Verse High Speed Internet Business Edition, can serve up to 50 users at a time, with packages costing between $40 and $85 per month if the companies buy voice services as well. It will be $15 a month for eight static IP addresses, and businesses can opt for up to 128, for $40. The service will support free in-office wireless networking and security software, among other perks.

For more:
- see the Telephony article here

Qwest adds GSA services contract to Networx wins

Doug Mohney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:16:04 -0400

Qwest Government Services has been awarded the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) business under the GSA Networx contract.

The win has an expected value of $31 million, and it entails Qwest providing the GSA with a variety of voice services over the next 10 years, including switched and dedicated long distance and toll-free services. GSA has more than 13,000 employees.

Through the Networx contract, Qwest has racked up a number of wins over the past 30 days, including a $18 million, nine-year deal with NASA for voice and data services and $60 million worth of business from the Veterans Affairs (VA) department; in the latter contract, Qwest will supply voice and data services to the VA's 1,300 hospitals and offices.

Other Qwest Networx wins include the Social Security Administration, the National Labor Relations Board and the federal Railroad Retirement Board.

For more:
- MarketWatch runs Qwest announcement of GSA win. Article.

Telecom vet Lefar takes over at Vonage

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:12:43 -0400

Telecom industry veteran Marc Lefar, who has worked primarily in the wireless market for both Verizon Wireless and AT&T, among others, has been named CEO of VoIP service provider Vonage, replacing Jeffrey Citron. Lefar was the chief marketing officer of AT&T's Cingular Wireless when that company successfully reduced customer churn, and as Light Reading points out, that is experience much in need at Vonage, which has churn of more than 3 percent.

Vonage needs to press hard from a marketing perspective to get customers to think of it as a multi-play service provider (the company now has a deal to resell Covad Communications DSL service). The VoIP business also continues to be challenging as cable TV companies like Comcast continue to make progress with their own voice services, and telcos push themselves in the direction of Web 2.0-related voice applications and mash-ups.

For more:
- read this story at Light Reading

Related articles:
Vonage announced in May it will re-sell DSL from Covad. Vonage report
Vonage has faced scrutiny over its ability to pay down debt. Vonage report

Broadsoft contest aims to inspire mash-ups

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:00:52 -0400

VoIP platform vendor Broadsoft has initiated a voice application mash-up contest, becoming the latest in a string of vendors and carriers attempting to stoke the next generation of voice applications with a bid for dollars and some time under the spotlight. The other intended result is to make Broadsoft's platform more lucrative and useful to the vendor, its carrier customers and end users.

The Xtended Voice Mashup Contest will run through Sept. 2, and follows Broadsoft's recent efforts to add Web-base application programming interfaces to its Xtended platform, and to create an Xtended Marketplace initiative.

As traditional landline voice services continue to wane, the industry seems intent on accelerating the next era of voice applications with contests and other promotional escapades, but the market, of course, will have the final say on which new applications are the real winners.

For more:
- read this report at Telephony

Related articles:
Broadsoft recently announced more Web-friendly APIs Broadsoft report
BT has been encouraging new service development practices BT report

T-Mobile goes wide with home phone service

Dan O'Shea — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:09:16 -0400

The T-Mobile @Home VoIP service that the U.S. wireless carrier had been testing on a limited basis will be made generally available, the company is announcing today. The service, a stab at fixed-mobile convergence that could impact landline carriers, VoIP players and fellow wireless service providers, will cost $10 per month, definitely undercutting most other types of voice services.

The @Home service uses a Cisco Systems WiFi router that costs $50 from T-Mobile, but the router cost is subsidized with a two-year contract. Service providers of all kinds continue to test new FMC concepts, and the industry will be watching closely to see if @Home catches on.

For more:
- read this story at BusinessWeek

Related articles:
T-Mobile announced a trial of the service earlier this year T-Mobile report
Vodafone Italia has pursued a similar service Vodafone Italia report

Telco sector to pass $2 trillion revenue mark in 5 years

Jim O'Neill — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:45:41 -0400

Revenues from fixed voice services may be sliding downhill like a kid on a waterslide, but the telecom market has plenty of upside, says a new report from research firm In-stat, which is predicting a 5.7 percent annual bump in consumer telecom network services over the next five years with global revenues topping $2 trillion by 2012.

Study author Keith Nissen says that although mobile service will make up 60 percent of the revenue pie, the strongest growth will be in broadband and pay TV.

Some other points to note:

The number of VoIP subscribers will more than double in the next four years.
2008 is the year that revenue from Pay TV services surpasses revenues from fixed voice services.
By 2012 broadband revenue will be getting close to fixed voice service revenue.
While the Middle East and Africa region has the highest growth rate, the Asia-Pac region will be by far the largest market in 2012.

For more:
- See the In-stat release

Related articles:
U.S. broadband growth slowest since 2003 Broadband report
Credit Suisse recently downgraded telco stocks, partly on broadband concerns Credit Suisse report