Peter : On Rad's Radar?
Peter
| Peter Radizeski of RAD-INFO, Inc. talking telecom, Cloud, VoIP, CLEC, and The Channel.

July 2011

You are browsing the archive for July 2011.

CLEC Frustration Part II

July 28, 2011

One reason that the ILEC's have been frustrated with CLEC's and spend so much effort frustrating their orders is due to the Lack of Value that the CLEC's -- in general -- bring to the market place.

Resellers, Rebillers, switchless, UNE-P, and the like add nothing to the ecosystem, except lower rates. And this has been the case before the Telecom Act of 1996.

Along comes VoIP and what's the first thing the Industry decides: Hey! Let's sell it for less than TDM!  SIP trunking, same thing. 



CLEC Frustration with RCF

July 27, 2011

Two weeks. It took 2 weeks for a CLEC to tell me that they would no-bid a quote for RCF. Three phone conversations where I spelled out plainly that the customer wanted two POTS lines (analog phone lines) and RCF (remote call forward service - basically a phone number on the switch that forwards to another number.) Seems simple enough, right? Nope.

Sales Stalking

July 27, 2011

With the loss of any privacy today online, cyber stalking for prospecting is easier. I know it sounds sinister, but the best way to sell is to know your prospect. Know if they NEED your service. Know if they can afford your service.

Hosted VoIP Valuations

July 25, 2011

NPRG Insights suggests that hosted VoIP valuations are rising. I don't think so. I privvy to some info that points me to the fact that many valuations are based on not revenue, but what the investors want to cash out. Sometimes that looks good.

Channel versus Direct

July 20, 2011

When I speak to carriers about the Channel, it's usually through gritted teeth. Most carriers have a love-hate relationship with the Channel. 

Carriers: Agents aren't exclusive. They aren't pitching us first and foremost.

Me: DUH!



InterNAP Sweeps the Legs of Agents

July 20, 2011

In March, InterNAP notified agents that it would be making changes to the Agent program. It was going Master-centric.  According to the phone call I just received, 400+ agents that have agreements with InterNAP were given the boot. With 30 days notice, most carrier agreements allow for cancellation.

How Not to Interact on LinkedIn

July 19, 2011

I received this email from a contact on LinkedIn:

I asked the contact if it was a mass email. He replied yes. And asked him not to send me any more mass emails. He replied, "You have been removed as a LinkedIn connection.

Ethernet is Spreading

July 18, 2011

So many notices this week about Ethernet. It's the preferred protocol for most businesses. (No one wants to buy a DS3 card and configure it, I guess). Ethernet is becoming more and more available as the delivery protocol for Internet bandwidth, MPLS, IP/VPN, and Private Line.

Unemployment and the Digital Divide

July 18, 2011

In this article in TechCrunch, you will read an interesting look at how Silicon Valley and the march of technology are causing a Digital Divide.

Every online sale takes away from brick-and-mortar business just as Wal-mart has run over mom-and-pop stores, each resulting in empty storefronts and unemployment. When we start automating basic jobs - like robots to make fast food burgers - we have to realize that the unemployed and the unemployable will grow. (There 's a great article in The Atlantic about what it's like to be unemployed for an extended time.

Alteva Acquired by WVT

July 14, 2011

Warwick Valley Telephone announced that it is acquiring Hosted UC firm out of Philadelphis, Alteva for cash and stock valued at $17 million - $10M upfront. "At closing the Company will enter into employment agreements with certain of Alteva's key employees." WVT is going to integrate Alteva into its CLEC operation, US Datanet. Alteva is the second Broadsoft client in M&A activity announced this month.

"Pursuant to the Agreement, upon closing, the Company will purchase substantially all of the assets of Alteva, except for Alteva's employee benefit plans, organizational documents and insurance policies.

XO Comments on L3-GC but not T-T

July 13, 2011

XO Communications filed comments with the FCC that some media outlets said ripped the merger of Level3 and Global Crossing. Rodrego A. Byerly tweeted that it smacked of a spurned suitor. Maybe it was. XO issued a statement that the L3-GC merger was not in the public interest.

SIP Trunking Deployment Lessons by XO

July 13, 2011

Riding the IPv6 Wave

July 12, 2011

Correction: Verio is now just the name for the NTT hosting division.

NTT America is looking to make a big splash in the IPv6 space in the Channel. NTTA has run a global IPv6 network for quite a few years. In fact, NTTA sponsored an IPv6 Summit in 2007.

Tidbits This Week 7-12-11

July 12, 2011

Masery was bought by ABRY Partners. No word on AboveNet yet.

A group of tech companies - including RIM, Google, Microsoft, EMC, Sony, Ericcson - bought the Nortel patents for $4.5B.

Top ISP's - AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, TWC and others - have joined together to fight piracy by monitoring your online activities. This comes after the announcement that metered bandwidth is coming to both terrestrial and wireless broadband. Can you say DPI?



Another Hosted PBX Merger

July 9, 2011

Tampa-based Telovations acquires North Carolina based FeatureTel, combining two Broadsoft providers. No financial details were released. Could this be a sign about the viability of the US Hosted PBX space?

Many of the Cloud Comm companies haven't grown as fast as their backers would like.

Is Selling on Price Really Selling?

July 8, 2011

nQueryTelecom tweeted the following: "Virtual PBX VoIP Phone – Reduced Telecom Expenses: Virtual PBX VoIP phone systems ensure reduced telecom expense."  You can see my reply on the left. Basically, I'm tired of our industry selling on price. It is not helping. It is driving revenue down while debt keeps increasing.

4 Notes About CRM

July 6, 2011

I get asked often about CRM systems for sales teams. (I should I train salespeople and help hire salespeople.) Here are a few thoughts about CRM.

One, it's only effective if the sales team actually uses it.

VoIP is Everywhere even at the FCC

July 6, 2011

All the forecasts for VoIP (and Hosted UC and Cloud) are that it is taking off and growing. That's probably because we have over 1000 VoIP Providers and that the cablecos pretty much deliver voice as VoIP, too. Plus even the ILECs - Ma Bell, VZ FiOS, Windstream, TDS - are now offerng VoIP and Hosted PBX service to everyone. So yeah the FCC TAC has declared that by 2018 less than 10% of the US population will be on the PSTN.

Featured Events