Across The Telecom Spectrum: 6 Moves Making Waves In The Channel

Feeling The Heat

As temperatures rose around the country heading toward summer, so did competition in the telecom space. Products -- such as AT&T's fiber network and Broadview Networks' new mobility features -- were built out and enhanced, and partner programs, such as CenturyLink's, were expanded.

Internationally, an acquisition resulted in a name change for U.K.-based IX Reach.

At the same time, things heated up between Verizon and some of its union employees as the labor strike wore on. Meanwhile, Verizon suffered cable cuts and outages, and a communications union denied any involvement in the damage.

Here's a roundup of six telecom and service provider moves that happened in May.

AT&T Builds Out Business Fiber Footprint

Dallas-based telecom giant AT&T took aim at competitor Google in the fiber network space by providing faster fiber speeds to its business customers in San Francisco last month.

AT&T Business Fiber customers in the Bay Area now have access to upload and download speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

AT&T Business Fiber is currently available in Dallas, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. The carrier has plans to further roll out its fiber into new market areas this year, according to AT&T.

Verizon Suffers Outages In The Midst Of Strike

May saw tensions between Verizon and its nearly 40,000 unionized employees get ugly as the ongoing labor strike carried on with no resolution until the last weekend in May.

Verizon said that it's been plagued with an influx of fiber cuts and service outages that could be deliberate and related to the strike. The carrier said that some 150 fiber cuts have disrupted or cut off services completely for hundreds of customers on its network in Northeast cities since mid-April, when the strike began.

One of the unions on strike, the Communications Workers of America, denied any responsibility and said it does not condone vandalism of any kind.

After Acquisition By U.S.-Based Console, IX Reach Changes Name

IX Reach, the High Wycombe, England-based wholesale provider of carrier services, has changed its name to Console Network Solutions to reflect its position as the wholesale arm to its parent company, Console, after Console's acquisition of IX Reach.

Console, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is an enterprise software and software-defined interconnection company. The newly dubbed Console Network Solutions provides interconnection capabilities and improved network security and reliability to global partners and cloud providers on the Console platform.

According to the companies, IX Reach customers will continue to receive interconnection services with Console Network Solutions.

Broadview Networks Goes Mobile With Its White Label Hosted Voice Platform

Cloud-based communications provider Broadview Networks has released a series of new features for increased mobility that are now available on its OfficeSuite, its white label cloud-based phone service.

According to Broadview, the OfficeSuite White Label platform now has voicemail transcription, 10-way calling and one-click dialing. The platform also has a PC and mobile softphone option and multi-desking feature that allows up to five devices to be logged into a single extension at one time. The new digital voice line feature also lets employees use existing Internet services for voice services.

CenturyLink Builds Up Reseller Channel In Australia

In April, telecom provider CenturyLink made its cloud offering available for the first time in Australia through its partnership with its Phoenix-based technology distribution provider, Avnet. This month, the telecom has expanded its reseller network in Australia with the addition of six new partners.

Solution providers Blue Central, CertaOne, Offis, Pro IT and the Somerville Group/ISNet will also be reselling CenturyLink Cloud to the Australian SMB market, the Monroe, La.-based telecom said.

IntelePeer Intros New SIP-Based Call Path Service

Cloud-based UC provider IntelePeer has ripped the covers off of its new SIP-based voice service, Call Path. The latest service will let businesses migrate from legacy TDM-based voice systems to a SIP-based offering for more telecom-related cost savings and guaranteed uptime, the San Mateo, Calif.-based company said.

IntelePeer's new Call Path offering includes features such as active quality of service monitoring and capacity management, as well as support for disaster recovery deployments and 24/7 support. Call Path can be deployed either on-premise or as a cloud-based solution. Businesses and partners can use IntelePeer's self-service portal to make near real-time service changes, and to scale up and down as needed, IntelePeer said.