|
June 2005
volume ix, number 6
Top Story
|
Customer Spotlight
|
NPA-NXX
Updates |
News &
Stuff
Top Story
FCC Rules on E911 for
VoIP Providers
The FCC
ruled in May that Providers of Voice over Internet Protocol phone
service are required to provide enhanced 911 emergency calling to
their customers if they enable those customers to receive calls from
and terminate calls to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Under the ruling, interconnected VoIP
providers must deliver all 911 calls to the customer's local
emergency operator. Further, the Commission is requiring VoIP
providers to supply emergency operators with the call back number
and location information of their customers. The end-user customer
must provide the location information, but the VoIP provider must
give the customer a means of updating the information whether when
their location changes. This is intended to address the complication
in determining the caller's location in the potentially mobile
environment of VoIP service.
Finally, the FCC required incumbent
LECs to provide access to their E911 networks to any requesting
telecommunications carrier.
VoIP providers must implement these
changes within 120 of the effective date of the order. The
Commission also announced its intention to adopt more rules in the
future that would require an advanced E911 solution that includes a
method for determining the customer's location without the customer
having to self report this information.
top
News &
Stuff
Verizon Introduces
Unlimited Calling Overseas
Verizon long distance customers can now take
advantage of the new International Choice Unlimited Country calling
plan. Subscribers can choose one of six countries, which include
United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and South Korea, and
make unlimited calls for a fixed monthly fee. In addition,
subscribers will receive preferred rates on all other international
calls.
BellSouth Signs Commercial Agreement with MCI
In late April, BellSouth and MCI signed a commercial agreement for
wholesale local phone service throughout BellSouth's Southeast
region. BellSouth has negotiated and signed more than 100
commercial agreements including this latest with MCI.
BellSouth Answers Customers Get $125 Cash Back
Residential customers subscribing to BellSouth FastAccess, DSL,
DIRECTV service, BellSouth Unlimited long distance and Cingular
Wireless between May 1 and August 31, 2005 can get up to $125 cash
back.
New Subscribers to the following service will receive:
OR
AND
The BellSouth Answers bundles range in pricing depending on the
services. Bundles begin at $25 per month for local and long distance
services.
FCC
Upholds Decision Regarding Directory Assistance
In late April the FCC determined that it is the duty of local
exchange carriers to grant competing carriers access to directory
assistance information. However, companies purchasing directory
databases from local phone companies must adhere to the privacy
requests of customers who have non-published and unlisted phone
numbers.
Chapin Telephone Company Granted Expanded Local Calling Plan and
Rate Increase
In mid-May, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved an
expanded local calling plan and rate increase for Chapin Telephone
Company customers.
Expanded calling is now available in the Ovid, Elsie, Owosso,
Merrill and Ashley exchanges of Verizon North, and Chesaning and
Brant exchanges of Century-Tel Midwest Michigan.
Rates for the expanded calling plan will increase by $8 the first
year followed by an increase of $1 for the next two years.
Customers will also receive a 2,000 minutes per month calling
allowance into the specified exchanges with additional minutes
billed at $.05 per minute.
MCI
Declares Verizon Offer Superior
In early May MCI declared the latest Verizon offer to be superior to
Qwest's April 21, 2005 offer.
MCI's board considered the following, among others, in comparing the
two offers: the changing competitive nature of the
telecommunications industry and the expected competitive position of
a combined Verizon/MCI versus a combined Qwest/MCI. MCI's board
noted that a large number of important business customers preferred
a merger between MCI and Verizon. Additionally, as contacts came up
for renewal, several customers requested the right to terminate in
the event of Qwest/MCI merger.
MCI determined that the potential risks associated with a Qwest
merger were too high saying, "Verizon's revised offer presents MCI
with a stronger, superior choice."
Qwest countered in a statement released May 2, 2005 by saying,
"...several of the statements that the MCI board made in justifying
its decision to not accept Qwest's merger proposal do not accurately
reflect the positive trends in the Qwest business."
Covad
to Extend Services Agreements to SBC-AT&T
SBC and AT&T reached an agreement with Covad which will extend
broadband access to the merged companies. The deal, originally
signed by Covad and AT&T in January 2002 for the resale of
high-speed Internet services, and with SBC for similar services in
November 2001, will take effect once the merger is complete. The
new commercial agreement, together with current contracts, will
continue after the completion of the SBC-AT&T merger.
In addition, SBC and Covad signed a separate four-year agreement
allowing the provisioning of line-sharing over copper and
remote-terminal facilities in SBC's territory.
Qwest Files FCC Comment Opposing SBC-AT&T Merger
Qwest announced in late April that it would file comments with the
FCC opposing the pending merger between SBC and AT&T. Steve Davis,
Qwest senior vice president of public policy said, "The combination
of SBC and AT&T as proposed would set our industry back years. SBC
proposes to acquire its largest competitor and greatest strategic
threat. It is inconceivable that this transaction could be in the
public interest without the imposition of significant conditions and
required divestitures."
In addition to the FCC comment, Qwest filed a protest with the
Public Utilities Commission of California. SBC and AT&T have a
large presence in the state and in lieu of that, California will
play a prominent role in the national debate regarding the merger.
Virginia SCC Seeks Comment of Verizon-MCI Merger
The Virginia State Corporation Commission is seeking public comment
on the proposed merger between Verizon and MCI.
MCI is the holding company parent of MCImetro, a Virginia public
service corporation which provides regulated retail local exchange
and interexchange service. Upon completion of the merger MCImetro
will continue to be a subsidiary of MCI and will become a
second-tier subsidiary of Verizon.
Comments or hearing requests must be submitted by June 17, 2005.
AT&T
Introduces Dynamic Network Applications (DNA)
AT&T announced the arrival of its AT&T Dynamic Network Applications
(DNA), and integrated portfolio of IP services. The first available
service will be Voice DNA, "a network-based VoIP service that offers
the cost and benefits of a premises-based VoIP service but with the
flexibility, control and reduced capital expenditures of
network-based IP services."
AT&T Voice DNA provides all the standard features available to
business telephones while including new features like "mid-call
move, which allows customers to move a call from one phone to
another without disruption; personal call handling; simultaneous
ring; click-to-call; on-demand audio conferencing and integration
with Microsoft Outlook" just to name of few.
Businesses may choose from a variety of calling plans including:
"Any Distance, with unlimited on-net, local and long distance
calling with included minutes for customer sites in AT&T VoIP-enabled
local footprint; Local, with unlimited on-net and local calling with
competitive long distance and international rates, for customer
sites in AT&T's VoIP-enabled local footprint; and LD-Only, with
unlimited on-net and competitive long distance and international
rates, for customer sites in AT&T's VoIP-enabled local footprint".
AT&T intends to
offer the service to a limited number of customers within the next
few months, continuing to roll out the service throughout the
remainder of the year.
top
NPA-NXX
Updates
Overlay of Georgia NPA 706 to begin in January 2006
In early January 2005 the NANPA declared NPA 706 was in jeopardy.
As a result procedures were put into place to ration NXX's in the
706 area code. Based on projections, it is expected that the 706
NPA will become exhausted by the Fourth Quarter of 2005.
The relief method chosen for NPA 706 will be an overlay. The new NPA
will serve the same geographic area that NPA 706 currently serves,
which will make ten-digit dialing of all calls in the area
mandatory. Permissive ten-digit dialing is scheduled to begin
December 16, 2005, with mandatory ten-digit dialing starting January
16, 2006.
Illinois Commerce Commission Approves Overlay for 618
The ICC has ordered an overlay for NPA 618, to supplement the
telephone number supply. The new NPA will be 730 and will serve the
same geographic area that NPA 618 currently serves, making ten-digit
dialing of all calls in the area mandatory. The supply of unassigned
618 telephone numbers, along with conservation efforts, should allow
numbers in the 618 area code to remain available until 2008 and
possibly beyond
top
Customer
Spotlight
A Unique Service
Supported by Standard Tele-Tech Data
Oprah listed it as one of her favorite holiday gifts. It's been
called "the future of pictures" and one of the "best new innovations
out there". Dr. Phil gave it away during his holiday party for
military families. And Tele-Tech's data helps make it work more
efficiently.
The CEIVA Digital
Photo Receiver™ receives and displays photos sent directly through
its owner's existing phone line. Every night the Receiver dials into
a local phone number to retrieve pictures uploaded to an account by
family and friends. In the morning, a personal slide show is queued
up and ready to display up to 30 new photos. Send Mom & Dad the
Receiver, and you can upload new digital photos of the grandkids to
them daily.
Tele-Tech is proud to serve an
integral role in CEIVA's simple set-up process. In fact, The
Wall Street Journal found that the
"coolest thing about the CEIVA is how the photos get into it... The
product truly works right out of the box without any programming or
complicated set-up."
How does Tele-Tech
help in this effort? CEIVA uses Tele-Tech's local calling area data
to help its customers select a free, local phone number for the
Receiver to dial. "This has been a huge help to our business," says
Ceiva's Jim Sepe. "It makes the registration of our product much
easier for our members."
Although CEIVA's
application is a bit different from other Tele-Tech clients, the
core need to determine which calls are local is the same. As is the
case with our internet service provider customers, recommending the
wrong dial-in phone number can create a customer service nightmare.
That's where Tele-Tech's accuracy and reliability create a huge
benefit.
"In general,
performance has been spot on, and any questions we've had have been
answered promptly by the Tele-Tech folks," Sepe says. "The biggest
benefit is that we can feel more confident that the numbers we
recommend to our customers are, in fact, free for them to call. It
improves the customer experience, and reduces the number of upset
calls our customer service team would experience."
For more
information on CEIVA, visit
www.ceiva.com.
top
|
