VoIP is Truly a Service

Providing VoIP service brings the ISP closer to the customer, and if you're prepared for this, it's a good thing.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [April 21, 2006]

When New York City-based ISP ("Internet Solutions Provider") New York Connect decided to build a national VoIP brand, the brand name was obvious. Now, USA-CONNECT offers VoIP-based call saving nationwide from its Manhattan office.

From its data center space in TELEHOUSE in New York City, the company connects to a nationwide CLEC (not named). Dave Borgioli, vice president in charge of VoIP operations, says, "our termination is directly on the CLEC switch. We control our network from beginning to end. We offer the best of both worlds, POTS quality and VoIP price, and that differentiates us from non facilities-based VoIP services."

It's the final part of the company's triple play offering, useful for many clients including building owners (see Connecting With Real Estate).

Borgioli says the company is ready to work with ISPs who want to resell the service, but would need to be able to see that a prospective ISP partner was taking care of its own network.

"We would not partner with a company if we could not maintain our quality of service," says Andrew Coren, New York Connect's founder and CEO.

Selling the service, keeping customers happy
We've learned that ISP companies are moving away from trying to do a "rip and replace" sale. Borgioli agrees. "Yes, we have a hosted solution, but if you have an eight year old system that works perfectly, you can continue to use it."

On the other hand, Borgioli is proud of his company's ability to respond to emergencies. "One company had a phone system die and we literally provided replacement services in fifteen minutes."

He's eager to talk about the cost savings VoIP allows. "A startup came to us. They could have paid $8,000 to $10,000 for what they wanted. They knew they would expand but did not know at what rate. We gave them what they needed right away, and since then they've added three or four employees and were able to connect each new employee quickly."

The company wasn't yet large enough to employ a full time receptionist. "We built a customized phone menu. Callers can get the company directory, a listing of hours, and we put other company-specific information in there. All of this would have taken hours and hours of programming on a traditional PBX."

Other VoIP companies have complained to us about the fact that installing VoIP can threaten people who fear they might lose their jobs or lose some job functions. Borgioli asserts that this is no problem for New York Connect.

"We're not here to take anybody's job away," he says.

"It's not a question of replacing people," says Coren. "We augment them. We'll make them look good."

Coren has a familiar ISP complaint. "Some customers cannot tell the difference between problems on their network and problems on our network, so many times, we fix the problem on their network. They'll call up angry, but we just take the abuse and proceed to make them look good."

Back to the VoIP future
Coren says VoIP has always been a key part of the ISP's business plan, even before the technology was available. "When I wrote my business plan in 1994, 1995, I put VoIP into the plan back then. I wrote, 'eat your heart out AT&T.' They've had it for hundred years."

He notes that VoIP is a new technology that will only get better. "For many customers, the internet was unreliable for years. We're still learning about VoIP, and it's not perfect yet, but we have the ability to solve any problem."

— End