Central office switching is going time share. Houston-based i3 Voice & Data Inc. now offers CLECs displaced by the phase-out of UNE-P á la carte access to TDM- and IP-based switching facilities based on a “time share” concept. The 1-year-old company’s UNE-3 Fractional Switch Ownership program service went live last month.
With UNE-3, CLECs purchase only the ports they need (the minimum purchase is 1,000) from a MetaSwitch VP3500 series softswitch that i3 operates out of a PoP in Dallas, where i3 also has a MetaSwitch UC9000 Unified Communications System and session border controller equipment from NexTone Communications. The softswitch provides more than 100 Class 5 features.
 Joe Bevill of i3 Voice & Data, and his customer Steve Garrett of Navigator Telecommunications. |
But this is not a switch partitioning leasing program. Instead, CLECs actually gain full ownership — including buy, sell and lease rights — to their select switch ports via UNE-3, meaning the competitive service provider gains an asset it can record on its balance sheets. “You get the benefit of the depreciation of that asset,” notes Chris Reese, founder, president and CEO at i3.
In addition, i3 provides CLECs with connectivity and will operate, maintain and manage the network for the CLEC. Colocated with Level 3 Communications Inc., i3 also has agreements with Covad Communications Group and New Edge Networks, which provide DSL services to i3’s CLEC customers so they can resell those services and offer voice over that connectivity. Additionally, i3 can provide CLECs with support for TDM- and IP-based services through its relationships with XO Communications Inc. and others, which provide it with DS0 ports that allow i3 to deliver PRI, line-powered voice with GR303 trunking.
“We basically act as an aggregator/reseller,” says Reese, noting that by combining the interests of its multiple CLEC customers it gains bargaining power with vendors and can pass those savings on to its customers.
While voice and DSL services are i3’s primary focus, the UNE-3 program works like UNE-P — it’s á la carte. If a CLEC just needs 911, for example, the company can purchase only that network component from i3. If the CLEC just needs transport, but wants to do origination and termination themselves, they can do that.
The switch ports are available at a one-time, fixed-price-per-port fee that ranges from $24 to $30 per piece, depending upon volume. And i3 offers financing for CLECs, if desired.
As for the pricing, i3 typically comes out at $1 to $3 per line less versus most first-year commercial agreements CLECs have with ILECs, says Reese, adding that he’s including voice mail into his end of the equation, which he says most ILECs do not supply as part of their deals with CLECs. The savings is even more dramatic when you look at bringing a specific building on-net, says Reese.
While the MetaSwitch softswitch currently is configured for 60,000 ports, i3 presold the subscriptions to those ports, so it already is planning to up its capacity. “Our plan is to have 15 to 20 percent more capacity than our current customer base demands, that way we can scale quickly,” says Reese.
The Benefits of a Switch ‘Time Share’
Ownership license with full rights to buy/sell/lease ports
- Accounting advantages of asset ownership versus leasing
- Control of their network
- Economies of scale and volume discounts previously available only to large carriers
- A full suite of value-added features including voice mail, hosted PBX, VoIP and more
- Multiple last-mile options
- More than 100 Class 5 features including the full range of custom calling and Centrex services, plus TDM, Ethernet and IP protocol support
- No additional charges for suspends, restores, toll block and changes
- Control over call detail records
- Carrier access billing
| Links |
| Amerimex Communications Covad Communications Group www.covad.com i3 Voice & Data Inc. www.i3net.us Level 3 Communications Inc. www.level3.com MetaSwitch www.metaswitch.com Navigator Telecommunications LLC www.navtel.com New Edge Networks www.newedgenetworks.com NexTone Communications www.nextone.com |
