In the latest in a series of sell-offs, ICG Communications Inc. said today that Transaction Network Services Inc, a subsidiary of TNS Inc, is acquiring the customer contracts and assets related to ICG’s Signaling System 7 (SS7) network.
“ICG's retail customers will still benefit from a diverse and robust SS7 network, but we will no longer offer signaling services for sale to our wholesale carrier customers," explains Dan Caruso, president and CEO of ICG. “[T]his deal allows ICG to exit a non-core area of the business with the confidence that our customers' goals for network control, call setup and transaction monitoring will be met."
The companies expect the transition to take up to 90 days. TNS plans to immediately take control of ICG’s SS7 customers and signaling network assets. The network encompasses 18 metropolitan markets; the sale includes eight signal transfer points for call setup, alerting and addressing via a stand-alone signaling network.
ICG recently sold its California operations to Mpower Holding Corp. and filed documents to stop reporting as a public company. The Englewood, Colo.-based company also this year sold its wholesale Internet dial access business to Level 3 Communications Inc.
