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Sure, Cbeyond Communications wants to provide competitive voice and data services. But don't call it a CLEC.
"We want to be thought of as a broadband ASP-the distinction being we are owners of the infrastructure," CEO Jim Geiger says. "But it still to us is a network-based application."
Using what it claims to be the first-ever broadband Internet Protocol scheme for voice and data, the Atlanta-based company is targeting the 3.2 million U.S. businesses with five to 100 employees. These businesses, which represent 60 percent of the total business market, are "ripe for integration," Geiger says.
That integration mixes voice and data on a common IP network. Data and voice share a 1 megabit-per-second channel, with voice taking the priority. If voice bandwidth lulls, more data can be transferred.
Rather than making a modem the access point, routers are installed at the customer's office and lines are distributed using standard Ethernet. Cbeyond also uses dynamic port allocation, creating a bank of voice lines shared by many users.
That allows the company to oversubscribe, taking on more total customers than available lines with the presumption not all of them will be active at once. Geiger acknowledged that could lead to problems if the stock market crashes and everyone calls their broker, so Cbeyond will start cautiously with its subscriber base size.
"I think those are things we will learn about together," he says. "Today I think we will deal with it by being very conservative."
Cbeyond's marketing plan emphasizes the applications rather than the connection with flat monthly fees-Geiger likens it to giving the customer the razor but selling them the blades. The base $450 monthly package serves up five lines of voice, 2,000 long-distance minutes and a bank of e-mail addresses. From there, businesses can choose more expensive packages with more applications and voice lines.
Armed with $141 million in financing, Cbeyond has started work to build its network in 25 Tier 1 markets. Alpha trials are now under way in Atlanta, with a select beta test set for January and a full market launch there in March. Other markets are set to launch in 2001, and final buildout is set for the end of 2002, Geiger says.
The Cbeyond network also will rely on local affiliates to serve business customers.
"It's more like a franchise model, and we really think that is important to what we want to do," Geiger says. "You really can't do this at the end of a wire. You need people."
Although it claims to be the first, Cbeyond isn't alone any more. This month Washington D.C.-based Rivien will fire up its own IP network offering voice and data services to the same small to medium sized business market. The company, formerly called Clarity Communications, plans a $500 million network covering 12 major markets nationwide.
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