Did you know that Qwest now offers special discounts for customers who fall within 1500 feet of their FTTC fiber routes? This affects both standard QMOE and Qwest Bandwidth IP pricing using Ethernet Local Access.

How this affects QMOE:
1. Free install for QMOE bandwidth speeds up to 100mbs
2. Discounts from 15-30% for QMOE speeds from 200mbs to 1000mbs.
3. No AQCB engineering studies required.

How this affects IP or MPLS pricing:
1. Lower pricing which includes the Ethernet loop
50mbs   – $1600 IP, $1720 MPLS
100mbs – $2000 IP, $2150 MPLS
300mbs – $5200 IP, $5538 MPLS
2. No engineering studies required

How to qualify sites for this pricing:

1. Submit QMOE engineering study requests to: quotes@ctg3.com.
2. Qualify online using our “supersearch” tool at www.ctg3.com (requires login)

QMOE SPECIAL PRICING ALSO OFFERS DISCOUNTS ( up to 20% )

Did you know that if your company bills over $5000 per month with Qwest that you are eligible to receive discounts for QMOE service? These discounts range for 8% to 20% and are available for all speeds ( 3mbs to 1000mbs ). The really cool thing about this is that you can use any Qwest revenue to contribute to this $5000 spend ( ATM, Frame, Private Line, Internet, etc.)

To learn if you qualify for these discounts contact us at quotes@ctg3.com.

We have noticed quite a few new Qwest Metro Optical Ethernet (QMOE) deployments scheduled for this summer which can be a good opportunity to sell high speed Internet to business customers within these new areas for those service providers who have QMOE service provider ports.

We track all these deployments on our website using an interactive database which you can access using the link shown below. Just select MOE or MOEEOC and select PENDING status to see all the upcoming deployments.

http://www.ctg3.com/networkdeployments.htm

The data comes directly from the Qwest Network Disclosure site which can be viewed using these links for your state.

Arizona
Colorado
Idaho
Iowa
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oregon
South Dakota
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

We also have several internal tools which you can use to help pre-qualify new sites for QMOE and can also do this for you by sending requests to quotes@ctg3.com.

This week we met with Blake Wetzel, the VP of the Qwest Business Partner program while he was visiting in Seattle. He was pumped up about the CenturyLink merger and thought the outlook for agents like CTG3 looked very positive. I asked when he thought we would be able to start selling CenturyLink services and he said he did not expect this to happen until 2011.  However he did say that they could already start using CenturyLink assets on a wholesale level and that we should make sure the Qwest engineers know if we want them to consider this option for higher capacity fiber builds.

Blake also indicated that Qwest is ready to spend money if needed to build top line revenue since they are in a good cash flow position now.  He encouraged us to bring Qwest deals and to challenge them on price points.  I took this opportunity to pitch an idea I had about introducing a special QMOE / IP bundle targeted towards data centers. The general idea is that we would like to provide a standard QMOE port (100mbps minimum) for upstream IP and another QMOE port for downstream customer connections.  Blake was positive about the idea since they are already working on a IP only offering for datacenters which would offer 1-10Gbs at prices in the $5-$10 per meg range.  We were asked to develop a matrix for bandwidth pricing that we think will win business. If you have any datacenters you would like us to add to the target list, please let me know.

 Some other good news is that we may soon be able to get building addresses where Qwest has fiber deployed to help us with selling more Qwest Ethernet services.  Qwest has always been very careful not to share this information but seem to realize that it can only help us with selling more of their services (makes sense to me).

We recently added TW Telecom and AboveNet to help us with Ethernet connectivity options. Both companies are hard to beat if they are on net or close to the fiber ring. We can also get access to NoaNet and 360 Networks via Mammoth Networks.

To prequalify site locations for QMOE or other Ethernet based services, send requests to quotes@ctg3.com

or

submit via our website by clicking here

That all I have for now.
 
Dave

The pending merger between Qwest Communications International Inc. and CenturyLink is the hot topic at Q.Marketplace 2011, the annual meeting for indirect sales agents who are part of Qwest’s  Business Partner Program.

Chris Ancell, Qwest’s executive vice president of BMG, said the most common question his staff is getting from agents is, “What’s going on with the merger?” Ancell and other Qwest executives offered some details on the Qwest-CenturyLink transaction, which was announced in April and is expected to close in the first half of this year. Once the transaction closes, Qwest will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CenturyLink.

Ancell told Q.Marketplace attendees that the merger is on track to be completed in the first half as planned. He said, from a regulatory standpoint, approvals from four states and the FCC remain, but are expected within 90 days. From an operations standpoint, the two companies have been talking and planning for integration, going so far as to decide what people will have what roles in the combined company. Those decisions have been made in most divisions through the first three tiers of management with layers four, five and, in some cases, six yet to go.

The CenturyLink approach, Ancell said, is to be “completely ready to operate on day one.” He explained that all the planning will be done with execution remaining. This proactive approach is hoped to close the window of uncertainty for customers, employees and agents.

When the merger was announced, the companies said that Ancell, for one, would be keeping his job. This fall, the companies also shared that Qwest’s channel chief Blake Wetzel, vice president of sales for BMG, would be leading the combined channel.

One of the unanswered questions, however, is what brand will lead. Cindy Humphrey, vice president of marketing for BMG, said that the companies did not know yet and that her team is doing the groundwork for both potential outcomes. Regardless, she said, initially the two brands will be linked together in marketing efforts, so as not to lose any of the brand equity each has earned.

Stephanie Comfort, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Qwest, said the acquisition was in large part about driving scale, but she also said each of the companies separately identified the same top three areas for growth: managed services/cloud services, video and wireless.

The executives also tried to paint a picture of the combined company.

Comfort said that together, Qwest and CenturyLink will have revenue of $18.68 billion. That compares to $11.68 billion for Qwest alone. In addition, the combined entity will have $8.4 billion in EBITDA (Qwest is $4.38 billion) and $3.4 billion in free cash flow (Qwest has $1.68 billion).

Ancell said BMG has been the growth engine for Qwest and will remain so with the combined company, which will be twice as big. He noted that revenue from businesses accounts for about half of Qwest’s revenue, and $2 billion of CenturyLink’s, so a little more than a third of the combined company revenue.

The new company will have 48,000 employees, twice what Qwest has alone, and 184,000 route miles of fiber, Ancell said.

Here are a few simple steps to avoid this situation:

1. Do not sign any wholesale agreements unless you are serious about going that route

2. Create a new company entitiy with it’s own website that does not tie into your existing company website. We suggest creating a name that is only used for purchasing services and put all your marketing on a different name.

3. Avoid advertising voice services on your main web page since this is a red flag for ILECS like Qwest and AT&T that you are offering wholesale competitive services.

**NOTE – In order to qualify for this promotion, both Qwest and the CLEC must be in the same building. Send address to quotes@ctg3.com and will check this addres via the CLEC lookup tool.

We double checked wholesale pricing and found the same to be true. This is bad for Qwest resellers who have been focused on selling Qwest bandwidth in rural areas but could help companies like Mammoth Networks who are able to leverage traditional Qwest services like ATM and Frame relay to overcome these pricing hurrdles. This could also benefit telecom agents like ctg3 who seem to offer the most value when putting together offerings from several carriers to bring solutions to their customers. ..only time will tell

To get pricing just send request to quotes@ctg3.com

Mammoth Networks is unique in that it interfaces with Qwest to provide reach to multiple remote DSLAMs in the field, unlike most private DSL providers who have a single DSLAM in each market. As a facilities-based aggregator of multiple data services onto one platform, the Company combines Qwest DSL with T1s, DS3, OCn and GigE from multiple carriers to serve as a one-stop shop for full-service network connectivity and outsourcing. In addition, as Mammoth operates its own MUX, DACs, switches and routers, its service and engineering support team is able to fully troubleshoot connections within the Mammoth network to expedite any necessary action.

Inland Telephone Company, a longtime Mammoth Networks customer which recently expanded its service offerings in the markets in which it operates, provides a broad range of wired and wireless telephony and broadband services in the states of Washington and Idah. As an independent, full service carrier, Inland offerings include POTS, DSL, advanced circuits, connectivity for cable operators, as well as design and domain hosting services.

John Springer, Inland Telephony Company network and IT manager, noted that, “Working with Mammoth enables us to offer high-quality connectivity, as they are truly a one-stop stop shop for WAN telephony circuits, T1, Optical Ethernet, etc. In addition, what is most important to note, is that Mammoth’s participation in our business has been a truly critical element in our growth, which was 100% painless as they do everything possible to make the rollout process seamless and easy.”

Mammoth Networks Founder and CEO, Brian Worthen, commented that, “We are very pleased with our Company’s growth, which is a direct result of the overwhelming demand for our products and services. We take great pride in being a cost-effective, critical resource partner for rural telcos and services providers that would otherwise incur exorbitant charges from carriers. We anticipate an even higher level of success in both the short and long term, as broadband reaches the most remote communities.”

“It’s essential to our success that we operate on the most reliable, yet cost-effective network for both our internal and external operations. Mammoth Networks is more than a vendor to us, the company is a partner, and key ingredient to our success,” added Mr. Springer.

In March, Mammoth Networks reported that its most recent fiber outlay was lit in Denver, which will be used to aggregate rural exchange connectivity from around the Rocky Mountains. The company is able to deliver cost-effective, intrastate, high-speed connectivity to empower service providers based in rural markets that would otherwise be unfairly price-gouged by local and regional carriers. Also of note, is that in 2009, Mammoth Networks surpassed several noteworthy corporate milestones. In addition to establishing POPs in both Atlanta and Chicago, Mammoth achieved monthly revenue growth every month of the year.

• High Speed Internet (DSL)
• Choice Business
• Choice Business Plus
• Choice Business Prime
• Choice Business add-a-line
• Choice Long Distance

High Speed Internet (DSL) rates will increase for any customers not currently on a contract. If you are an ISP that bills your business customer for the DSL then you will want to make sure you pass along this price increase to your customer.

Click here for a complete list of current vs new prices (excel format)
 
What makes this even more complicated is that on June 21st Qwest will be introducing some new discount programs for customers who have over (10) lines called the Qwest Line Volume Plan (QLVP). This will offset many of the price increases but will require customers to evaluate their current plans.
 
There are other programs being made available to offset price increase for smaller customers but too much for this article. If you wish to get the full scoop then click on this link to hear the training call held this morning.
http://tiny.cc/ep4tt
 
I recommend that our sales people and sub-agents start to make contact with your Qwest customers so that you can help them with the new volume discount programs ahead of time.

If you would like to view a copy of the Qwest rate increase letter that was mailed to customers please select the state.