INDATEL , a team of wholesale carriers dedicated to providing telecommunications solutions via fiber optic network routes throughout rural and metro America, and ANPI, the leading provider of long distance and hosted unified communications (UC) solutions, are partnering to coordinate each organization’s infrastructure in order to benefit rural areas, as well as take a role in planning the future deployment of telecommunications services throughout rural America.
“Both INDATEL and ANPI were created and are still owned by rural telecommunications providers,” said INDATEL COO Max Huffman. “It only makes sense to look for efficiencies and economies in providing present day services to our common owners and customers. Incorporating the experience of ANPI, as well as their network infrastructure, will make INDATEL‘s goal of providing a seamless nationwide network throughout rural America more achievable.”
“ANPI is heavily invested in helping rural ILECs move outside their traditional service areas, especially with our Hosted Unified Communications Private Label Package, which instantly allows them to become a player in the growing Hosted UC space,” said Dave Lewis, ANPI CEO. “These efforts can only be enhanced with the assistance and involvement of INDATEL and its member networks.”
The ANPI Hosted UC merges voice, data and mobility applications into one IP-based solution allowing customers to take advantage of advanced calling features, as well as reduce costs by more than 50% over traditional phone services. ANPI offers a fully integrated, turn-key solution that includes local interconnection, nationwide DIDs, marketing and sales tools.
INDATEL‘s Data and Internet Aggregation PoP located on Cermak Street in Chicago, Illinois houses a CDN services peering point, an Ethernet exchange and transit IP services aggregation. INDATEL is located on two separate floors of the Cermak building with the ability to terminate multiple 1G and 10G ports. INDATEL‘s Data and Internet Aggregation PoP, and Ethernet exchange includes member-to-member circuits and exchange-to-exchange circuits.
The new alliance also has the support of NTCA, the Rural Broadband Association. “At a time when large telecommunications providers are becoming even larger through mergers and acquisitions, and focusing more and more on urban areas, I could not be more pleased to see leading rural-focused companies coming together to build scope and scale while seeking to hold true to core values of dedicated service for the benefit of rural America,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.
The first initiatives of the partnership are being built around their Chicago interconnection point, with a focus on traffic transport efficiencies. The two organizations expect to escalate quickly to joint planning on the offering of new technology, and possible joint efforts enhancing the rollout of hosted unified communications.
“Both organizations are excited at the potential opportunities associated with this alliance, including such things as coordinated marketing and product development,” said INDATEL president Scott Hoffman. “But it also is an excellent opportunity for detailed discussions about call completion problems, rural economic development and numerous other crucial issues. This is a serious initiative for serious times.”