INOMPAS Show (Spring 2016) - Day 2 Show Daily

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« 1 4 » THE INCOMPAS SHOW I APRIL 10-13, 2016
DAY 2 THE INCOMPAS SHOW
Midco has extended its fiber-optic
network reach to more locations in
Minnesota through a cooperative rela-
tionship with Arvig.
The arrangement will help Midco business
customers take advantage of growing opportuni-
ties to reach Minnesota communities, such as
Duluth, Marshall, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro
area, Rochester, St. Cloud and more.
The Northern Plains Network already
spans 8,400 fiber route miles throughout
Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
It connects to the Arvig network through
multiple interconnect points, which adds
4,000 fiber route miles available as Type 2
network extensions.
“We’ve heard increased interest from our
current and prospective customers about wanting
to make more connections to cities and towns
that Arvig covers. This relationship allows those
businesses the chance to still
have Midco as their single
point of contact – even if they
want to connect off the Midco
core network in this region,”
said Scott Smidt, vice presi-
dent of Business Engineering
and Operations at Midco.
“Our relationship with
Midco is mutually beneficial,”
added Dave Schornack,
Arvig’s director of Busi-
ness Development. “We
look forward to working with
Midco to provide connec-
tions to customers who are
growing and expanding their
business networks.”
Because Midco has
certified the Arvig network, business customers needing various fiber and networking solutions
in the Arvig geographic area will still receive the
same service level commitments and reliability
they expect from Midco Business and its core
network. As a result, these customers can enjoy
simplified due diligence as they extend their
reach throughout the Upper Midwest.
Established in 1950, Arvig has grown from
a small, family-owned telephone company to
one of the largest independent full-service
telecommunications providers in the nation.
Arvig continually reinvests in technology and
network operations to deliver next-generation
communication services to businesses in
Minnesota and North Dakota.
In addition to traditional telecom services,
Arvig also provides network cabling, security
systems, managed voice solutions, telecom and
utility construction, answering services and a full
suite of digital media services.
Midco Business is a provider of Internet,
networking, Ethernet, phone, cable TV, adver-
tising and carrier services in the Upper Midwest.
Businesses of all sizes rely on Midco’s Northern
Plains Network, an 8,400-mile fiber-optic
network connected to more than 40 regional and
national fiber networks.
Scalable to eight terabits per second, the Midco
network earned MEF 2.0 certification for meeting
high industry standards for an Ethernet network. o
For more information, visit booth 214 in the
Expo Hall or to learn
more about Midco and how the company gives
back to the communities it serves.
Midco Extends Fiber Network in Minnesota
A new VoIP carrier was concerned
that the tax set up originally in its
billing engine was not reflective of
its services and sought out GSA to
review and optimize its taxation.
GSA’s regulatory review uncovered errors
in the regulatory code set up in the carrier’s
system, which allowed for reduced liabilities.
Additionally, GSA’s research identified over-
rides – rules that can be applied to products
for special tax consideration – that were never
applied to the carrier’s tax rating set up, which
could have been a result of the carrier’s lack of
understanding on overrides.
Regardless of the circumstances, the
review uncovered the oversight and enabled
the carrier to take advantage of the qualified
exemptions.
Finally, GSA performed a tax optimization
exercise for the carrier, reviewing customer
invoices for truth-in-billing and taxation accu-
racy. GSA optimized the carrier’s invoices
by applying e911 and federal recovery fees
allowed by law and properly calculated. This
enabled the carrier to recoup expense outlay for
obligatory tax and regulatory compliance.
These changes resulted in a 29 percent
reduction of tax burden on the carrier. Looking
at it from a bottom line, GSA’s project increased
the bottom line contribution/profit by 9 percent.
In an increasingly competitive market, this
was a major boost to the carrier, which is
feeling the competitive pressure.
GSA can do this for your company as well. If
you have manual processes involved in your tax
and regulatory reporting, or if you have older
resources (advisors and systems), GSA can
examine at your reporting methods to see
if there are ways to improve your bottom line.
With more 14 years’ experience in the
industry, GSA has performed regulatory reviews
for telecommunications providers since its
inception and is perhaps the most experienced
with understanding guidelines surrounding
federal and state regulatory and tax rules.
Combined with its repositories of data on more
than 24,000 jurisdictions, GSA’s professionals
bring their expertise to all engagements. o
For more information, visit GSA at booth 312
in the Expo Hall, go to or
call Karine Vosberg at 678.304.6469.
GSA Optimizes VoIP Carrier Billing
for 9 Percent Profit Increase