In the Spotlight: MetaSwitch’s John Lazar
By: By Tim McElligott
Every once in a while, you have to take a breath and count your blessings. MetaSwitch CEO John Lazar tallied his up recently and didn’t stop until he reached 500. That’s the number of softswitch and gateway deployments his company has. Here’s what he had to say about this first of what he expects to be many milestones...
Fujitsu takes rural telcos optical
By: By Tim McElligott
Fujitsu Network Communications announced two deployments of its optical gear with rural independent operating companies this week...
MetaSwitch feeling its oats with 500th deployment
By: By Tim McElligott
MetaSwitch took stock of its success this week by putting nice round numbers on some key metrics. Its softswitch and media gateway systems topped the list, having exceeded 500 deployments. ...
Xfone acquires Texas carrier
By: By Ed Gubbins
Competitive carrier Xfone has agreed to acquire West Texas carrier NTS Communications for $42 million...
Acquisition boosts CenturyTel in Q2
By: By Mark Donahue
CenturyTel reported solid second-quarter earnings today as the rural service provider’s acquisition of Madison River Communications positively impacted revenues and access line and Internet user numbers. ...
Tellabs' BellSouth FTTC spending picks up
By: By Ed Gubbins
Spending from AT&T and its constituent companies improved in the second quarter but haven’t yet returned to the levels seen before last year’s merger with BellSouth, according to Tellabs...
Updated: American Broadband to acquire TelAlaska
By: By Tim McElligott
Another family-owned rural telephone company has agreed to sell its assets to Charlotte, N.C.-based American Broadband. TelAlaska, the third largest independent phone company in Alaska, will become the latest acquisition in American Broadband’s quest to compile 100,000 access lines around the U.S....
OPASTCO: Job No. 1 remains USF reform
By: By Tim McElligott
For their customers, members of OPASTCO (the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies) are focused on delivering broadband and whatever services that may entail...
Nishi sends OPASTCO to the dogs
By: By Tim McElligott
Roger Nishi won’t soon forget his first address as chairman to members of OPASTCO in Anchorage this week. Nor is his own son likely to ever let him...
Come see the softer side of security
By: By Carol Wilson
New options replace smart cards and offer efficiency at lower cost...
Small telcos target policy changes
By: By Joan Engebretson
OPASTCO pushes for broadband deployment incentives, universal service reform...
IP-Prime cuts to commercial
By: By Tim McElligott
After more than a year of trials and continuous development, SES Americom is all systems go, declaring commercial availability of its IP-Prime satellite-based IPTV distribution system in North America...
A restless citizen sets an inspired pace
By: By Tim McElligott
The day Maggie Wilderotter stepped in to run the business, time as employees of Citizens Communications knew it ceased to exist. They would now all be working in Maggie time...
The importance of interop
By: By Dan O'Shea
During the gradual IP transition, interoperability is a carrier's--and vendor's--best friend...
Alltel's private party
By: By Kevin Fitchard
Alltel is the first U.S. wireless operator to be taken private through leveraged buyout. It now becomes a test case for determining what a private company can do that a public company can't...
The collector
By: By Dan O'Shea
When the invoices pile up, Razorsight helps carriers pay and get paid for network capacity usage...
Dossier: Roger Nishi, OPASTCO
By: By Joan Engebretson
Roger Nishi is the new chairman of the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies and is also vice president of industry relations for Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, a Waitsfield, Vt.-based telephone company. He talked to Telephony contributing editor Joan Engebretson recently about OPASTCO's plans and priorities...
Telco chiefs talk growth
By: By Tim McElligott
Organic growth may be a priority for independent telcos, but it won't help them achieve the scale and cost structures they need to please Wall Street. What will? M&A, baby....
A new start in Warwick Valley
By: By Tim McElligott
Duane Albro has done it all in telecom and must bring that all to bear on setting a new course at Warwick Valley Telephone Co....
Citizens Communications to acquire Global Valley Networks, GVN Services
By: By Tim McElligott
Citizens Communications Chairman and CEO Maggie Wilderotter stayed true to her recent words that small acquisitions can make as much sense as big ones by announcing last week it will acquire 100% of the outstanding common stock of Evans Telephone Holdings, the parent company of Global Valley Networks and GVN Services...
Big River finds small cable lucrative
By: By Carol Wilson
Big River Telephone Co. started off in 2001 as a typical CLEC, targeting small to mid-sized businesses with traditional voice services, initially as a reseller of UNE-P lines but then on its own facilities, serving rural communities in southeastern Missouri...
Reynolds leaves BT for New Zealand
By: By Tim McElligott
Paul Reynolds, CEO of BT Wholesale, is about to put himself through another challenging separation and transformation project. After a 24-year career at BT, the last few of which he successfully led the effort to separate businesses within the company, Reynolds today accepted the top job at Telecom Corp, New Zealand's largest telephone company...
Access line roll-up continues as Windstream buys CT Communications
By: Tim McElligott
Little Rock, Ark.-based Windstream, the second largest and most rural independent operating company in the country, said last week it will acquire CT Communications...
Windstream grows NC presence with CT buy
By: By Tim McElligott
Windstream will acquire CT Communications in the second half of this year for approximately $585 million, the companies said today. In the process, Windstream eliminates a growing competitor in a growing market...
