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Broadband Access
Covad, TalkSwitch Ease Burden for SMBs
Pair Join Forces on Self-Installable Voice and Broadband Bundle
by Jim Barthold
Facing the reality that there’s more competition for small-
medium business (SMB) customers and that those customers
want easier, more integrated communications systems,
network provider Covad Communications and telephone
systems integrator TalkSwitch have jointly introduced a self-
installable voice and broadband communications system.
The product bundle combines Covad’s integrated voice and
data access offering with TalkSwitch’s self-installable
telephone system to deliver PBX-type services into what the
companies describe as a price-sensitive market.
“Simplicity is really key,” said John Cunningham, vice
president of business development at TalkSwitch.
While many PBX products have migrated to IP, TalkSwitch is
taking a more conservative approach, he said.
“We still have the VoIP and we migrate there, but we find …
most small business people get confused by VoIP and this is
really simple. It’s Covad; it’s a great solution; it’s what they
know. You don’t have to get awareness for VoIP, don’t have
to get an awareness of the solution and that’s why from our
perspective this is really bang-on,” Cunningham said.
“Boiled down, the two main benefits of our partnership to the
end user are lower total cost of ownership and business class
service,” said Eric Weiss, chief marketing officer at Covad.
The merged offering offers products starting at $459 per
month for a 25-person office. TalkSwitch generally targets
customers with 32 user stations or less based on what it
perceives to be line usage.
“Our devices are scalable but intertwined with the coverage
integrated access solution,” said Cunningham. “The mix-and-
match between the Covad trunks and the number of user
stations that we offer to the TalkSwitch local extensions marry
up well.”
The companies are also compatible in their affection for the
SMB space.
“We’re a small company and brand is very important to make
things happen on a major scale,” Cunningham said. “Only
eight percent or so of the market of small businesses have a
PBX key system. Covad, with their marketing muscle, can
really generate some noise in this space.”
Covad’s already breaking out the hooters to fill the space with
sound, said Weiss.
“This is not a niche part of either of our businesses; it’s fast
approaching half of our total revenue,” he said.
It’s also not a niche offering.
“This is designed for the small business and not an overly
designed enterprise solution and not a consumer solution
being force-fed,” he said.
That, in part, is why the companies aren’t hyping the VoIP
part even though the total package is broadband.
“There’s a lot of confusion in the end user space about VoIP.
They’re getting hit by cable companies offering them basically
consumer solutions for their business needs,” Weiss
said. “They’re still businesses and they need to be up and
running. They can’s use consumer offerings that are being
marketed to millions for second line; they need features
reliability. This is a business class service.”
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