XO Communications Launches Business VoIP in Minneapolis Metro Area

[NewsDesk]

XO Communications caused a stir this morning as the company introduced the XOptions Flex, its new VoIP-based calling service for business. The VoIP service provider launched the new service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of the state of Minnesota.

The company's CEO also made public his adamant battle against big mergers such as SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI when he faced attendees at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in Austin, Texas.

The new business VoIP-based calling service called XOptions Flex bundles unlimited local and long distance calling, dedicated Internet access and Web hosting services for a flat monthly price.

John Unger, vice president and general manager of XO Communications' Minneapolis sales office noted, "XOptions Flex offers businesses in the Twin Cities the most comprehensive and flexible VoIP services bundle. VoIP is truly revolutionizing the telecommunications industry, and XOptions Flex leverages the power of the Internet to provide a high quality and reliable communications solution that integratesvoice and data over a single broadband connection with more valuable features for small and medium-sized businesses that save them time and money."

The service also provides unlimited voice calling, dynamic bandwidth allocation, voice virtual private networking (VPN), and a Web-based portal for Administrative personnel. Clients deploying the service can utilize all of the IP-based features without having to replace their current analog telephone equipment. Other XOptions features include more than twenty standard voice features for each phone line including call forward, three-way calling, voicemail, dedicated Internet access up to 3 Mbps and dynamic bandwidth allocation.

"XOptions Flex enables businesses to get a better return on their telecommunications budget. In contrast to traditional offerings that waste voice lines when they are idle, XOptions Flex can maximize the speed of data by making use of capacity dedicated to unused voice lines. When there are calls, voice traffic will always have priority. In this way, businesses get maximum utilization and value from their integrated access circuit while ensuring the highest quality of service for voice calls," added Unger.

XOptions Flex is now available in the recently added cities: Apple Valley, Minneapolis, Blaine, Minnetonka, Bloomington, Richfield, Brooklyn Park, Roseville, Burnsville, St. Louis Park, Coon Rapids, St. Paul, Eagan, Shoreview, Eden Prairie, Stillwater, Edina, Wayzata, Maplewood and West St. Paul. These new cities expand the service's coverage area comprised of Akron, Allentown, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Harrisburg, Houston, Jersey City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Newark, Oakland, Orange County, CA, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Paul, St. Petersburg, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Scranton, Seattle, Spokane, Tampa, Trenton, Washington, DC, West Palm Beach, and Wilmington, DE.

In related news, the company's CEO Carl J. Grivner publicly urged state regulatory utility officials to support competitive telecom industry and other consumer advocacy groups in banning mergers such as SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI. In the news announcement released today, Grivner noted that the mergers should be blocked "unless the merging parties offer and implement remedies that will ameliorate the substantial competitive harms that have been shown to occur." Grivner addressed state policymakers attending this week's meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in Austin, Texas.

The executive echoed concerns raised in a New York Public Service Commission staff white paper released earlier this month. "The New York PSC staff warns that the Verizon-MCI merger will significantly increase market concentration in New York, reducing competitive choices and leading to higher prices," Grivner said. "In their view, these mergers can be accepted only if they are reined in by strong counter-measures that include divestitures, strict price controls, quality controls and contract performance measurements. Other members of NARUC should heed these words."

According to the news release, Grivner emphasized that the Baby Bells' pro-merger arguments is nothing but an obvious inversion of the facts. "It is disingenuous for SBC and Verizon to claim that the elimination of their two largest competitors, AT&T and MCI, will somehow increase competition, and it is misleading to say the lessening of competitive pressure will have no effect on pricing. These proposed mergers will create intense market concentration for the Bells, and deal a 'losing hand' to customers in the form of higher prices and fewer competitive choices."

XO Communications, Inc.
http://www.xo.com