AT&T stands ready for the impact of Hurricane Earl, as it passes North Carolina, with an arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel that enable a quick response post landfall. To help local consumers and businesses prepare, AT&T is also providing important communications tips for use before, during and after the storm.

AT&T has invested more than $500 million in its Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) organization since it was formed. The NDR function includes more than 300 technology and support trailers that AT&T is able to deploy quickly to respond to disaster situations such as severe hurricanes. AT&T invested $145 million in recovery and restoration efforts related to the 2008 hurricanes that included the opening of a third NDR equipment warehouse in the Southeast.

A critical element of AT&T’s efforts to maximize network reliability is its ability to respond swiftly when disaster strikes, made possible by extensive preparations. These include: ongoing readiness drills, topping off fuel at generators positioned at cell sites and switching centers, testing high-capacity back-up batteries, distributing additional extended battery life and portable generators, using natural gas in a portion of permanent generators to eliminate need for refueling, adding capacity to the wireless network as able, and staging of additional emergency response equipment in strategic locations near the anticipated landfall area.

AT&T continues to enhance network redundancy in hurricane-prone areas. These efforts include installation of more back-up and permanent generators at critical cell sites and switching facilities, location of critical equipment to less vulnerable areas, upgrade of electronics in many locations, replacement of copper wiring with fiber optic cable, elevation of switches critical to network operations above expected flood levels and protection of physical facilities against flooding.

AT&T offers the following recommendations for consumers and small business owners before and after the storm hits:

Consumer Tips:

• Be sure you have a “hurricane phone.” It’s a good idea to have a wireless phone on hand and at least one corded (landline) telephone that is not dependent on electricity in case of a power outage. Cordless telephones usually have receivers that are electronically charged, so they won’t work if you lose your power.
• Have a family communications plan in place. Designate someone out of the area as a central contact, and make certain that all family members know who to contact if they become separated. Most important, practice your emergency plans in advance.
• Program all of your emergency contact numbers and e-mail addresses into your mobile phone. Numbers should include the police department, fire station and hospital, as well as your family members.
• Keep your wireless phone batteries charged at all times. Have an alternative plan to recharge your battery in case of a power outage, such as charging your wireless device by using your car charger or having extra mobile phone batteries or disposable mobile phone batteries on hand.
• Keep your wireless phone dry. The biggest threat to your device during a hurricane is water, so keep your equipment safe from the elements by storing it in a plastic bag or some other type of protective covering.
• Forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. Because call forwarding is based out of the telephone central office, you will get incoming calls from your landline phone even if your local telephone service is disrupted at your home. In the unlikely event that the central office is not operational, services such as voicemail, call forwarding, remote access call forwarding and call forwarding busy line/don’t answer may be useful.
• Track the storm and access weather information on your wireless device. Many homes lose power during severe weather. If you have a wireless device that provides access to the Internet, you can watch weather reports through AT&T Mobile TV or keep updated with local radar and severe weather alerts through My-Cast^® Weather, if you subscribe to those services.
• Camera phones provide assistance. If you have a camera phone, take, store and send photos — and even video clips — of damaged property to your insurance company from your device.
• Take advantage of location-based mapping technology. Services such as AT&T Navigator and AT&T FamilyMap can help you seek evacuation routes or avoid traffic congestion from downed trees or power lines, as well as track a family member’s wireless device in case you get separated.

Small Business Tips:

• Set up a call-forwarding service to a predetermined backup location. Set up a single or multiple hotline number(s) for employees, employees’ families, customers and partners, as appropriate, to call so that all parties know about the business situation and emergency plan. For this to be most effective, maintain an updated contact list, including mobile and home phone numbers and e-mail addresses, for all employees.
• Protect hardware/software/data records/employee records, etc. Routinely back up these files to an off-site location. Use a generator for supplying backup power to vital computer hardware and other mission-critical equipment. Prearrange the replacement of damaged hardware with vendors to ensure quick business recovery.
• Outline detailed plans for evacuation and shelter-in-place plans. Practice these plans (employee training, etc.). Establish a backup location for your business and meeting place for all employees.
• Assemble a crisis-management team and coordinate efforts with neighboring businesses and building management. Be aware that disasters affecting your suppliers also affect your business. Outline a plan for supply chain continuity for business essentials.

Maximizing Service During and After a Hurricane:

• During an emergency, many people are trying to use their phones at the same time. The increased calling volume may create network congestion, leading to “fast busy” signals on your wireless phone or a slow dial tone on your landline phone. If this happens, hang up, wait several seconds and then try the call again. This allows your original call data to clear the network before you try again.
• Try text messaging. During an emergency situation, text messages may go through more quickly than voice calls because they require fewer network resources. All of AT&T’s wireless devices are text messaging capable. Depending on your data or text plan, additional charges may apply.
• Keep non-emergency calls to a minimum, and limit your calls to the most important ones. If there is severe weather, chances are many people will be attempting to place calls to loved ones, friends and business associates.

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Craig Young, Chairman and CEO of MegaPath noted, “for too long in the telecommunications industry, customer service and reliability have taken a back seat. With the combination of MegaPath, Covad and Speakeasy, we are bringing to market a leading nationwide IP network to deliver a complete line of end-to-end managed services, including voice, data and security. Small, medium and large enterprises will now benefit from a new service provider that is willing to invest in advanced services, while remaining heavily focused on customer service.” Let’s take this a step further. MegaPath operates one of the largest end-to-end communications networks in the country.

Moving forward, MegaPath will serve the communications market through two divisions: a wholesale operating division, and a direct, business markets division. This combination is powerful because we can provide customers and partners with complete voice, access, private networking, and managed security solutions for business customers of all sizes.

Read more

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Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) achieved an industry first by successfully

completing a data call using a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless broadband network operating at Band 14

, the spectrum earmarked for public safety agencies in the United States. The call demonstrates the readiness of the network to support current public safety applications used by police, fire and emergency medical services as well as new applications enabled by wireless broadband.

Wireless broadband is essential for addressing mission-critical needs requiring high data throughput for applications such as video surveillance, automated vehicle license plate recognition, biometric identification, mobile crime scene units and mobile incident command, geospatial information systems, automated vehicle location and more. LTE helps increase the speed and precision of the decision-making process for first responders, shaving off seconds and minutes in their response to life-threatening situations.

”This achievement represents an important step toward revolutionizing public safety networks as it establishes the readiness of LTE as a technology to enable broadband data applications,” said Morgan Wright, Vice President, Global Public Safety Segment at Alcatel-Lucent. “This call also demonstrates Alcatel-Lucent’s expertise in designing and deploying LTE solutions to address the unique needs of the public safety sector and marks an important milestone in support of the Public Safety solution that Alcatel-Lucent is delivering to this critical market.”

Having been selected by five customers for commercial deployments, including by two of the largest U.S. service providers, and being involved in more than 50 customer trials, Alcatel-Lucent is a global leader in LTE.

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Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately held Arch Rock Corporation, a pioneer in Internet Protocol-based wireless network technology for smart-grid applications. Based in San Francisco, Arch Rock will accelerate Cisco’s ability to facilitate the utility industry’s transition to an open and interoperable smart grid by enabling Cisco to offer a comprehensive and highly secure advanced metering infrastructure solution based completely on IP standards.

“The acquisition of Arch Rock enhances Cisco’s end-to-end smart-grid offerings and further positions Cisco as a strategic partner to utilities that want to better manage power supply and demand, improve the security and reliability of energy delivery, and optimize operational costs,” said Laura Ipsen, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Smart Grid business unit. “Cisco’s solutions, incorporating the Arch Rock technology, will help enable a more efficient and sustainable energy future that is based on an open, highly secure and reliable smart-grid infrastructure.”

The acquisition of Arch Rock further establishes Cisco’s vision of fully IP-enabled networking solutions for a smart grid. Arch Rock’s technology is designed to enable utilities to connect smart meters and other distributed intelligent devices over a scalable, highly secure, multi-way wireless mesh network based on IP standards. This capability complements the recently announced joint development agreement between Itron and Cisco, by which Cisco plans to develop solutions that enhance smart-metering technology, enabling utilities to meet the demands of increasingly empowered customers and highly distributed energy sources.

Arch Rock brings to Cisco a proven team that has been a leader in the research and development of wireless networking and its integration into grid solutions. Upon the close of the acquisition, the Arch Rock team will become part of Cisco’s industry-leading Smart Grid business unit. Financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to be complete in the second half of calendar year 2010.

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“Over the past months we have worked to preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet, based on the conviction that an open Internet is vital to innovation and private investment, competition, and free speech.

“These efforts — including the dedicated work of FCC staff and participation by a broad range of stakeholders — have over time changed the terms of a longstanding and acrimonious debate. We have moved from a world of four disputed and unenforceable open Internet principles — about blocking by broadband providers of lawful online content, applications, and services — toward the acceptance of six enforceable rules: the original four principles plus the concepts of nondiscrimination and transparency.

These would prevent broadband providers from wrongly playing favorites with lawful Internet speech or businesses, and would empower consumers and entrepreneurs with information about broadband choices and networks.

“We have made progress over the last year — but of course we still have work to do. Today, we take the next step. “Recent events have highlighted questions on how open Internet rules should apply to ‘specialized’ services and to mobile broadband — what framework will guarantee Internet freedom and openness, and maximize private investment and innovation. As we’ve seen, the issues are complex, and the details matter. Even a proposal for enforceable rules can be flawed in its specifics and risk undermining the fundamental goal of preserving the open Internet.

“Accordingly, the FCC’s Wireline and Wireless Bureaus are seeking further public comment on issues related to ‘specialized’ (or ‘managed’) services and mobile broadband. The information received through this inquiry, along with the record developed to date, will help complete our efforts to establish an enforceable framework to preserve Internet freedom and openness.

“As we move forward, the FCC will continue to be vigilant in guarding against threats to Internet freedom. We will be focused on a vision of a ubiquitous and superfast Internet, with flourishing entrepreneurship and vibrant start-ups, and massive private investment in Internet infrastructure, content, and services — an Internet that is an engine for our economy, and provides a world of knowledge and free speech accessible to all.”

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MegaPath, Covad and Speakeasy today announced regulatory approval and the completion of their merger, creating a next generation Managed Services Local Exchange Carrier (MSLEC). The new company will have relationships with more than 85,000 business customers and over 4,500 partners throughout North America. The combined company will be called MegaPath and will operate one of the largest end-to-end facilities-based IP communications networks in the country.

“For too long in the telecommunications industry, customer service and reliability have taken a back seat”

“For too long in the telecommunications industry, customer service and reliability have taken a back seat,” said D. Craig Young, Chairman and CEO of MegaPath. “With the combination of MegaPath, Covad and Speakeasy, we are bringing to market a leading nationwide IP network to deliver a complete line of end-to-end managed services, including voice, data and security. Small, medium and large enterprises will now benefit from a new service provider that is willing to invest in advanced services, while remaining heavily focused on customer service.”

With the combination of MegaPath, Speakeasy and Covad, the new MegaPath will provide a complete voice, access, private networking and managed security solution for business customers of all sizes with a turnkey solution for conducting business and communicating with customers, partners and employees. In addition, its leading voice services combine broadband and voice capabilities with Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring for superior call clarity, which is backed up by industry-leading service level agreements (SLAs).

The new MegaPath remains a privately held company. Moving forward, it will serve the market through two divisions: a wholesale operating division and a direct, business markets division. The Company’s executive team includes D. Craig Young, former CEO of MegaPath, who now serves as Chairman and CEO; Pat Bennett, former CEO of Covad, as Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Wholesale Markets; and Bruce Chatterley, former CEO of Speakeasy, as President of the Business Markets unit in charge of all non-wholesale customer sales, service and marketing.

Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.

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Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has acquired the mobile software and applications development tools vendor OpenPlug. By acquiring OpenPlug, ALU deepens its role in the applications space by delivering, as part of its integrated suite of developer tools, a platform where application developers can write an application once, which will then be translated to run on any of the five major mobile operating systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Alcatel-Lucent can now extend OpenPlug’s functionality to service providers, enterprises and developers so they can create and deploy applications — in virtually record time and without sacrificing the unique customer experience — across multiple mobile devices and within service provider app stores. As a result, applications that had previously only been available on more sophisticated devices such as smartphones, can now be enjoyed by consumers on any mobile device, which opens up opportunities in emerging markets, where low cost mobile phone circulation is highest.

This is the second acquisition Alcatel-Lucent has made over the past three months to expand and enhance the application ecosystem. In June, the company acquired ProgrammableWeb, the technology industry’s go-to source of API-related content.

“While demand for mobile apps is peaking, so is the fragmentation of mobile development platforms and tools,” said Michael Cote, analyst for Redmonk. “This makes it very expensive to target all devices and can lead to putting all your eggs in one, often tightly controlled basket, like Apple’s, or doing a least-common denominator, mobile web app that can’t benefit from full native device access. A tool that can target all platforms is hugely needed in this space, and OpenPlug should work well with the total mobile app development portfolio Alcatel-Lucent is putting together.”

Thanks to OpenPlug, service providers, enterprises and developers do not have to be selective about which of the many mobile platforms they will write applications for, thus limiting their potential for service adoption and revenue potential. OpenPlug’s mobile software turns every device into a smart device. It allows developers to write applications once and convert application code into native software that runs on any leading mobile device operating system, including iPhone®, Android®, Symbian®, Windows Mobile®, and Linux®.

“Being able to provide more applications across multiple devices helps service providers significantly broaden their app store content to create more value for consumers,” said Laura Merling, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent’s global developer strategy. “As service providers typically offer multiple mobile devices to their subscriber base, the OpenPlug software can help them get to market five times faster by allowing them to easily port an application to all of their devices. And this isn’t purely a mobile play — the software can be extended to support application development for IPTV set top boxes, game consoles, even the ng Connect LTE Connected Car.”

“Deploying valuable web and mobile services requires assembling many different pieces from many horizons,” said Eric Baissus, CEO of OpenPlug. “By combining OpenPlug’s ELIPS Suite and ELIPS Studio technologies with Alcatel-Lucent’s platforms and API services, we enable developers and service providers to gather all these pieces in a very efficient and consistent way. This will dramatically facilitate the deployment and the monetization of the new generation of applications that the market is expecting.”

The OpenPlug toolset will be incorporated into Alcatel-Lucent’s Developer Platform and Open API Service, thus broadening the functionality available to service providers, enterprises and developers for the exposure of network assets and the rapid introduction of new services across mobile and Web domains.

The move advances Alcatel-Lucent’s Application Enablement strategy, which is focused on combining the trusted and secure network capabilities of service providers with the speed and innovation of the Web to provide a richer end-user experience.

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Small businesses (SBs, or firms with less than 100 employees) in the U.S. are increasingly using web-conferencing solutions, like GoToMeeting, LiveMeeting and WebEx. According to a recent AMI-Partners report, nearly half of U.S. SBs are using web-conferencing solutions today, with penetration expected to grow to 80% in 2011. However, this trend also brings challenges to many web-conferencing providers. With increased use of these services, AMI is forecasting significant displacement to free web-conferencing offers.

“The recent economic downturn heightened cost management among U.S. SBs, and they identified web-conferencing as a viable, affordable alternative to travel,” says Brian Galgay, Manager of Cloud Services for AMI’s Marketing Strategy Consulting Group. “Over the last three years, U.S. SBs have seen additional benefits in using these solutions. Today, they no longer view web-conferencing as a cost-cutting measure, but rather as an effective, real-time collaboration tool.” However, any optimism among web-conferencing vendors regarding potential revenue growth should be balanced. This growth could be limited by displacement of U.S.

SBs’ current budget allocation, as well as by actual reductions caused by these SBs’ uptake of free web-conferencing services. This trend is a part of the rapid growth of Cloud Services over the past 24 – 36 months, which has produced a large number of low-quality, free web-conferencing solutions.

With more conferencing solution providers competing for market share, free web-conferencing providers have started to differentiate their services by adding more robust features. As a result, the gap in features between free and paid solutions has narrowed significantly. This poses a direct challenge to the paid solution providers. As free solutions add more features like multiple user video-conferencing and desktop sharing, the paid solutions need to offer increasingly more enhanced web-conferencing solutions.

“Cloud Services has had a significant impact on ICT growth and, in particular, on this software category. The concept of premium web-conferencing solutions will evolve over the upcoming two to three years. Paid providers will have to bring the next generation of more advanced web-conferencing solutions to market, as the lower end of the market, enticed by free, limited offerings, moves away from premium, paid services. Conferencing solution providers willing to generate revenue from usage, and not from advertising, could protect such revenue erosion by investing in a richer, fuller product feature set or by specializing in targeted industry verticals,” concludes Galgay.

For the past 14 years, AMI-Partners has tracked the use of video- and web-conferencing solutions, among other ICT products, in the small and medium business markets. A new 30+ country study about Cloud Services is in process, covering in-depth insight on these businesses’ usage, perception and plans of conferencing solutions.

Upcoming Study Small and medium business preferences for Cloud-based application bundles, their price sensitivity and purchase channel preferences are further explored in AMI’s upcoming Worldwide SMB Cloud Services Study. This study provides comprehensive coverage of: Platforms and Devices; IT Infrastructure Services; Business Productivity Applications; Business Management/Line of Business Applications; and Unified Communications. Research will be available later in 2010.

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Avaya announced the successful completion of the sale of its entire 59.13% stake in AGC Networks Ltd. for approximately US$ 44.5 million, as initially announced on 30 May, 2010. Completion of the sale had been subject to customary closing conditions, including those required by Indian law.

As previously stated, the sale of its AGC Networks stake will enable Avaya to drive additional focus on two of its strategic imperatives: the development of the Avaya business in India and the growth and extension of its channel coverage model through Avaya’s global channel program, Avaya Connect. AGC Networks will remain an important channel partner of Avaya serving customers in the India market, one of the fastest growing enterprise communications markets in the world, and in Australia.

As part of today’s announcement, the Avaya Directors on the Board of AGC Networks have stepped down.

“This is an important day for everyone at AGC Networks, as they embark on a new chapter in the company’s history,” said Jangoo Dalal, Managing Director, Avaya India. “The AGC Networks relationship remains an important part of Avaya’s success in India and Australia, and we look forward to continuing to support our combined customers – both existing and new – with business collaboration solutions.”

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AboveNet Inc. (NYSE: ABVT) has been recognized by Everything Channel’s CRN Magazine as one of the 75 Coolest Telecom Service Providers.

The 75 coolest Service Providers represent those companies that are revolutionizing the telecom market by delivering high-quality telecom services and building strong ties with the channel community.

“The CRN 75 Coolest Telecom Service Providers honors those service providers with superior telecom services, best-in-class customer satisfaction and channel sales leadership,” said Kelley Damore, VP, Editorial Director, Everything Channel. “These vendors have demonstrated unparalleled customer and partner satisfaction, and we congratulate them on their commitment to both customers and their partners.”

AboveNet is proud to be recognized for delivering low-latency, high-quality bandwidth solutions and its commitment to customer satisfaction and the partner channel. AboveNet continues to invest in our low latency network infrastructure and managed services to deliver high bandwidth connectivity solutions to support many enterprise and carrier initiatives such as disaster recovery, trading networks and cloud computing.

AboveNet continues to strive to deliver unparalleled customer support and the highest quality high bandwidth connectivity solutions to businesses in our existing and new markets in United States and Europe.

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Fixed-wireless companies Airband Communications and Sparkplug Communications today announced they have merged, creating the largest fixed-wireless company for businesses in the U.S., providing a full suite of voice and data services in 17 markets.

Airband and Sparkplug customers will continue to benefit from the flexible and highly scalable voice and data services delivered over the company’s wholly owned, fixed-wireless last-mile network which bypasses the wireline local loop, thereby creating cost savings for business customers. Airband delivers data services from 1 Mbps to over GigE speeds and a full suite of VoIP services including hosted VoIP and VoIP/SIP trunking.

The combined company operates as Airband Communications, headquartered in Dallas. Michael Ruley, formerly CEO of Sparkplug, becomes CEO of Airband. Tim Kinnear, formerly CEO of Airband stays on as CFO.

“Our companies share the belief that it’s critical to increase market penetration in existing territories and leverage the economies of scale we will realize with our combined networks and services,” said Airband CEO Michael Ruley. “As a combined entity, we will have the financial backing, network and human resources required to grow, organically and strategically, and to further enhance our competitive position in our markets.”

In addition to Ruley and Kinnear, Airband’s executive team consists of Jeff Owens, chief technology officer; Jim DaBramo, executive vice president of sales; Jennifer Mao, vice president of marketing; and Daman Wood, vice president of wholesale markets.

“This transaction supports Airband’s goal of deepening our service coverage and capabilities so more businesses have access to high-bandwidth data and enterprise-class voice services,” said Airband CFO Tim Kinnear. “The merger will create significant technology and operational efficiencies as we scale our service delivery capabilities to serve customers in our high-growth markets.”

The combined company covers markets including Atlanta; Austin; Baltimore; Dallas; Des Moines; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Worth; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Orange County, Calif; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Antonio, San Diego and Washington, D.C.

The merged company will receive $20 million in financing as part of the transaction. Previous equity backers Ignition Partners, Key Venture Partners, M/C Venture Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners, each of which bring significant track records in telecommunications services, are leading the

$11 million equity investment. In addition, Airband received $9 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank and MMV Financial. The new financing will be used to fund growth and acquisitions.

The companies completed the merger on Aug. 18, 2010. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Bank Street Group LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Airband Communications in connection with this transaction.

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PAETEC Holding Corp. (NASDAQ GS: PAET) officially opened an expansive, high-tech data center today in Andover, MA, approximately 24 miles north of Boston. This new flagship center will help customers maintain their critical data, server operating applications, network, and communications assets. It also represents a major step forward for the company towards supporting cloud computing.

The center not only serves companies in New England, but those nationwide with a need for geographic redundancy or a presence on the East Coast for reduced latency. The two-story, 92,700 square feet facility includes nearly an acre of raised floor space available for customers to collocate their servers, routers, and other communication equipment.

“Moving business applications from the desktop to the cloud will bring efficiency not possible before,” said Arunas Chesonis, chairman and CEO, PAETEC. “With our expertise in telecommunications and data convergence, we’re in a leading position to support the shift towards cloud computing and can provide our customers with a comprehensive set of managed service solutions to meet their business goals.”

The new data center marks the first of many steps PAETEC will take over the next 18 months to open eight more data centers across the country, with new centers in Houston, Milwaukee, and Phoenix scheduled for later this year.

The Andover center will offer Data Backup and Recovery to ensure regulatory compliance, disaster preparedness, and business continuity, as well as Dedicated Hosted Services and Shared Web Hosting based on a customer’s need to either maintain complete administrative control or completely outsource network monitoring and management.

“We’re utilizing our more than ten years of data center experience along with our advanced portfolio of communication solutions,” added Chesonis. “As a result, we’ve built an infrastructure that will responsibly serve our customers’ needs now and in the future as we continue our data center expansion efforts, implement virtualization, and provide server consolidation, content acceleration, and software as a service offerings.”

PAETEC’s data center solutions are hosted in its highly secure central office and data center collocation sites around the country. Supported by a staff of 11 with a 24×7 Technical Assistance Center (TAC), the Andover center with connections to a diverse OC-48 fiber ring has redundant power to the grid, backed-up by five 1400 horsepower, one-megawatt generators with 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel. To keep the center at an optimum temperature for customer equipment, the center boasts 2000 tons of cooling capacity, which will pull from outside air in winter months to help reduce energy costs and overall consumption for increased efficiencies.

Across the nation, PAETEC has 1.4 million square feet or more than 32 acres of data center space. It serves customers in financial services, government, healthcare, higher education, and hospitality industries.

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Retailers and other organizations that rely on credit card transactions now have a compelling reason to consider moving critical payment applications to the cloud.

Verizon Computing as a Service, or CaaS, the company’s cloud computing solution delivered from Verizon cloud centers in the U.S. and Europe, is the first cloud-based solution to successfully complete the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) audit for storing, processing and transmitting credit card information. This means that enterprises can be confident knowing their customers’ data is protected by the most rigorous industry-recognized payment-card security standard available globally.

To become PCI DSS-validated, Verizon CaaS underwent a comprehensive third-party examination of its policies, procedures and technical systems, as well as an on-site assessment and systemwide vulnerability scan.

The PCI DSS, developed by the founding payment brands of the PCI Security Standards Council, helps facilitate the broad adoption of consistent data security measures globally. Intended to help organizations proactively protect customer account data, the PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures.

“Compliance with PCI DSS sets Verizon apart from other players in this space,” said Joseph S. Crawford, executive director, IT solutions, Verizon Business. “As more enterprises look to cloud-enabled IT services, it is essential that we offer a secure environment for corporate applications. PCI compliance further underscores our ongoing commitment and investment in cloud computing.”

Verizon also offers a wide range of other PCI DSS-compliant services, including its transaction services network. In addition, the company’s IP application hosting service, delivered via U.S. managed-hosting smart centers that handle the management and monitoring of customers’ critical Web infrastructure and applications, meets PCI DSS requirements. Verizon also offers PCI-related professional services, as well as the Verizon Online Compliance Program for the Payment Card Industry.

Verizon CaaS – leveraging the company’s global IP infrastructure and data centers – helps customers efficiently and securely manage on-demand computing resources, including server, network and storage capacity. Verizon CaaS enables businesses to pay for the resources actually used and avoid buying equipment and adding staff to build out for peak capacity requirements.

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Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) has signed an agreement with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide wavelength services under the Networx Enterprise contract program.

Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3 will provide the SSA with multiple 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) wavelength solutions to connect several of the SSA’s data center locations with the potential to expand to additional sites in the future. Level 3’s solution is designed not only to be a cost-effective offering, but to also meet SSA’s stringent network performance, scale, capacity and usability requirements.

“Level 3 is optimally positioned to offer government agencies critical communication services, given the high availability of our geographically diverse optical network paths and our custom-build network solutions,” said Edward Morche, senior vice president of Level 3’s Federal Markets. “This award from the SSA clearly demonstrates our ability to provide high-quality services that meet the government’s growing need for reliable connectivity and security.”

With approximately 54,000 long-haul fiber route miles and 27,000 metro fiber miles spanning 190 markets in 22 countries, Level 3 offers a broad portfolio of telecommunications services, including voice over internet protocol (VoIP), enterprise wide area network (WAN), metro and long-haul transport, data, collocation, and content delivery.

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Windstream Corp. (Nasdaq: WIN) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Q-Comm Corporation (Q-Comm), a privately held regional fiber transport and competitive local exchange carrier based in Overland Park, Kan., in a transaction valued at approximately $782 million.

The transaction includes Q-Comm’s wholly owned subsidiaries Kentucky Data Link, Inc., (KDL), a fiber services provider in 22 states, and Norlight, Inc. (Norlight), a competitive local exchange services company primarily serving the Midwest. Both KDL and Norlight are based in Evansville, Ind.

Windstream expects to issue approximately 20.6 million common shares valued at $237 million based on Windstream’s closing share price on August 17 of $11.49, and pay approximately $278 million in cash consideration for outstanding equity interests in Q-Comm. Windstream also will repay estimated Q-Comm debt balances of approximately $267 million, net of cash acquired. Although Windstream expects to have sufficient liquidity in the form of cash balances and revolving credit capacity to fully finance the cash portion of the purchase price and debt repayment, it may choose to raise debt financing in the future.

“This transaction builds on Windstream’s strategy to become a next-generation telecom provider focused on broadband and enterprise customers,” said Jeff Gardner, president and CEO of Windstream. “KDL’s extensive fiber network creates savings for us as well as opportunities to grow business revenues, particularly transport services for wireless carriers.”

The transaction is structured as an acquisition of 100 percent of the stock of Q-Comm by Windstream. Prior to closing, Q-Comm will divest certain assets to its shareholders, such that the remaining businesses acquired by Windstream will consist of KDL and Norlight.

The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, subject to certain conditions, including necessary approvals from federal and state regulators.

Operating Information

KDL provides long-haul and metropolitan fiber services to a diverse base of bandwidth intensive customers, primarily serving wireline and wireless carriers, as well as the large enterprise, government, education and medical markets.  KDL’s contiguous fiber network spans nearly 30,000 fiber route miles in 22 states. KDL has approximately 400 employees.

Norlight is a competitive local exchange carrier that serves approximately 5,500 small and medium size business customers primarily in the Midwest. Norlight has approximately 200 employees.

Windstream and Q-Comm operate in highly complementary markets, and the combination of Windstream’s and Q-Comm’s capabilities in these service areas will provide significant benefits to their respective operations.

Financial Information

KDL has a history of consistent revenue and OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) growth with high OIBDA margins and solid returns on capital investments. Additionally, KDL’s asset base is well positioned to take advantage of attractive wireless backhaul growth opportunities, with a significant number of contracts coming up for bid over the course of the next several years.

In the 12 months ended June 30, 2010, KDL and Norlight generated $231 million in revenue and $92.8 million in OIBDA. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, KDL and Norlight generated $58.2 million in revenue and $24.5 million in OIBDA.

On a pro forma basis to include KDL and Norlight for the three months ended June 30, 2010, broadband and business revenues represented 57 percent of Windstream’s total revenues.

In order to maximize the long-term business potential and value of the acquired properties, Windstream plans to increase success-based capital expenditure investments in the near term. These investments will be concentrated in the wireless backhaul and enterprise businesses and will be driven in part by the significant number of contracts recently awarded to KDL. The increased level of success-based capital spending likely will result in slight adjusted free cash flow dilution to Windstream in the near term but will significantly enhance adjusted free cash flow accretion in the long term. Absent these success-based growth investments, this transaction would be accretive to adjusted free cash flow per share in year one.

Windstream expects to achieve annual operating expense and capital expenditure synergies of approximately $25 million.

Additional Information

Stephens Inc. and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisers and Bryan Cave LLP acted as legal adviser to Windstream on the transaction. RBC Daniels acted as financial adviser and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP acted as legal adviser to Q-Comm.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release references the non-GAAP financial measure OIBDA for KDL and Norlight a pro forma basis. A reconciliation of this measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is presented below:

KDL and Norlight generated $98 million in OIBDA for the last quarter annualized (LQA), for the quarter ending June 30, 2010.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Windstream claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the completion of the acquisition and expected benefits of the acquisition, are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual future events and results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions that Windstream believes are reasonable but are not guarantees of future events and results. Actual future events and results of Windstream may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of important factors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others: receipt of required approvals of regulatory agencies; the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the acquisition cannot be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the possibility that costs or difficulties related to the integration of Q-Comm operations into Windstream will be greater than expected; the ability of the combined company to retain and hire key personnel; and those additional factors under the caption “Risk Factors” in Windstream’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes and results may differ materially because of more general factors including, among others, general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. Windstream undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause Windstream’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect Windstream’s future results included in Windstream’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

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XO Holdings Reports Second Quarter 2010 Financial Results

XO Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: XOHO) today announced its second quarter 2010 financial and operational results.Adjusted EBITDA was $40.5 million in the second quarter of 2010, an increase of $3.4 million compared to the year-ago period. Net loss in the second quarter of 2010 was $1.2 million, a decrease of 80% compared to the net loss of $6.0 million in the second quarter of 2009.

Total revenue for the second quarter of 2010 was $383.6 million, a decrease of $2.0 million, or 1%, compared to the year-ago period. This decrease primarily resulted from targeted price increases within XO’s wholesale long-distance services, which were implemented to improve margins on selected routes.

The company continues to closely monitor and react to the impact of macro-economic conditions on our industry and customers. “While we, like other wireline telecommunications services providers, continue to face short term challenges, we remain bullish on the long term potential for the company,” said Carl Grivner, chief executive officer of XO Communications.

Financial Results
($ in millions) Q2 2010 Q1 2010 Q2 2009
——– ——– ——–
Revenue $ 383.6 $ 369.5 $ 385.6
——– ——– ——–
Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 40.5 $ 30.6 $ 37.1
——– ——– ——–
Adjusted EBITDA % (2) 11% 8% 10%
——– ——– ——–
Net Loss $ (1.2) $ (16.6) $ (6.0)
——– ——– ——–
Preferred Stock Accretion $ (17.7) $ (20.2) $ (19.9)
——– ——– ——–
Net Loss Allocable to Common Shareholders $ (18.9) $ (36.8) $ (25.9)
——– ——– ——–
Capital Expenditures $ 57.6 $ 64.2 $ 51.4
——– ——– ——–
(1) Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP financial measure. See the footnote
discussion accompanying the financial statements.
(2) Adjusted EBITDA % is adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. See the
footnote discussion accompanying the financial statements.

Revenue
In the second quarter of 2010, XO’s Broadband offerings generated $220.0 million in revenue, an increase of $24.6 million, or 13%, from the year-ago period. This increase resulted from the continued growth in XO’s diverse broadband offerings, such as IP-VPN, IP Flex, Ethernet and Dedicated Internet Access services.
The revenue growth in XO’s Broadband services is partially offset by the year-over-year decrease in Integrated/Voice and Legacy TDM services. Revenue for Integrated/Voice Services during the second quarter of 2010 was $56.8 million, a decrease of $17.7 million, or 24%, compared to the year ago period. This category is inclusive of XO’s wholesale long distance offering, Carrier Long Distance Termination (CLDT), which declined $4.2 million compared to the year-ago period. This decline was the result of aforementioned targeted price increases implemented to improve margins on selected routes.

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AboveNet, Inc. (NYSE:ABVT),) has linked its network to Terremark Worldwide Inc.’s NAP of the Capital Region located in Culpeper, VA. Terremark is a leader in IT infrastructure services, operating data centers in the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Built to accommodate five 50,000-square-foot independent data centers and one 72,000-square-foot office building, Terremark’s NAP of the Capital Region exceeds Federal standards for a carrier grade data communications and hosting facility. Customers in the Terremark NAP of the Capital Region now have access to AboveNet’s high bandwidth connectivity solutions for all business data communications needs. AboveNet currently serves Terremark customers at the NAP of the Capital Region, and also connects to Terremark data centers in Miami, FL, Dallas, TX, and Santa Clara, CA.

“AboveNet’s expansion into the Terremark NAP of the Capital Region is the latest step in our plan to provide Washington area customers with near-ubiquitous access to our advanced MAN and WAN services,” said Matt Johns, Director of Mid-Atlantic Sales at AboveNet. “AboveNet connects to nearly 50 data centers in the region to meet their customers’ needs for high bandwidth, low latency connectivity.”

“With 65 percent of the data center space already contracted and 16 carrier networks, the NAP of the Capital Region is one of our fastest-growing facilities, and we have recently announced plans to double its size,” said Norm Laudermilch, Terremark’s Senior Vice President of Infrastructure Management. “As more Washington-area organizations including federal agencies and corporate users opt for Terremark, they benefit from the combined strength of Terremark’s secure, reliable data centers and AboveNet’s high-bandwidth connectivity solutions.”

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Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced the availability of direct connectivity into global financial markets technology company BATS Europe, operator of a European Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). This will give Level 3’s European financial services customers access to Level 3’s international Tier 1 backbone and low-latency trading execution from Europe to North America.

The new offering includes options for metro and inter-city connectivity as well as direct connection to Level 3’s low-latency, trans-Atlantic routes with diverse landing stations to better facilitate security and business continuity.

BATS Europe, launched on the 31 October 2008, is one of the leading pan-European markets, with market share of 8-10 percent in the FTSE 100, 7 percent of the SMI and 5-6 percent across the 15 European markets in which it operates.

“The tremendous growth of BATS Europe is a result of our forward-thinking approach to technology and understanding of the importance of fast, reliable global connectivity,” said Paul O’Donnell, chief operating officer at BATS Europe. “We’re committed to providing communications access solutions to market participants that meet the rigorous demands of the financial trading industry. We’re pleased to include Level 3 among the providers from which our participants may choose to connect to BATS Europe.”

Level 3 offers a number of customizable solutions for the financial industry, as well as low-latency network services to select trading venues throughout Europe and North America, including 15 financial exchanges, 14 electronic communications networks and seven market data centers.

With approximately 54,000 long-haul fibre miles and 27,000 metro fibre miles spanning 190 markets in 22 countries, Level 3 operates one of the most extensive and diverse network footprints in the market. As a result, Level 3 offers multiple low-latency options on a number of routes.

“At Level 3, we understand that when it comes to financial transactions, fractions of a second matter, and we’ve designed our services for this industry to meet the needs of the most sophisticated and demanding of customers,” said James Heard, president of European Markets at Level 3. “BATS Europe’s participants will now have access to solutions that nine of the top ten commercial banks rely on every day, including low-latency trading, highly scalable high-speed connections and secure transport of financial data that complies with major industry standards.”

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Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today issued a statement in response to the Verizon-Google Legislative Framework Proposal. The following statement can be attributed to John M. Ryan, assistant chief legal officer and head of Regulatory Affairs for Level 3 Communications:

“We are encouraged that two companies with diverse business interests in the broadband Internet have been able to come to agreement on an issue as controversial as network neutrality. Like both companies, Level 3 believes that the government has a role to play in assuring an open, dynamic, improving and ubiquitous broadband Internet for U.S. citizens. We share their view that government must preserve innovation, advance policies that encourage accelerated investment in broadband infrastructure, and protect competition within all portions of the Internet market.

’”While there is much to praise in the Verizon-Google statement, there are also areas that require more attention. Allowing last-mile access network owners to create a “paid priority” data service raises a number of concerns, especially since most consumers have a choice of only two wired broadband Internet suppliers, and since contention for limited capacity seems inevitable because consumers’ demand for broadband is greater than the existing networks’ capacity.

”While we have concerns about some aspects of the proposal, we are encouraged by the progress made by Verizon and Google, and look forward to working with the industry and with the government to advance policies that encourage innovation, investment and competition within the broadband Internet market.”

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XO Communications (OTCBB: XOHO) has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan, a global market research and growth consulting firm, as the leading VoIP and SIP trunking services provider and capturing the largest market share among service providers by delivering superior customer satisfaction and value.

Frost & Sullivan has conferred on XO Communications the 2010 North American Competitive Strategy Leadership Award in the VoIP access and SIP trunking services market. In addition, Frost & Sullivan recently published a report naming XO Communications as the leading VoIP Access and SIP trunking provider in terms of enterprise VoIP end users.

“XO Communications is committed to providing VoIP solutions that deliver real value to customers,” said Mike Toplisek, chief marketing officer for XO Business Services at XO Communications. “Our VoIP services portfolio helps businesses and large enterprises simplify the management of their communications and implement new IP-based technologies that allow them to increase productivity while reducing costs. Taken together, we are able to offer customers a superior service and experience.”

“XO Communications has aggressively pursued the VoIP market opportunity for several years now, targeting diverse customer segments and their unique needs. Its turnkey managed services are designed to be future-proof, as the company has time and again demonstrated it can anticipate evolving market trends and tailor its products to address emerging business demands,” said Elka Popova, program director, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan.

VoIP and SIP Trunking Services Award
The Frost & Sullivan award recognizes XO Communications for its strong customer and revenue growth in the VoIP and SIP trunking services market, robust services portfolio, and commitment to innovation, superior service and value. Specifically, the award highlighted that XO Communications consistently offers VoIP, SIP trunking and managed services that leverage the latest technology and service models and meet the needs of small business customers who look for streamlined products at a lower cost and large businesses that focus on scalable, robust and versatile solutions. In addition, the award noted the XO® brand is associated with high service levels, stringent provisioning standards and excellent value for money.

VoIP Access and SIP Trunking Services Market Leadership
The Frost & Sullivan award recognized XO Communications as the leader in the VoIP access and SIP trunking services market, with 22.2 percent of the market, attributing the company’s strong growth and impressive performance to new customer additions and an ever-expanding network footprint in key business regions. In addition, Frost & Sullivan, in its “North American VoIP Access and SIP Trunking Services Market” study published in April, also named XO Communications as having the largest share of the market in terms of corporate end users.

XO Communications is an industry innovator and leader in providing advanced IP-based communications solutions for businesses and large enterprises. The company’s portfolio of award-winning VoIP and SIP trunking services includes XO® IP Flex, XO® IP Flex with VPN, XO® Anywhere, XO® iPBX, XO® SIP and XO® Enterprise SIP.

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