Archive for March, 2010
Working to get better
Mar 29th
Telecommunication is a funny business. One day you are a hero and the next day a circuit goes down, with people scratching their heads on what is causing this. The following day, emails are going back and forth, escalation conference calls, and then #@$%*&. A few days later, over a holiday weekend, people are still trying to figure out why all of a sudden a circuit has been taken down. Come to find out it was a twisted cross connect. Why does it always seem like the problem is the last thing you check? Just when you think the fire is out it, the fire re-appears at the same spot but the cause is different. At this point, it was time to re-build the entire house from scratch. This was a painful experience, but a lot of good it coming out of it.
Intelletrace has it’s work cut out to earn the trust from our customer. We are working closely with their techs and manager to improve the process. We understand circuits are eventually going to have problems of some kind. It is our responsibility to quickly understand why the problem exists, understand the processes of the Carrier support group, and push for quick resolution. Intelletrace must constantly prove we are part of the solution.
Recently, Intelletrace had met with XO to work on getting better. When our vendors are lacking communication and the experience for quick resolution, this reflects on Intelletrace. Through the ever changing technology, people, and processes, Intelletrace must meet with Carriers to review past situations and improve. From our meeting with XO, both companies gained a better understanding of each other. Intelletrace received a new escalation list from provisioning, support, and engineering with XO. A review process was also set up for both companies to continue to work on building a stronger relationship.
These are a few more reasons on why to choose Intelletrace. We are constantly working on being a better partner for our customers and vendors. Our customers know their business and what makes them successful. Unless a company is focused, it is very tough, if not impossible, to keep up with the ever changing industry of Telecom. Intelletrace remains focused on selling, provisioning, and supporting our customers 24×7. Please let us know what we can do for you to get better.
Spring Comptel 2010
Mar 23rd
Catching up after an active Comptel, I am finally back to get everybody caught up of what is going on in the industry. It seems there is still plenty of capacity and fiber in the ground. Prices are still dropping and more and more dark fiber providers are popping up. Intelletrace does not run into a lot of dark fiber opportunities, but have picked up 3 more providers which can assist our customers. As equipment costs also drop, customers are looking into dark fiber to run 10 Gig networks.
Due to costs, all the big Carriers are no longer exhibiting, except for Sprint. The Carriers are participating by hosting large suites with food and beverages. These are nice meeting places, except when the suite is crowded and there are multiple conversations going on. Qwest, if you are listening, I do not recommend having such a large suite. Verizon Business had multiple suites which were private and can have a very effective meeting. We didn’t get a chance to meet with Sprint during the day, but they had a great party on the Music Queen River Boat. Here I got to speak with several executives and their customer to get a better understanding where Sprint is heading. While most companies are cutting back on the entertainment, Sprint still comes through with a good time.�
While IP pricing is still dropping, Verizon Business feels the market has reached a bottom. I certaintly hope so, although I feel a large provider will have to file for bankruptcy before this happens. Will we see a 2000 bust all over again???
Most importantly, I get to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We had a fun time in Nashville, catching a Predators Hockey match and bar hopping down town. The live entertainment is great. It is a city I enjoy visiting. Hope to see you at the fall Comptel in Dallas.
Pacific Launch Event
Mar 12th
A quick blog about the Pacnet Pacific Launch Party last night. I have attached a picture of the 600 foot cable repair ship used by Pacnet. It is one of 2 cable repair ships Pacnet has in the ocean on call 24×7. Pacnet also has one cable laying ship which is 660 feet. The ship called the Global Sentinel is scheduled to ship off to Oregon today. Luckily there were no emergencies, so the ship stayed docked and we were all able to enjoy a nice evening.
Monday, I am off to Nashville for Comptel. I hope to have more news to write about and possibly some pictures of the evening events.
Social Networking, Finally
Mar 10th
It is nice to see a few of the Carriers are catching up to the Social Networking tools, which people use everyday to communicate. The first of the year, I turned over a new leaf to come out and call out the Carriers who continue to bring back the dinosaur age, when it comes to customer service. Unfortunately, I do not have enough posts to discuss the Carriers who are stepping up and delivering at a high level. I have been posting and naming Carriers for almost 6 months now. Not one as responded until now.
Level 3 was the first to respond to our frustrations at Intelletrace. After taking several days and sometimes weeks, to get back budgetary pricing, Level 3 delivered Intelletrace a pricing tool. After 5 years of working with Level 3, we were happy to hear from them. The pricing tool is easy to use and prices out their private line and Internet access products. The more you use it, the more you can build up the database, so it will see be just a point and click for quick pricing. It took 2 days after our post, for Level 3 to deliver what we needed to service our customers. I guess that is the power of blogging, when it goes out to the world. Blogging is getting to be more powerful than escalating within the Carrier executive levels. Hmmm… I starting to get other ideas.
XO also responded quickly after a blog post. After an install which went South, our head Geek posted his frustrations and XO quickly responded. We quickly spoke with Executives and have set up meetings to see how we can work closer together. At Intelletrace, we rely on our Carriers to make us successful. Our Carriers, are just as important as our customers. We are amazed they are starting to respond to our need through the Social Networking channels. I hope we can resolve problems and strengthen the partnership through getting to know each other better.
Level 3 and XO are ahead of the game when it comes to getting to know their customers and communicating. We will see how long until the others catch up or continue to fall behind in the market place.
Marc Alciati
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Industry: Telecommunications
Occupation: President CEO
Location: Novato : CA : United States
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