Welcome to FISPA LIVE!

How to Grow Your Business with FISPA

Where VOLstate.net was

Started in 1996 as a residential ISP– Basically one product

• Dial up access with email.

We changed out of necessity– Started offering ISDN and DSL service– Started concentrating on business clients

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By 2007

We were a business only, Data ISP– We sold PCs and Servers out of necessity.– We had some good clients– We lacked the products we needed

•We needed a voice offering

We were paying too much for almost everything.– We were losing deals.

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Thought I could get help getting into the voice business.

Tried attending a FISPA show.– Found a new vendor– Arranged cross selling across LATA with

another FISPA member– Discovered I was not alone…

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VOLstate Joined FISPA

Producers

Fispa is full of producers with diverse models.

Some are innovators– Taking Risk and driving change

Some are great competitors– Taking business from the LECs– Providing their customers a great experience

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Use FISPA to add Leverage

Remember the power of your association – When you negotiate with vendors that are not

yet in FISPA.• Leverage that membership and widen your

opportunity.– Charter relationship started in the conference room of

VOLstate in a meeting with Matt Anderson» Needed an alternative to just DSL» VOLstate by itself was not a large enough

opportunity.

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Use FISPA to help vendors.

New Vendor – You want them to be successful.– In 2008 I was introduced to a new vendor that

could get me in the voice business.• It was risky – I was only the second customer.• Nonetheless, I had to get in the voice business.• I wanted them to succeed.

I asked Ipifony to Join FISPA. – They have helped FISPA by being a sponsor

at every event since.

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Connection Options

Utilize the Swiss Army Knife of Connectivity– Larger Competitors don’t do this.

• The needs of the customer are not met

– You have the know how– Take what you have and make unique

products.

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Smaller competitors can win

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One Example of Victory

FISPA helped us land our largest customer– That deal is worth over 850 thousand dollars.

• Uses AT&T Metro Ethernet.• Uses AT&T light gate.• Users Nitel rural LDPL• Uses a now abandoned FISPA DSL aggregation• Users another FISPA service provider to add out of

market circuits. • Used “Know How” I gathered from other members.

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CLEC “Therapy”

FISPA members taught me how to become a CLEC.

“CLEC Therapy” Not wasted.– FISPA CLEC helping “wannabes”– Expert Vendors available

• Kris Twomey• Technologies Management (guest at one event)

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On my way to the TRA...

Here is a picture of the AT&T headquarters in Nashville, TN.

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AT&T’s Brand…

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VOLstate’s Voice Brand

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Pole Attachment Help

Fispa members shared 2 pole attachment agreements with me.

I now have an agreement with my city-owned utility.

We have completed the first of 7 phases of our build out.

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Layer 1 started

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The Power of Layer 1

We recently finished negotiations with 2 anchor customers.

Renewed for 3 and 4 years.A large, publicly traded CLEC was bidding

both jobs.Their salesman recently called me asking to

work for us.

Regulatory Help

Like it or not, Governments want their piece of your business.

Compliance is important– Keep the bureaucrats out of your life!– Vendor Members Kris Twomey and Mark

Lamert can help you.

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Catch up with your vendors.Reconnect with your peers.Consider the solutions that new vendors

have.Help someone else.

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While You are Here

Welcome to FISPA LIVE!