Alliance, Iowa Network Services launch phone subsidiary
Alliance, Iowa Network Services launch phone subsidiary
By Joe Gardyasz
joegardyasz@bpcdm.com
Alliance Technologies and Iowa Network Services Inc. (INS) have formed a business telephone subsidiary, Alliance Connect LLC, with a goal of becoming one of the bigger players in the statewide market within the next five years.
The catalyst for the initiative was INS’ investment in Alliance Technologies in 2008, said Steve Sikkink, president of Alliance Technologies. INS is a network of 127 independent telephone companies located throughout the state, with its headquarters and data center hub in West Des Moines.
“We recognized there are some synergies we should be able to achieve together, especially with us being in the data world and INS in the telco world,” Sikkink said. “Voice and data is all merging together, and we knew that we needed to get into the voice world, and INS was looking to diversify.”
Alliance Connect received regulatory approval a year ago from the Iowa Utilities Board to become a competitive local exchange carrier and began acquiring business customers in a soft launch that began in September, said Dan Nichols, Alliance Connect’s general manager.
“A lot of customers that we’ve talked to, whether Alliance Technologies or INS customers, wanted a one-stop shop,” he said. “With Alliance Technologies creating Alliance Connect as a subsidiary, we can now offer the data, voice, IT support, fiber and data all as a one-stop shop.”
Nichols said the company is focusing on the business telephone market and that its bread-and-butter product is voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service. It will primarily use INS’ fiber network to provide service, but also has interconnection agreements with CenturyLink Inc. and Windstream Corp. to provide service through those companies’ networks.
Alliance Connect currently employs nine people and is co-located with its parent company in its new location at 420 Watson Powell Jr. Way, Suite 100. For more information, call (877) 777-7128.
Alliance Technologies and Iowa Network Services Inc. (INS) have formed a business telephone subsidiary, Alliance Connect LLC, with a goal of becoming one of the bigger players in the statewide market within the next five years.
The catalyst for the initiative was INS’ investment in Alliance Technologies in 2008, said Steve Sikkink, president of Alliance Technologies. INS is a network of 127 independent telephone companies located throughout the state, with its headquarters and data center hub in West Des Moines.
“We recognized there are some synergies we should be able to achieve together, especially with us being in the data world and INS in the telco world,” Sikkink said. “Voice and data is all merging together, and we knew that we needed to get into the voice world, and INS was looking to diversify.”
Alliance Connect received regulatory approval a year ago from the Iowa Utilities Board to become a competitive local exchange carrier and began acquiring business customers in a soft launch that began in September, said Dan Nichols, Alliance Connect’s general manager.
“A lot of customers that we’ve talked to, whether Alliance Technologies or INS customers, wanted a one-stop shop,” he said. “With Alliance Technologies creating Alliance Connect as a subsidiary, we can now offer the data, voice, IT support, fiber and data all as a one-stop shop.”
Nichols said the company is focusing on the business telephone market and that its bread-and-butter product is voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service. It will primarily use INS’ fiber network to provide service, but also has interconnection agreements with CenturyLink Inc. and Windstream Corp. to provide service through those companies’ networks.
Alliance Connect currently employs nine people and is co-located with its parent company in its new location at 420 Watson Powell Jr. Way, Suite 100. For more information, call (877) 777-7128.
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