Bandwidth.com Program Eases Connectivity Woes

The communications service provider has developed a program that cuts through what many solution providers call the carrier nightmare,no visibility into orders and installations, and shoddy support.

Bandwidth.com started developing a system for buying bandwidth from carriers three years ago. The goal was to give solution providers and customers a view into the life cycle of buying connectivity from order placement to installation and ongoing support.

On average an order placed through Bandwidth.com is installed within 30 days vs. an industry average of 45 days, according to the company.

"We take the pain away, "said Henry Kaestner, CEO and co-founder of Bandwidth.com, Durham. "The sales rep at a carrier is often inexperienced, and all they are about is closing a deal. Once they hang up, the SMB doesn't know where an order stands or how to find out why it's delayed."

The Web-based installation and pricing tracking system is free of charge to partners and gives them the ability to private-label the service. Bandwidth.com is paid by the carrier for the connectivity service and shares a percentage of that revenue with the partner. Solution providers stand to make a percentage of the monthly connectivity fee on a T1 line, which costs $875 a month, or on a T3 line, which costs up to $8,000 a month, Kaestner said.

"It's a great way for solution providers to stop losing business to carriers," he said. "Carriers have started selling hardware and professional services, which cuts into VARs' businesses. Now VARs can offer a full package, including connectivity, that they can get set up more easily and faster than if the customer or partner worked directly with the carrier."

Bandwidth.com is an agent for 15 carriers, and it had signed 20 solution provider partners as of the beginning of September, including Alphanumeric Systems, a broad-based systems integrator that has been in business for 24 years.

"We've tried working directly with telcos in the past, and it was a nightmare," said Tim Finnegan, security practice manager at Alphanumeric Systems, Raleigh, N.C. "Their programs were half-baked and not supported well. Bandwidth.com made it real easy to quote bandwidth for our customer."

Another benefit is the ability to service customers with multiple locations without dealing with multiple carriers, he said.

"Rather than calling up one carrier for one location and another and so on, Bandwidth.com aggregates the carrier services for us, gives us a centralized bill and a call-resolution number," Finnegan said.