Netifice Communications Acquires Epoch Networks

Epoch expands Netifice's network reach into 20 markets around the country and gives the IP-based communications service provider access to Epoch's peering relationships. The deal also expands Netifice's public and private IP transport offerings such as IP-Video and IP-Voice, said Stephen Schilling, founder, president and CEO of the company, based here.

"Frame relay and other replacement opportunities have created the need for us to become much more network- and backbone-intensive vs. our background in the remote-access space," said Schilling. "We needed to figure out a way to grow our core network infrastructure and marry that with MPLS, so it was a buy-vs.-build decision."

Terms of the stock-swap deal between the two private companies were not disclosed.

Schilling said that a handful of companies private-label their managed VPN offering, but he expects Netifice's private-labeling initiative to become more prevalent with the Epoch acquisition.

"[Private-labeling is a bigger part of Epoch's business, and it will be a bigger part of our combined future," Schilling said. "I think the approach in today's telco market is to hunker down and protect revenue, so there isn't much innovation going on at the telcos, but they still need to offer services like VPN."

Netifice is in discussion with a number of companies, such as CLECs, interested in private-labeling its services, he said.