Windstream (News - Alert), which provides VoIP trunking services over its multi protocol label switching (MPLS) and data networks, has been recently recognized by Frost & Sullivan for its dominance in the North American VoIP access and Session Initiation Protocol (News - Alert) (SIP) trunking services market.
The market for VoIP access and SIP trunking services is growing in North America. The competition for market share and ongoing market consolidation are driving these services ever closer to commodity status, resulting in falling prices and reduced profit margins, according to the analyst firm.
"Market share leadership is an important asset in hedging the effect of commoditization by compensating for price reductions with sheer sales volume," said Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) Industry Analyst Michael Brandenburg, in a statement.
The company's data/voice bundle offers customers a set amount of bandwidth that they can leverage for all of their voice, Internet, and data network needs. For example, when an enterprise site's connection is not in use for voice traffic, it is available for faster downloads.
Windstream is one of the many aggressive players in the MPLS services segment. The company is adept at both choosing acquisition targets and integrating these acquisitions into its product offerings.
Additionally, the acquisition of PAETEC (News - Alert) secured a nationwide footprint for Windstream's voice services and combined two of North America's top five VoIP access and SIP trunking competitors.
"Its successful merger with PAETEC and the creative bundling of data and voice services in ways that make the most sense to the customer have helped Windstream take the lead in a highly competitive market," Brandenburg added.
The addition of the Allworx (News - Alert) IP PBX platform to the Windstream portfolio also gives its customers a third option – managed on-premises IP telephony. The MPLS provider even offers hosted IP telephony and unified communications (UC) services, which complete the gamut of telephony solutions for business customers.
Catering to the needs of small to mid-sized business customers with a feature-rich alternative to standard analog lines without the burden of capital expenditures, the company’s approach offers superior value to customers compared to the delivery of a boiler-plate menu of services, ensures customer loyalty and retention, and provides opportunities for attachment of additional services going forward.
To find out more about UNSi visit the company at ITEXPO Miami 2013. Taking place Jan. 29- Feb 1, in Miami, Florida, be sure to visit UNSi in booth #923 and #925. For more information on ITEXPO Miami 2013, click here.
Edited by Jamie Epstein