Mitsopoulos.net

DSL Extreme, a leading provider of high-speed Internet access and business communications services, announced today the addition of new high-speed Business Ethernet services, in partnership with Covad Communications. These high bandwidth services will be available in two flavors across the US, with a heavy focus initially on the greater Los Angeles market. DSL Extreme’s Business Ethernet services are attractively priced and highly reliable, with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a dedicated in-house 24×7 business customer support team. These enterprise-grade Ethernet offerings complement DSL Extreme’s other Business Plus services for small to medium-sized business customers – including DSL, T1, and hosted Email.

“Business Ethernet offers higher speeds and less complexity than T1, for roughly comparable prices,” noted George Mitsopoulos, Vice President and General Manager of DSL Extreme. He added, “Business Ethernet is the next evolution that enables SMBs to operate more efficiently and move more IT services into the cloud.” Business Ethernet services from DSL Extreme meet the needs of small, medium and remote offices by enabling business customers to run the latest IP applications between multiple points on their networks. By working with Covad, which has an extensive history of managing copper services, DSL Extreme can offer new services from a trusted partner and expand the options available for their customers.

Business Ethernet over Copper
Currently available in 100 central offices in the greater Los Angeles area, Ethernet over Copper service is a dedicated Internet connection delivered over bonded copper loops, terminating at an Ethernet port. The service can be ordered with symmetrical download/upload speeds starting at 2 Mbps up to 20 Mbps. Entry-level pricing for 2Mbps service is $329 per month.

Business Ethernet over Bonded SDSL (BSDSL)
Currently available in over 2000 central offices throughout the US, Ethernet over Bonded SDSL is a dedicated Internet connection delivered over bonded SDSL loops, terminating at an Ethernet port. The service can be ordered with symmetrical download/upload speeds from 2 Mbps to 3 Mbps, with prices starting at $329.

Interested clients will be able to prequalify online and submit a simple contact form to receive a price quote and other information. To learn more about DSL Extreme’s Business Ethernet services and other Business Plus offerings, visit www.dslextreme.biz or call 866-2-GET-NET.

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Interview with Google regarding our switch to Google Apps for our email services.

admin Customer Service, Technology, Telecom

There was a great deal of discussion around Fred Wilson’s blog post, “Protecting Business“  this evening.  In Fred’s post regarding Net Neutrality he referenced the need for government regulation in the access business to help foster competition.

Fred states, “I also believe that government should be fostering a lot of competition in the access business. That was the idea of the telcom reform act. But it hasn’t played out that way. We have an ever increasing consolidation of power in the access business. Just like we had in the banking and brokerage business. This is not good.”

I completely agree with Fred around the need for competition in the access business.  This can only be accomplished by requiring through regulation the Telco’s and cable companies to provide open access to the network infrastructure.  Open access helps keep network providers like AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner and Comcast honest.  Competition leads to consumer choice which ultimately leads to better pricing and more importantly better service for consumers.

Whenever open access is discussed the opposing argument always includes the notion that the Telcos paid for the infrastructure why should they have to open it up to competitors.  Unfortunately that argument isn’t completely true as in many cases the infrastructure costs were offset by the consumers and tax payers.

The discussion reminded me of a letter from SBC California to their clients within the greater San Diego area that I dug up and have included below. The letter states on 03/03/2005 SBC with the “endorsement” of the city of San Diego filed an application with the CPUC to add an additional monthly surcharge to their client’s bill. The surcharge would cover the cost of undergrounding the overhead telephones lines in the City of San Diego. This surcharge which is approximately 94 cents per month would be in place for the entire length of the project. They anticipate the project would start in 2006 and end in 2022. Each client that has service through SBC or a CLEC would pay approximately $200 over the 16 year period to cover the cost of SBC/AT&T moving the lines.

It is obvious that it would not be advantageous for SBC to install new copper lines as everything is moving to fiber. One can easily infer that they in fact would be installing fiber. So the question becomes, is this project truly meant to beautify the city of San Diego? Are the phone companies really paying to install their fiber networks? It is evident in this case that it is the consumers paying to have them installed and the phone companies are benefiting from it.

Many people have eluded to the notion that if the phone companies didn’t have to open up their networks that the price would be cheaper. I urge those people to look at the price of cable Internet service which is double and sometimes triple the cost for DSL service. Competition within the industry not only helps to drive cost down for consumers but forces providers to provide better customer service. As the FCC reopens discussions around open access I hope they take this into consideration.

admin Technology, Telecom AT&T, Net Neutrality, Open Access, Verizon

PowerVPS, a leader and pioneer in virtualization and cloud hosting services, launched a new website at www.powervps.com to help businesses take advantage of new cloud computing solutions to meet their IT needs and save money. These next generation service offerings – known as Fuse, Force, and Ignite – simplify the choices in the marketplace and make it easy for small businesses to enter “the cloud.”

Customers of PowerVPS get the best of both worlds – maintaining control of their IT setup without having to purchase hardware and software or hire on-site technical staff. That translates to lower costs and fewer headaches, simply by allow ing the expert team at PowerVPS to handle the burden of purchasing, hosting and managing servers, operating systems, network devices, storage and security.

“It’s not just about cutting edge technology, blazing fast servers, or industry leading resource allocations. We have those, of course. But we also back Fuse, Force and Ignite with round-the-clock customer service and technical support at a very competitive price point,” said Thomas Kiblin, founder and CEO of Virtacore Systems Inc., the parent company behind PowerVPS.

Businesses performing due diligence to find the right cloud computing and virtual private server (VPS) provider should be looking for a solution that is easy to migrate into, fully scalable, well supported, and “always-on” – meaning high availability and virtually 100% up-time. PowerVPS fits the bill and makes enterprise-class technology and service affordable for small businesses.

Many other cloud services in the marketplace provide lower-end or rented and resold equipment and facilities, with minimal end user support. PowerVPS owns all of its high-end servers and network equipment and hosts your business in best-in-class facilities such as Equinix IBX and CoreSite data centers.

In addition to email and web based helpdesk support, PowerVPS is now offering our customers across the globe access to live telephone support, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our Los Angeles-based call center is staffed with an advanced team of support professionals dedicated to making sure your small business needs are met.

“If you are serious about your website and IT and want the best available technology and support for your small business or organization, our new PowerVPS services are for you,” said George Naspo, Chairman of Virtacore Systems Inc. “Fuse, Force & Ignite can get you started with just a few clicks and you’ll wonder why you didn’t make the move sooner.”

If your business or start-up is looking to make sense of all the cloud computing options, let PowerVPS and Virtacore Systems take you on a tour. Register at http://walkinthecloud.eventbrite.com/ to meet-up on November 19th at 5pm in Ashburn, VA with our hosting community and chat with leading cloud vendors, including Equinix and Parallels.

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LOS ANGELES, CA, October 27, 2009 – DSL Extreme, a leading provider of high-speed Internet access and business communications services, announced today the availability of a new offering for business customers named Business Plus (www.dslextreme.biz). The premium business website offers a complete menu of services including high-speed Internet connectivity, hosted email communications, and web hosting services.

Business Plus makes it easier for small to medium-sized businesses to order a full suite of Internet services from one vendor. “Many of our customers wanted expanded connectivity offerings beyond residential Internet speeds and email. Business Plus offers a layered cake of services to choose from, all on one bill supported by our unique 24/7 dedicated Business Customer Care Team,” said George Mitsopoulos, Vice President and General Manager of DSL Extreme. “Our customers prefer a single point of contact for their Fiber, DSL, T1, Email, Collaboration Tools, and Web Hosting. It simply takes the hassle out of knowing what to order, how to pay, and who to call.”

DSL Extreme’s core connectivity offerings include Fiber Extreme, priced at $49.95 per month for speeds up to 10.0Mbps and $179.95 per month for speeds up to 50.0Mbps. Fiber Extreme is now available to millions of businesses in 17 states. DSL, ADLS2+ or Fiber Services are generally suitable for businesses with up to 25 employees. DSL Extreme also offers T1 or Direct Ethernet Service more suited for larger businesses with over 25 employees.

With high-bandwidth fiber, small businesses can layer the latest communications tools for their employees – including messaging, calendaring, collaboration, document sharing, and video. DSL Extreme is a Microsoft Gold certified partner and Blackberry Alliance member and provides Microsoft Exchange hosted email and Outlook, SharePoint 3.0, and Blackberry support. In addition DSL Extreme offers Google Apps Premier Edition for always-on communication and collaboration services including Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google Video, and Google Docs.

DSL Extreme has also expanded into specialized IT hosting for businesses through a partnership with sister company Virtacore Systems, Inc. New offerings include virtual private cloud systems, specialized virtualization, dedicated servers, and managed hosting services.

“Small businesses that are resource constrained can benefit from Business Plus. The layered services expand as your business expands, but billing and support stay consistent through one provider,” says George Naspo, CEO, IKANO Communications, Inc., the Salt Lake City-based parent company of DSL Extreme and Virtacore Systems, Inc. “Business owners can focus on their core business by outsourcing communications, mobile email services, and hosting services to DSL Extreme.”

To learn how to order Business Plus Internet services from DSL Extreme, call 800-949-3759 or visit www.dslextreme.biz.

admin Technology, Telecom

I had an opportunity to spend part of the day watching videos from Startup School 09 and Web 2.0 Summit 09. I am always intrigued by some of the success stories, hardships and visions of some of the great leaders / entrepreneurs of Internet based companies.  Below are a few videos from the Web 2.0 conference with Sergey Brin from Google and Tim Armstrong from AOL which are both companies IKANO is fortune to work with.  Moving forward content and applications / communication tools that drive people to that content will continue to be a large part of the focus for Internet companies like Google and AOL.  Fortunately in my opinion there is a great deal of room for content providers and unique application providers on the web.  Though a number of things will be driven by larger players in the space I think there is plenty of room for smaller niche players which will continue to drive innovation.

Web 2.0 Summit 09: Sergey Brin and John Battelle, “A Conversation with Sergey Brin”

Web 2.0 Summit 09: Tim Armstrong and John Battelle, “A Conversation with Tim Armstong”

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Leo really hits the nail on the head when it comes to what advertisers are looking for today.  As online mediums like Google, Bing and Facebook have allowed us to target highly qualified individuals looking to purchase our services, we look to more traditional or “bridge” media to do the same.  With Leo’s highly targetted audience and direct community relationships that he builds with his audience he is able to deliver similar results.

admin Marketing, Technology