Small Independent Firm Delivers Triple Play To The Bronx... Mostly By Itself

from the who-needs-partners dept

For all the talk about a lack of competition in the telco world, Interesting People points to a fascinating story about a small independent provider who is offering "triple play" service to apartment complexes in the Bronx -- in areas that incumbent providers said couldn't be reached with such services. The whole story of Urban Telephone and Video is interesting (including the fact that they were the first Vonage wholesaler -- and they did it in a way that even Vonage didn't think was possible) -- but one of the most interesting parts is how much of the service they've figured out how to do themselves. That is, unlike so many independent providers today, rather than just piggyback on someone else's identical, undifferentiated offerings and slapping a unique brand on it, Urban has brought as much as possible in house where they have real control over what customers get to make sure it's high enough quality. Obviously, there are some areas where they've partnered (such as with Vonage on the voice component), but it does highlight one of the issues with the idea that "competition" is best served by everyone offering identical offerings that they don't really have control over.

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