Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded flat to 16,447.73 while the NASDAQ gained 0.02 percent to 4,069.98. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.06 percent to 1,871.19.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Friday, telecommunications services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.83 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), up 5.2 percent, and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (NYSE: TLK), up 5.3 percent. Basic materials shares fell about 0.33 percent in trading on Friday.
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS)
T-Mobile US, Inc., formerly MetroPCS Communications, Inc., incorporated on March 10, 2004, is a wireless telecommunications carrier, which offers wireless broadband mobile services primarily in metropolitan areas in the United States, including the Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando/Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa/Sarasota metropolitan areas. Its flagship brands include T-Mobile and MetroPCS. As of December 31, 2012, it held licenses for wireless spectrum suitable for wireless broadband mobile services covering a total population of 144 million people in and around many of the metropolitan areas in the United States. It provides its services using code division multiple accesses (CDMA) networks using 1xRTT technology and evolution data optimized (EVDO) and fourth generation long term evolution (4G LTE).
The Company has roaming agreements with other wireless broadband mobile carriers that allow them to offer its customers service in many areas when they are outside its service area. These roaming agreements, together with the area it serve with its own networks, allows its customers to receive service in an area covering over 280 million in total population under the Metro USA brand. The Company sells products and services to customers through its Company-owned retail stores, as well as indirectly through relationships with independent retailers and third party dealers. Its service allows its customers to place unlimited local calls from within its local service area and to receive unlimited calls from any area while in its service area, for a flat-rate monthly service fee. For additional usage fees, it also provide certain other value-added services. All of these plans require payment in advance for one month of service. If no payment is made in advance for month of service, service is suspended at the end of the month that was paid for by the customer and, if the customer does not pay within 30 day! s, the customer is terminated. It believes its service plans differentiate them from the more complex plans and long-term contract requirements of traditional wireless carriers.
The Company voice services allow customers to place voice calls to, and receive calls from, any telephone in the world, including local, domestic long distance, and international calls. Its voice services also allow customers to receive and make calls while they are located in areas served by its networks and in those geographic areas served by the networks of certain other wireless broadband mobile carriers with whom it has roaming arrangements. The Company�� data services include text messaging services (domestic and international); multimedia messaging services; mobile Internet access; mobile instant messaging; location-based services; social networking services; push e-mail; multimedia streaming and downloads; and services provided, depending on the network and locale, through the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, or BREW, Blackberry, Windows, and the Android platforms, such as ringtones, ring back tones, games, content, and applications.
The Company�� Custom calling features offers custom calling features, including caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling and voicemail. Its Advanced handsets sells a variety of feature phones, and increasingly, smartphones, predominately manufactured by nationally recognized manufacturers for use on its network, including models that have cameras, include HTML browsers, play music, play streaming audio, display streaming video and downloaded video, and have other features facilitating digital data. It sells a variety of handsets using vendor or handset specific operating systems, such as BREW, Blackberry, Windows, and the Android operating system.
The Company provides its wireless broadband mobile services using paired personal communications services (PCS), spectrum and advanced wireless services, or AWS, spectrum. In addition, it holds a! license ! for 12 MHz of paired 700 MHz Lower Band A spectrum in the Boston-Worcester, MA/NH/RI/VT basic economic area (BEA), which, unless it receives a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), of the four year construction requirements, it plans to construct in the first half of 2013. In each of its metropolitan areas where irt provides service. As of December 31, 2012, it holds between 10 mega hertz (MHz) and 60 MHz of paired spectrum and on average it has approximately 22 MHz of paired spectrum in the metropolitan areas it serves. In the aggregate, as of December 31, 2012, it offers wireless broadband mobile services using its own network.
The Company operates 1xRTT CDMA networks in all of the metropolitan areas it serves and it has upgraded its networks to 4G LTE in all of metropolitan areas. It also has deployed EVDO at selected high use sites in its CDMA network to increase network data capacity to meet the growing data needs of iy customers. Its network includes a mobile switching center (for CDMA), enhanced packet core (for 4G LTE), and IP core. These serve several purposes, including routing traffic, managing call handoffs, and managing access to the public switched telephone network (for CDMA) or the Internet (CDMA and 4G LTE). These network elements also provide access to voicemail and other value-added services, base stations (for CDMA) or eNodeBs (for 4G LTE), cell sites or distributed antenna system (DAS), nodes, and backhaul facilities, which carry traffic to and from its cell sites and its switching or enhanced packet core facilities, consisting of a combination of dedicated circuits, cable, fiber, and microwave facilities.
Its cell sites in the network are co-located, meaning its equipment is located on leased facilities that are owned by third parties who retain the right to lease the locations to additional carriers and in many cases other wireless broadband mobile service providers already have facilities at such locations. The switching centers and na! tional op! erations center provide around-the-clock monitoring of its network. Its switches connect to the public switched telephone network through fiber rings leased from third-parties, which transmit originating and terminating traffic between its equipment and local exchange and long distance carriers. It also has negotiated interconnection agreements with relevant local exchange carriers, or LECs, in its service areas. It uses third-party providers for domestic and international long distance services, international SMS interconnection with the public switched network and other carriers, roaming services, and the majority of its backhaul services.
The Company competes with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA , Deutsche Telekom, Clearwire, Dish Network , Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications, Cricket Communications, Leap Wireless International and Google.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose Wednesday after a lower open, managing solid gains with most other Asian markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) climbed 0.8% to 16,009.99, its first close above the 16,000 level since late 2007. The broader Topix ended with a more modest 0.1% rise. Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) , operators of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, rose 1.5% as a Nikkei Asian Review report said it planned to pay about 楼5 billion yen to purchase nearly half of Bals, which runs home-and-kitchen-furnishings retailer Francfranc. Chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723) (RNECY) was a strong performer, rallying 6.5% after suffering a sizeable drop in the previous session. On the downside, shares of Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) fell 0.5%, after a separate article in the Nikkei saying that previously reported plans by the firm to buy T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) through its newly acquired Sprint (S) unit would value the transaction at more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) and would take place as early as next spring. Auto-maker stocks were mostly higher after trading mixed following the release of Japanese car-sales data for November. Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) added 0.2%, Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)
- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
Much of Leap's spectrum is also in the advanced wireless services, or AWS, band. AT&T doesn't have as much AWS band, especially after it handed over AWS licenses to T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS ) as part of its breakup fee in 2011. In most markets, Leap's spectrum isn't contiguous with AT&T's, which may imply that AT&T is banking on upcoming technologies like carrier aggregation that can utilize non-contiguous spectrum bands.
Top Telecom Companies To Watch In Right Now: Enventis Corp (ENVE)
Enventis Corporation, formerly HickoryTech Corporation, is an integrated communications provider. The Company has a five-state fiber network spanning more than 3,250 route miles with facilities-based operations across Minnesota and into Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Enventis Telecom, Inc. (Enventis) provides business Internet protocol (IP) voice, data and video solutions, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) networking, data center and managed hosted services and communication systems. HickoryTech delivers broadband, Internet, digital television (TV), voice and data services to businesses and consumers in southern Minnesota and northwest Iowa. The Company�� operations are conducted through nine subsidiaries. Its Fiber and Data and Equipment Segments subsidiaries include Enventis, Enterprise Integration Services, Inc. (EIS) and IdeaOne. Its Telecom Segment subsidiaries include Mankato Citizens Telephone Company (MCTC), Mid-Communications, Inc. (Mid-Com), Heartland Telecommunications Company of Iowa, Inc. (Heartland), Cable Network, Inc. (CNI), Crystal Communications, Inc. (Crystal) and National Independent Billing, Inc. (NIBI). The Company operates in three segments: Fiber and Data, Equipment and Telecom. The Company formed Enterprise Integration Services, Inc. (EIS) on January 2, 2012. On March 1, 2012, the Company acquired IdeaOne Telecom Group, LLC.
Fiber and Data and Equipment segments portion of its business serves customers across a five-state region with IP-based voice, transport, data and network solutions, managed services, equipment, network integration and support services. Through its regional fiber network, the Company provides wholesale fiber and data services to regional and national service providers, including interexchange and wireless carriers. It also specializes in providing integrated unified communication solutions for businesses, such as enterprise multi-office organizations, small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), primarily in the Upper Midwes! t. Residential customers are not targeted by the Fiber and Data or Equipment Segments. Its Telecom Segment provides residential and business services, including high-speed Internet, broadband services, digital TV and voice services in its legacy telecom markets. Telecom consists of the operation of local telephone companies or incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) and the operation of a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). All of its telecom operations are operated as one integrated unit. Its ILECs and CLEC are the primary users of the services provided by its subsidiary, National Independent Billing, Inc. (NIBI). NIBI also sells its services externally to other companies in the communications industry.
Fiber and Data and Equipment Segments
The Company, through its two business-to-business segments, Fiber and Data and Equipment, provides integrated data services and fiber based communication solutions, including IP-based voice, data and network solutions to business customers in the Upper Midwest. The product portfolio includes fiber, data and Internet, Voice and Voice over IP (VoIP), Managed and hosted services and data center services. As of December 31, 2011, it owned or had long-term leases to approximately 2,175 fiber route miles of fiber optic cable, including 225 miles acquired with the IdeaOne acquisition and has metro fiber optic rings that directly connect the network with businesses (interexchange carriers, wireless carriers, retail, health care, Government and education customers). Additional local fiber rings connect its network to local telephone central offices along with the Telecom Sector network, which has 1,155 fiber optic miles. It also serves customers through interconnections that are leased from third party service providers.
The Company�� product portfolio includes SingleLink Unified Communications (SingleLink), a hosted or managed IP communications service, which includes local and long distance voice, business IP telephony via ! a hosted ! IP private branch exchange, unified messaging and Internet access. The SingleLink solution is primarily targeted at SMB customers but also has enterprise customer applications. IdeaOne Telecom Group, LLC is a metro fiber network provider in Fargo, North Dakota. IdeaOne provides data networking, Internet, colocation, phone and hosting services to approximately 3,600 customers in the Fargo area. The acquisition added 225 fiber route miles to HickoryTech�� regional network. It has Minnesota offices located in Minneapolis, Duluth and Rochester and operates data centers in Edina, Duluth and Mankato. It also has an office located in the Des Moines, Iowa area. The Equipment segment product portfolio includes equipment solutions, total care support and monitoring and professional services. The Company provides converged IP services that allow all communications (voice, video and data) to use the same IP data infrastructure. Equipment solutions include TelePresence, Unified Communications, Data Center and Virtualization, Professional Services, Total Care and Security.
Telecom
The Telecom Segment provides local telephone service, long distance, calling features, digital subscriber line (DSL), Internet, digital TV, data services and a phone book directory to residents and businesses in its legacy markets. As an auxiliary business, the data processing services of NIBI are also included within this Sector. Telecom includes three ILECs: MCTC, Mid-Com and Heartland. MCTC and Mid-Com provide telephone services in south central Minnesota, specifically the Mankato, Minnesota region, and 11 rural communities surrounding Mankato. Heartland, its third ILEC, provides telephone services for 11 rural communities in northwest Iowa. In total, there are 23 ILEC exchanges within this Segment. Also included is a CLEC, Crystal, which provides services in south central Minnesota and near Des Moines, Iowa. There are eight Minnesota CLEC exchanges and two Iowa CLEC exchanges. NIBI provides data processing an! d related! services for its affiliated companies, as well as for other ILECs, CLECs, interexchange network carriers, wireless companies and cable TV providers throughout the United States and Canada.
The Company owns and operates a 1,075 mile fiber optic network and facilities in Minnesota and Iowa. These facilities are used to transport voice, data and video services between the Company�� exchanges, to connect customers to interexchange carriers and to provide service directly to end users. This network is interconnected with its 2,175 fiber mile network in the Fiber and Data Segment. Its Minnesota ILECs and CLEC are the primary users of these fiber optic cable facilities. The Company provides interexchange telephone access by connecting the communications networks of interexchange carriers and wireless carriers with the equipment and facilities of end users through its switched networks or private lines. As local exchange telephone companies, it provides end office switching and circuits to long distance interexchange carriers. The Company provides access to its network for interexchange carriers to conduct long distance business with individual customers who select a long distance carrier for the origination and termination of calls to all customers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Anna Prior]
Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc.(CNSL) has agreed to acquire broadband communications provider Enventis Corp.(ENVE) in an all-stock deal that values Enventis at about $228 million. The deal values Enventis at about $16.50 a share, a 17% premium to Friday’s close.
Top Telecom Companies To Watch In Right Now: Oi SA (OIBR)
Oi S.A., formerly Brasil Telecom S.A., incorporated on November 27, 1963, is a telecommunication service provider in Region II in Brazil. The Company offers a range of integrated telecommunication services that includes fixed-line and mobile telecommunication services, data transmission services (including broadband access services), Internet service provider (ISP) services and other services, for residential customers, small, medium and large companies, and governmental agencies. The Company provides services, which include Fixed-Line Telecommunications Services and Data Transmission Services, Mobile Telecommunications Services and other services.
Local Fixed-Line Services
As of December 31, 2010, the Company had approximately 7.2 million local fixed-line customers in Region II. Local fixed-line services include installation, monthly subscription, metered services, collect calls and supplemental local services. Metered services include local calls that originate and terminate within a single local area. ANATEL has divided Region II into 1,772 local areas. Local fixed-line services also include in-dialing services (direct transmission of external calls to extensions) for corporate clients. For corporate clients in need of lines, the Company offers digital trunk services, which optimize and increase the speed of the customer�� telephone system.
Long-Distance Services
The long distance services include fixed line-to-fixed line and mobile long distance services. It provides domestic long-distance services for calls originating from Region II through interconnection agreements, mainly with Telemar in Region I and Telecomunicavoes de Sao Paulo S.A. (Telesp), in Region III permit the Company to interconnect directly with their local fixed-line networks, and through its network facilities in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. It provides international long-distance services originating from Region II through agreements to interconnect its netw! ork with those of the main telecommunication service providers worldwide. It provides mobile long-distance services originating from Region II through interconnection agreements, with Telemar in Region I, Telesp in Region III, and each of the principal mobile services providers operating in Brazil that permit it to interconnect directly with their local fixed-line and mobile networks. It provides international long-distance services originating or terminating on its customer�� mobile handsets through agreements to interconnect its network with those of the main telecommunication service providers worldwide.
Mobile Telecommunication Services
As of December 31, 2010, the Company had approximately 7.8 million subscribers located in 1,281 municipalities in Region II. As of December 31, 2010, 87.5% of the Company�� customers subscribed to pre-paid plans and 12.5% subscribed to post-paid plans. The Company markets Oi Ligador subscriptions to its pre-paid customers, which allow these customers to receive bonus minutes with each purchase of additional credits. It charges a nominal subscription fee to enroll a customer in the Oi Ligador program and provide bonus minutes to these customers that may be used for local calls to its fixed-line or mobile subscribers, long-distance calls to its fixed-line subscribers, and sending Short Message Service (SMS, messages to mobile subscribers of any Brazilian mobile service provider.
The Company has roaming agreements with TNL PCS S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Telemar which provides mobile services and which it refers to as Oi, Companhia de Telecomunicacoes do Brasil Central (CTBC), and Sercomtel S.A. Telecomunicacoes (Sercomtel), providing its customers with automatic access to roaming services when traveling outside of Region II in areas of Brazil where mobile telecommunication services are available on the GSM standard. As of December 31, 2010, it had launched third generation (3G) services in a total of 84 municipalities, ! including! the nine state capitals in Region II and the Federal District. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 175,200 3G mobile broadband customers.
Data Transmission Services
The Company provides Internet access services using ADSL technology, which it refers as broadband services, to residential customers and businesses in the primary cities in Region II under the brand name Oi Velox. As of December 31, 2010, the Company offered broadband services in 1,810 municipalities in Region II and it had 1.9 million ADSL customers. Its network supports ADSL2+, VDSL2 and FTTx technologies. ADSL2+ is a data communications technology that allows data transmission at speeds of up to 24 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabits per second upstream. ADSL2+ permits offer a range of services than ADSL, including Internet protocol television (IPTV). As of December 31, 2010, approximately 50% of its fixed-line network had been updated to support ADSL2+. Very-high-bitrate digital subscriber line (VDSL2), is a DSL technology providing faster data transmission, up to 100 megabits per second upstream (downstream and upstream). Fiber to the x (FTTx), is a broadband network architecture that uses optical fiber to replace all or part of the usual metal local loop used for last mile telecommunications.
The Company provides a range of data transmission services through various technologies and means of access. Its commercial data transmission services include Industrial Exploitation of Dedicated Lines (Exploracao Industrial de Linha Dedicada (EILD)), under which it leases trunk lines to other telecommunication services providers, primarily mobile services providers, which use these trunk lines to link their radio base stations to their switching centers; Dedicated Line Services (Servicos de Linhas Dedicadas (SLD)), under which it leases dedicated lines to other telecommunication services providers, Internet service providers (ISPs) and corporate customers for use in private networks that! link dif! ferent corporate Websites; Internet Protocol (IP) services, which consist of dedicated private lines and dial-up Internet access, which it provides to the ISPs in Brazil, as well as Virtual Private Network (VPN), services that enable its customers to operate private Intranet and extranet networks, and frame relay services, which the Company provides to its corporate customers to allow them to transmit data using protocols based on direct use of its transmission lines, enabling the creation of VPNs.
The Company provides these data transmission services using its service network platform in Region II and its nationwide fiber optic cable network and microwave links. In addition, it provides services at the six cyber data centers located in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Fortaleza. It provides hosting, collocation and information technology (IT) outsourcing at these centers, permitting its customers to outsource their IT structures to it or to use these centers to provide backup for their IT systems. It also owns and operates a submarine fiber optic network, which connects Brazil with the United States, Bermuda, Venezuela and Colombia. Through this network, it offers international data transportation services, primarily leased lines to other telecommunication services providers.
Network Usage Services (Interconnection Service)
The Company is authorized to charge for the use of its local fixed-line network on a per-minute basis for all calls terminated on its local fixed-line network in Region II that originate on the networks of other local fixed-line, mobile and long-distance service providers, and all long-distance calls originated on its local fixed-line network in Region II that are carried by other long-distance service providers. In addition, the Company charges network usage fees to long-distance service providers and operators of trunking services that connect switching stations to its local fixed-line networks.
Traffic Transporta! tion Serv! ices
The Company offers a long-distance usage service, called national transportation, under which it provides discounts to its long-distance network usage fees based on the volume of traffic and geographic distribution of calls generated by a long-distance or mobile services provider. The Company also offers international telecommunication service providers the option to terminate their Brazilian inbound traffic through its network, as an alternative to Embratel and Intelig Telecomunicacoes Ltda. (Intelig). The Company charges international telecommunication service providers a per-minute rate, based on whether a call terminates on a fixed-line or mobile telephone and the location of the local area in which the call terminates.
Public Telephone Services
The Company owns and operates public telephones throughout Region II. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had approximately 266,100 public telephones in service, which are operated by pre-paid cards.
Value-Added Services
Value-added services include voice, text and data applications, including voicemail, caller identification (ID), and other services, such as personalization (video downloads, games, ring tones and wallpaper), short message service (SMS)subscription services (horoscope, soccer teams and love match), chat, mobile television, location-based services and applications (mobile banking, mobile search, email and instant messaging). The Company also provides advanced voice services to its corporate customers, mainly 0800 (toll free) services, as well as voice portals where customers can participate in real-time chats and other interactive voice services. The Company also operates an Internet portal under the brand name iG.
The Company competes with Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicacoes, GVT S.A., Vivo Participacoes S.A., Telecom Americas Group, TIM Participacoes S.A., Telesp and Intelig.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By alicet236]
Oi SA (OIBR) Reached the Five-Year Low of $1.63
The prices of Oi SA (OIBR) shares have declined to close to the five-year low of $1.63, which is 87.6% off the five-year high of $11.48. Oi SA is owned by three Gurus we are tracking. Among them, zero have added to their positions during the past quarter. 3 reduced their positions. Oi SA is a telecommunication service providing company in Brazil. Oi Sa has a market cap of $2.67 billion; its shares were traded at around $1.63 with a P/E ratio of 4.50 and P/S ratio of 0.14. The dividend yield of Oi Sa stocks is 23.36%. Oi Sa had an annual average earnings growth of 10.00% over the past 10 years.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Oi (OIBR) provides telecommunication services in Brazil. This stock closed up 1.6% to $1.87 in Tuesday's trading session.
Tuesday's Range: $1.83-$1.89
52-Week Range: $1.42-$4.51
Tuesday's Volume: 2.61 million
Three-Month Average Volume: 4.32 millionFrom a technical perspective, OIBR rose modestly higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $1.72 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $1.42 to its intraday high of $1.89. During that move, shares of OIBR have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move is quickly pushing shares of OIBR within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if OIBR manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.89 to $2.04 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in OIBR as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $1.72 or above more support at $1.60 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 4.32 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then OIBR will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2.25 to $2.29. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give OIBR a chance to tag $2.50 to $2.75.
Top Telecom Companies To Watch In Right Now: Iliad SA (ILIAF.PK)
Iliad SA is a France-based holding company active in the integrated telecommunications sector. The Company provides Internet access services, hosting services and others. Iliad SA is also focused on fixed-line telephony services and the provision of wireless fidelity (WiFi) cards, among several others. In addition, Iliad SA sells via Internet a range of insurance policies. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a number of subsidiaries, which include Free SAS, Centrapel SAS, Freebox SAS, Telecom Academy SARL, Free Frequences SAS, Iliad 1 SAS, Iliad 2 SAS, Protelco SAS, IFW SAS, IRE SAS, Management Centre De Relation Abonne (MCRA), F Distribution SAS, and Centrapel SAS, among others. Its Fixe subsidiary is a landline business-provider of broadband Internet services. As of year-end 2012, the Company was active as a operator in more than 35 countries. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mike Arnold]
I normally don't look at charts much, but comparing Orange to its competitors in the French telecommunications market is quite fascinating. As one can see, incumbents Bouygues (BOUYF.PK) and Vivendi (VIVHY.PK) (owner of SFR) saw similar price declines. The market, on the other hand, rapidly bid up the price of new entrant Iliad SA (ILIAF.PK), as a result of forecasts for Iliad to capture significant mobile market share (which it did, around 10%). The wide divergence in price relative to changes in underlying value favor going long the incumbents, including Orange. Because this time it's different.
Top Telecom Companies To Watch In Right Now: West Corp (WSTC)
West Corporation, incorporated on February 22, 1994, is a provider of technology-driven, communication services. The Company offers a broad portfolio of services, including conferencing and collaboration, unified communications, alerts and notifications, emergency communications, business process outsourcing and telephony / interconnect services. The scale and processing capacity of its technology platforms, combined with its managing voice and data transactions, enables them to provide reliable, mission-critical communications designed to maximize return on investment for its clients.
Its clients include Fortune 1000 companies, along with small and medium enterprises in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, retail, financial services, public safety, technology and healthcare. It focuses on addressable markets with attractive growth characteristics have allowed them to deliver steady and profitable growth.
Unified Communications
The Company provides its clients with an integrated global suite of meeting services. Conferencing and Collaboration Services include On-Demand Audio Conferencing, which is an automated conferencing service that allows clients to initiate an audio conference at any time, without the need to make a reservation or rely on an operator; Web Conferencing and Collaboration Tools allow clients to connect remote employees and bolster collaboration among groups. These tools provide clients with the capability to make presentations and share applications and documents over the Internet, these services are offered through product, InterCall Unified Meeting, as well as through the resale of Cisco, Microsoft and Adobe products, Web conferencing services can be customized to each client�� individual needs; Video Managed Services and Video Bridging allows clients to experience real-time face-to-face conferences. These services are offered through its products, InterCall Video Conferencing and InterCall Video Managed Services in conj! unction with third-party equipment, and can be used for a wide variety of events, including training seminars, sales presentations, product launches and financial reporting calls.
InterCall offers multimedia platforms designed to give its clients the ability to create, manage, distribute and reuse content internally and externally. Through a combination of products and strategic partnerships, its clients have the tools to support diverse internal and external multimedia requirements. Event Services solutions include Audio and Video Webcasting Services, which allows users to broadcast small or multimedia presentations over the Internet. It offers its clients the flexibility of broadcasting any combination of audio, video (desktop or high-end) or PowerPoint slides using any operating system; Virtual Event Design and Hosting offers clients consulting, project management and implementation of hosted and managed virtual event and virtual environment solutions. Clients are able to provide audiences easy and instant access to content, experts and peers. Examples of virtual events include trade shows, user groups, job fairs, virtual learning environments and town hall meetings, and Operator-Assisted Audio Conferencing Services are pre-scheduled conferences for complex or important events. Operator-assisted services are customized to a client�� needs and provide a wide range of scalable features and enhancements, including the ability to record, broadcast, schedule and administer meetings.
The Company provides its clients with enterprise class IP-based communications solutions including Hosted IP-PBX and Enterprise Call Management, which allows an enterprise to upgrade its use of communications technology with a suite of cloud-based, on-demand services including full private branch exchange (PBX) functionality, advanced enterprise and personal call management tools and edge unified communications features. These services can be fully integrated with a client�� existing IP o! r legacy ! time-division multiplexing (TDM) infrastructure where required, leveraging investments already made in telephony infrastructure and providing a seamless enterprise-wide solution; Hosted and Managed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Network, which is a suite of IP trunking solutions designed to provide enterprise clients with carrier-grade service, along with the benefits of IP-based service that allows their business to run more efficiently. These solutions deliver a consistent set of voice services across an enterprise�� infrastructure, with flexible IP and TDM trunking options for clients��on-site PBX; Unified Communications Partner Solution Portfolio, which enables them to engineer flexible and scalable solutions suitable to an enterprise�� needs, leveraging a portfolio of Microsoft and Cisco offerings integrated with its products, applications and services; Cloud-Based Security Services aggregate a set of technologies into one simple and scalable cloud-based solution that provides clients with network protection. This service can help protect the client�� network from spam and viruses, unauthorized intrusions and inappropriate Web content, while providing simplicity and consistency of security policy management and eliminating single points of failure and bottlenecks that can occur with premise-based security solutions, and Professional Services and System Integration provides its clients with advice and solutions to integrate their unified communication systems. It offers consulting, design, integration, and implementation of voice, video, messaging, and collaboration systems and services.
The Company�� technology platforms allow clients to manage and deliver automated, proactive and personalized communications. It uses multiple delivery channels (voice, text messaging, email, social media and fax), based on the preference of the recipient. For example, it delivers patient notifications, confirm appointments and send prescription reminders on behalf of its healthca! re client! s; send and receive automated outage notifications on behalf of its utility clients and transmit emergency evacuation notices on behalf of municipalities. It offers Automated Voice Notifications are customized voice messages sent on behalf of its clients that are delivered with personalized information. Its systems provide accurate detection of voice mail versus live answer, customized caller ID and retry logic; Short Message Service (SMS)/Email Alerts and Notifications are customized electronic notifications sent on behalf of its clients directly to their customers��handheld devices, wireless phones, two-way pagers or email inboxes; Social Media Messaging enables clients to deliver targeted, personalized messaging to social media sites; Multichannel Preference Management and Campaign Management Solutions allow its clients to create and manage customer information in a real-time environment. Its Web-based user interface tool allows clients to upload customer contact information, create reusable notification templates and customize campaigns, and Website and Customer Portal Management , which is a Web design service whereby it creates custom-built, interactive websites for clients. It also provides a variety of additional features and services, including hosting, search engine optimization and maintenance.
The Company competes with AT&T, Verizon, PGi, BT Conferencing, NTT, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, IBM, ON24, Thomson Reuters, Sonic Foundry, TalkPoint, Adobe, BT Conferencing, PGi, Arkadin , INXPO, 6Connex, WebEx, Verizon, BT, ShoreTel, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, XO Communications, 8x8, M5, Varolii, SoundBite Communications, PhoneTree , Silverlink Communications, Patient Prompt, Sesame Communications and Google
Communication Services
The Company is one of the providers of emergency communications services, based on the number of 9-1-1 calls that the Company and other participants in the industry facilitate. Its services are critical in facilitating public safety! agencies! ��ability to receive emergency calls from citizens. Its clients generally enter into long-term contracts and fund their obligations through monthly charges on users��telephone bills. It offers 9-1-1 Network Services are the systems that control the routing of emergency calls to the appropriate 9-1-1 centers. Its next generation 9-1-1 call handling solution is an IP-based system designed to significantly improve the information available to responders by integrating capabilities such as the ability to text, send photos or video to 9-1-1 centers as well as providing stored data such as building blueprints or personal medical data to responders. Its carrier-grade Location Based Services process over 125,000 daily requests in support of its clients��Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) and commercial applications and 9-1-1 Telephony Systems and Services include its fully-integrated desktop communications technology solutions which public safety agencies use to enable E9-1-1 call handling. Its next generation 9-1-1 solution can be deployed in a variety of local, hosted and remote configurations, allowing public safety agencies to grow with minimal incremental investment. It operates in approximately 5,000 call-taking positions in more than 1,000 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in North America.
The Company�� services allow its clients to effectively communicate with their customers through inbound and outbound IVR applications using natural language speech recognition, automated voice prompts and network-based call routing services. In addition to these front-end customer service applications, it also provide analyses that helps its clients improve their automated communications strategy. Its open standards-based platform allows the flexibility to integrate new capabilities, such as mobility, social media and cloud-based services. Its Automated Call Processing includes Automated Customer Service Solutions range from speech/IVR applications and mobile solutions to SMS, chat and email. It helps ! its clien! ts engage their customers through the channels they prefer. Examples of self-service applications used by its clients are: access account balances, activation of credit cards, placing orders, FAQ�� and stop/start utility service and Voice and Data Network Management Services assist its clients as they manage or update their own contact center communications networks. It offers hosted or managed services for the operation, administration and management of voice and data networks such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network management, network automated call distribution (ACD)/multi-channel contact routing, workforce management, monitoring and predictive dialing.
The Company's telephony / interconnect Services support the merging of traditional telecom, mobile and IP technologies to service providers and enterprises. It is a provider of local and national tandem switching services to carriers throughout the United States. It leverages its customer traffic information system, sophisticated call routing and control facility to provide tandem interconnection services to the competitive marketplace, including wireless, wire-line, cable telephony and VoIP companies. Toll-Free Origination transports and switches toll free traffic originated by traditional wireline, VoIP, cable, and wireless carriers to all inter-exchange carriers (IXC) in the United States. This service provides a scalable and efficient means to pass toll free traffic to IXCs. Termination Services using its soft switch platform, national optical backbone and direct network interconnections allow for the termination of outbound toll traffic. Termination Services using its soft switch platform, national optical backbone and direct network interconnections allow for the termination of outbound toll traffic.
The Company provide its clients with agent-based services. It target opportunities that allow its agent-based services to be a part of larger strategic client engagements and with clients for whom these serv! ices can ! add value. It believes that it is known in the industry as a provider of these services. It offers a flexible model that includes on-shore, off-shore and virtual home-based agent capabilities to fit its clients needs. Agent-Based Services include Customer Care and Acquisition Services support its clients with their consumer-based communications needs. It provides customer acquisition and retention, customer care, technical support and sales services. Its customized process strategically matches its client�� goals to the appropriate solutions to maximize results; Business-to-Business and Account Management Services combines its experience, sales methodologies and technology to deliver an integrated suite of solutions that allow its clients to overcome a variety of common sales challenges across a multitude of business segments. Examples of these services include lead management, team sell, account management and sole territory coverage; Receivables Management Services support many of businesses and institutions with a fully licensed collection agency that has integrated partnerships across the telecommunications, financial services, government, healthcare and utilities industries, and Overpayment Identification and Recovery Services provides cost containment programs to organizations including: health insurance payers, third party administrators, managed care organizations, hospitals/physicians and self-insured companies. It analyzes data from multiple healthcare sources, identify incorrectly paid claims, provide targeted communications and collect funds on behalf of its clients.
The Company competes with Cassidian Communications, EmergiTech, 911-Inc, Inteliquent (formerly Neutral Tandem), Peerless Network, Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC), Convergys, TeleTech, Sykes, NCO, GC Services, Infosys Limited and Aegis Global.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of communication service provider West Corporation (NASDAQ: WSTC ) jumped as much as 10% today after the company got positive ratings from analysts.
- [By Garrett Cook]
West Corp (NASDAQ: WSTC) shares tumbled 3.66 percent to $26.65 after the company announced an offering of $1 billion senior notes. Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded West Corp from Overweight to Equal-Weight.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
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