Sprinting over hurdles

We asked Mark Chall, Sprint’s director of cable services, how Sprint and the cable companies have solved some of the issues new entrants face, and how they work together to serve the business market.

We asked Mark Chall, Sprint’s director of cable services, how Sprint and the cable companies have solved some of the issues new entrants face, and how they work together to serve the business market.

For example, we know most enterprise VoIP deployments include a mix of traditional circuit-switched voice lines. “Not a problem,” says Chall. “We provide circuit-switched and IP interfaces.”

How do cable providers offer back-up power to phones at customer sites? Chall notes that some cable companies provide a battery backup inside the cable modems, while others supply power over their cable infrastructure.

What do cable companies do to support 911 service? Chall informed us the carrier’s back-office infrastructure needed to support 911 is already included in the wholesale service Sprint provides the cable companies.

Finally, on the issue of how to reach businesses that want more than basic voice or an IP connection, Chall said cable companies can take advantage of Sprint’s sales force and experience with data service integration to reach the business market.

According to Chall, “Sprint has a very strong business sales team and national presence, so we can use our sales force and experience to service business customers – even those outside of the local cable companies’ footprints.” Adds Chall, “We can even use Gigabit Ethernet to offer data services to cable customers. The service isn’t yet fully formed, but it is certainly possible.”

Sounds to us like a great example of mutualism.