Ecuity establishes "Operation Lifeboat" for Stranded Level3 Resellers
March 18 2005 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Ecuity establishes "Operation Lifeboat" for Stranded Level3
Resellers Services to support migration of cancelled (3)Tone
Product BELLEVUE, WA, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ecuity,
Inc., (OTC BB: ECUI.OB), a leading enhanced Voice over Internet
communications company serving the small-to-medium business and
residential markets, today announced a new marketing initiative
directed toward service providers using Level 3's (3)Tone Hosted
IP-PBX services who are being dropped by Level 3. Ecuity is
offering to transition all Level 3 (3)Tone(TM) customers to its
V-Tone hosted IP voice service platform. Level 3 recently announced
it is eliminating its wholesale hosted IP-PBX service called
(3)Tone Business, which is sold by approximately 100 phone
companies and resellers who provide voice service over the
Internet. Ecuity will enable these telephone companies and
resellers to seamlessly transition their business customers to its
next generation V-Tone(TM) network, providing a high-quality VoIP
service to their customers and offering one of the most compelling
selections of advanced features and services in the industry today.
Ecuity has been in the voice and data solutions business for
eighteen years, providing wholesale broadband VoIP, hosted
application services, and origination and termination services that
enable carriers, CLECs, IXCs, cable operators, ISPs, and resellers
to provide carrier-quality voice and data services to business and
consumers. Ecuity's broad range of hosted IP telephony products
include IP PBX and IP Centrex solutions for larger organizations,
as well Small Office, Remote Office and Home offerings, and mobile
worker solutions for delivery of advanced telecommunications
services via PC's, laptops and pocket PC-compatible PDA's and
cellular phones. "Service providers that are using the Level 3
service have an immediate replacement solution with the V-Tone
network," per Jon Schnelz, Ecuity's Vice President of Technology.
"Not only can the service provider transition their customers
immediately, but they will have a richer set of features as well as
the ability to create their own features and services through our
service creation environment. Customers can access a range of
available support systems, including : Web-based sign-up and
provisioning, private-label branded with their logo, Web-based
phone number approval process, Web-based phone number assignment,
Web-based customer data updates, phone number block requests, and
support for both hardware and software clients. "We've been through
this before. In 2004 we successfully converted over 400 Cisco IP
phones from the 3Tone service to our V-Tone product set. Fifteen
different companies experienced the difference in Quality,
Performance, and Stability of our platform" continued Schnelz.
Ecuity's VOIP service enables the ex-Level3 resellers to have an
unparalleled and welcome view of their customer networks. The
V-Tone platform gives complete control for the End User,
Enterprise, and Service Provider of all telecommunications
functions. Ecuity's V-Tone platform includes all of the
functionality that the 3Tone end users are familiar with including
a unique set of advanced features that includes the SmartCall
Softphone, IP trunking to existing PBX systems, and many others.
For the first time, small and medium-sized offices and home offices
can take advantage of the robust features of an enterprise class
PBX telephone system without investing thousands of dollars in
long-term contracts, equipment and specialized personnel. Ecuity's
V-Tone Office IP PBX VoIP service makes it possible for small
businesses with just a few lines, or remote users/telecommuters
from larger businesses, to enjoy the features and flexibility of a
major enterprise telecom infrastructure that is scaled to the needs
and budget of the small/home office environment. V-Tone Office
gives customers remote office capabilities that enable the small
business user to set up four-digit extensions in multiple locations
with easy management of features via a web interface. It also
offers special V-Tone features, such as one or more telephone
numbers in any of more than 2,500 locations nationwide, regardless
of the physical location of offices. For example, a Denver office
can have a "local" New York (212) Area Code number for East Coast
customers. Included is the powerful simultaneous ring feature,
which means that customer calls to a home office ring through to
any phone the business owner defines, including a cell phone, home
phone, or an offsite assistant. Ecuity's V-Tone(TM) enhanced VoIP
services provide a wide range of robust and innovative features
including: - Caller ID, call waiting, call hold and three-way
calling - Automatic call forwarding - SimulRing(TM) enables
incoming calls to ring multiple phones or numbers for flexible
pickup - Automatic call distribution and Auto Attendant for group
calling functionality - Integrates with Microsoft Outlook(TM) for
direct dialing from the Outlook Contacts List - On-Screen keypad
dialing and volume control direct from your PC - Voice mail
messages delivered to Outlook as talking emails, plus - Optional
addition of Ecuity's Smart Call(TM) software extends V-Tone
services to laptops or Pocket PC-compatible cell phones and PDAs
for making mobile voWiFi (Voice over Wi-Fi) calls. Ecuity's
innovative VoIP services, V-Tone Office, V-Tone Small Office,
V-Tone Home and Smart Call, are available virtually anywhere in the
country. It takes only a phone call to 1 866-41 VTONE (1
866-418-8663) or a visit to http://www.ecuity.net/ to secure a
custom solution quotation. As a result of its success in delivering
cutting edge Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to
customers nationwide, Ecuity's subsidiary Ecuity Advanced
Communications was named to the 2004 "pulver 100" - which is the
VoIP industry's premiere listing of companies that represent the
future of the communications industry. Ecuity is the first
facilities-based carrier to offer complete business- class VoIP
services, including a "soft phone" and VoWiFi both nationwide and
internationally - with quality equal to or better than traditional
phone service at significant cost savings. Ecuity provides
residential and business class VoIP, broadband services, technical
support, centralized billing and superior customer service. It
offers both Centrex call features and traditional equipment based
PBX call services. About Ecuity, Inc. (http://www.ecuityinc.com/)
Ecuity is a provider of end-to-end unified communication
technologies for the small- to medium-business market. Ecuity uses
secure next-generation voice services, instant messaging, data
transfer, internet, conference calling and enterprise software to
create solutions that meet the communication needs of today's
business world. As a facilities-based carrier, Ecuity has operated
as a traditional telephone company for 17 years, providing service
to thousands of customers in the Northwest. Through the integration
of web-based telecommunications and cutting-edge software
technology, Ecuity economically delivers secure unified
communication solutions that break down distance, time and media
barriers to allow people to communicate anywhere, anytime and
across multiple mediums. Ecuity has offices in Bellevue and
Seattle, Washington. This report includes "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. The information in this news release includes certain
forward-looking statements that are based upon assumptions that in
the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties, including statements as to the
future performance of the company. Although the company believes
that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements
are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or
any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct.
Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not
limited to, successful performance of internal plans, product
development acceptance, and the impact of competitive services and
pricing and general economic risks and uncertainties. For more
information, please contact: For Ecuity: Jennifer Stephens
Telephone: (206) 210-5033 Investor Relations Truc Nguyen VP,
Investor Relations Stern & Co. Telephone: (212) 888-0044 Media
Relations Stan Froelich VP, Media Relations Stern & Co.
Telephone: (212) 888-0044 DATASOURCE: Ecuity, Inc. CONTACT: For
Ecuity: Jennifer Stephens, Telephone: (206) 210-5033, ; Investor
Relations: Truc Nguyen, VP, Investor Relations, Stern & Co.,
Telephone: (212) 888-0044, ; Media Relations: Stan Froelich, VP,
Media Relations, Stern & Co., Telephone: (212) 888-0044,
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