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News Releases
New Edge Earns Frost & Sullivan's 2007 Customer Value Award
EarthLink unit receives recognition for building Retail Broadband Alliance
VANCOUVER, Wash. – (Oct. 18, 2007) – Frost & Sullivan, the global growth consulting company, presented its 2007 North American Customer Value Enhancement Award to New Edge Networks, the business communications unit of EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK).
Frost & Sullivan singled out New Edge for its work in forming and developing the Retail Broadband Alliance, an industry consortium that makes it easy for businesses to switch to or optimize value from high-speed wide area networks. New Edge formed the Retail Broadband Alliance in November 2004.
“As digital convergence overtakes the communications world, what were previously stand alone devices have increasingly been linked to form larger and larger networks,” said Max Engel, telecommunications analyst for Frost & Sullivan.
“At a basic level connectivity is unavoidable yet many of the devices were not designed for such connectivity and many communications systems are not designed to support such networks,” Engel said. “New Edge Networks has created a unique solution to these problems.”
Through the Retail Broadband Alliance, New Edge Networks helps its customers find solutions to their network communications problems. Merchants have access to almost 250 independent suppliers whose products and services run over private wide area networks. Merchants identify and select the suppliers they prefer.
“It is rarely the case that a single vendor can supply the best solution to a wide range of customers with widely differing needs,” Engel said. “Diversity, not monopoly, is the strength of the RBA.”
Member companies work together ensuring their products and services integrate well and enable a smooth migration to a broadband network.
“The RBA saves businesses time from investigating sources for new technology solutions, comparing features, testing, and coordinating installations,” said Greg Griffiths, vice president of marketing for New Edge Networks.
As many as five member companies have teamed up on helping a merchant switch to a broadband network, powered by New Edge Networks. Often, member companies can bolster their relationships with their existing customers by introducing them to new products and services that they can integrate over a single broadband network.
Suppliers and other service providers benefit from the Retail Broadband Alliance because they get access to a large sales distribution channel for referring prospective business to each other. More information about the Retail Broadband Alliance is available at www.newedgenetworks.com/partners/rba/.
Frost & Sullivan presents its Customer Value Enhancement Award each year to the company that has best demonstrated the ability to expand the customer base, while maintaining its existing install base, with more innovative value creation and enhancement strategies than competing vendors.
The key differentiators of the Customer Value Enhancement Award recipient from a traditional customer service award is that it is a proactive rather than reactive function; it focuses on value creation and enhancement rather than simply ensuring client satisfaction, and; it focuses on maximizing customer value rather simply providing after sales support and service. For more information on Frost & Sullivan’s Best Practices Awards, visit www.awards.frost.com.
About New Edge Networks
New Edge Networks builds and manages private IP-based wide area networks that do not use the public Internet. Connecting business sites at virtually any address in the United States, New Edge allows businesses to choose any blend of available access technologies – from DSL and T1 lines to fiberoptic connections – for building private and secure MPLS networks with performance guarantees. A wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK)., New Edge is based in Vancouver, Wash. For more information visit www.newedgenetworks.com or call 1-360-693-9009.
Contact:
Sal Cinquegrani
(360) 906-9723
ATTN: New Edge Networks news releases contain information that is accurate as of the date they are issued. Information contained in past news releases may become out of date and the company does not assume responsibility for updating information contained in past news releases.