One of the country’s largest telecom providers owns fiber and network facilities throughout the U.S., enabling essential communications that connect tens of millions of residential and business customers in more than 40 states. This major TV, Internet and voice communications network provider is, like many of its enterprise customers, a Fortune 500 company and among the most recognizable brands in the world. Despite its prominence and vast network, even this leading communications provider sometimes can’t directly fulfill its customer’s needs, such as reaching a remote location or adding a diverse connection. When this happens, it turns to APX Net to fill in the gaps.

 

Challenge

While this telecom provider has invested in expansion, even accelerating its growth through acquisitions, its network has its limits – literally. Its territory is defined by regulations, so it can’t fully serve customers with locations outside its footprint; it must rely on network-to-network interfaces to get the job done. Similarly, it can’t provide diverse connections that don’t ride its network facilities. And, then there are those locations that are hard to reach or far from fiber that are simply too cost-prohibitive to build out. For all of those scenarios, it looks to other network providers.

Solution

When this provider sends out a bid to 40 carriers, 39 of them will pass on the opportunity. That’s because the would-be bidders quickly discover the location isn’t connected by lit fiber, is too far away from their fiber to build out, or just more effort than it might be worth. “[Other providers] want the easy ones,” explained Jeff Wood, president of sales for APX Net. “The ones they can turn around that day and not think about again. We do more digging. We explore what is available in each market and often jump through hoops to come up with a solution that makes sense for the provider and their customer.”

“[Other providers] want the easy ones. The ones they can turn around that day and not think about again. We do more digging. We explore what is available in each market and often jump through hoops to come up with a solution that makes sense for the provider and their customer,” said Jeff Wood, President of Sales, APX Net.

It’s no surprise, then, that this provider often turns to APX Net in the most difficult of situations when no other network provider can – or will – step up to the plate. Here are just a few examples:

A large financial institution required connectivity to an underground data center. The project required new facilities for last-mile connectivity and a 1Gbps connection from the Midwest to the East coast. When no other provider would, APX Net delivered, creating the ultimate disaster plan.

One of the largest electricity companies in the world needed connectivity to a small power generating station that was deemed “unreachable.” APX Net answered the challenge and ultimately installed a 10Mbps DIA private line that made financial sense for the utility.

The state of California funded an initiative to get more fiber into public institutions to expand its educational network. However, some sites were out of footprint for this provider and could not be reached. APX Net was the only provider that designed a way to build fiber into the locations within the constraints of the project’s limited budget.

A national broadcasting company needed connectivity to stations in remote parts of Vermont and Florida. The sites were difficult to reach and the media company refused to use the local exchange carrier (LEC) due to its poor service quality and reliability. APX Net was able to negotiate rights of way with local power companies and install a 100Mbps private lines to meet the customer’s needs.

A major utility company needed 10Mbps connectivity between its headquarters and six rural substations that were mostly without fiber. While other carriers bid exorbitant rates to build out the network, APX Net was the only provider that designed a creative solution within budget.

 

Results

For the past six years, the network sales engineers at this big brand provider consistently reach out with similarly difficult projects because APX Net is the only company with the footprint, buying power and problem-solving expertise to pull them off. The deployment for the electricity provider mentioned above is a case in point. “We had to virtually move mountains to get the fiber installed in that location,” explained Wood. “We must have called and emailed 30 times before someone said, ‘Yes.’ It’s that extra effort that helps us find a solution and win the business.” APX Net’s tenacity, in turn, helps this big brand serve its key, multilocation customers with a complete end-to-end solution, which it might otherwise be unable to do. “When they need to get creative, we come into play,” said Wood. “We’re like their ace in the hole.”

“When they need to get creative, we come into play. We’re like their ace in the hole,” said Wood.