Comptel: Qwest beefs up wholesale portal

LAS VEGAS--Qwest Communications International today announced a new Web-based portal for self-service and management of its wholesale products, giving customers access to more of its data services through self-service, as well as adding more detailed network information.

Qwest has offered Remote Control, another Web-based portal for self-service, in the past, said Roland Thornton, executive vice-president of wholesale markets at Qwest, but the new Qwest Control site “is improved with added features and functionality that we are offering as part of our ongoing effort to address what we think are the growing needs of our customers.”

Qwest Control allows customers to check availability and pricing for some data services, including IP origination and termination, Thornton said, and allows them to report any service problems.

“Eventually we will have the entire portfolio available,” he said.

Qwest is also addressing the growing demand for IP-based services by making changes in the way it sells those products.

“We have bifurcated our sales force--we now have one sales person who is expert on voice services and one who is an expert on data services calling on accounts together,” Thornton said. That change acknowledges the growing diversity and complexity of data offerings, and the belief that it is too much for one sales person to be knowledgeable on both, he said.