Linda Beck becomes New Edge chief

Linda Beck is taking over as only the second person to lead New Edge Networks, but the EarthLink veteran hopes to bring unique expertise to the competitive service provider.

“I was a CIO myself and, before that, in the business-to-business industry,” Beck said in an interview. “To really be able to put myself in the shoes of the customer base of New Edge and think, ‘How can I make New Edge what I would want to experience as a CIO,’ is a great opportunity for me to use my skills.”

New Edge today announced that Beck, an ISP veteran who has served as interim president since Dan Moffat’s departure last August, is the company’s new president. Moffat was a founder of New Edge.

Beck previously served as executive vice president of operations and was responsible for CTO and CIO functions. She managed EarthLink's network operations, software development, system administration, quality engineering and information technology, and was responsible for the backbone and infrastructure of EarthLink's Internet service. She came to EarthLink when it merged with MindSpring, where Beck had been the vice president of engineering.

Beck believes New Edge will increasingly compete against the much larger carriers--AT&T, Verizon and Sprint--as it sells its multi-protocol label switched (MPLS) services to multi-location businesses, such as retailers.

“In the future, it’s going to be more about the AT&Ts, Verizons and the Sprints--those who sell MPLS,” Beck said. “We are moving our product suite to MPLS but at the lower to medium end of that market – 10 to 40 locations. That’s not quite head to head with bigger carriers, for the larger customers. We believe we can provide the best solution for that 10 to 40 location customer because we do have coverage and quality and because we do move a little more quickly.”

Remaining nimble as a smaller company is key to New Edge’s ongoing success, Beck said.

“We can create new services for businesses more quickly than larger LECs,” she said. “We have to make sure we maintain that ability to move real quickly and the ability to really make that seamless experience.”

New Edge’s primary advantage has been its Big Foot network, the nationwide backbone network that combines multiple access types--DSL, frame relay, ATM, cable, wireless and satellite--to create seamless connections for companies with widely distributed locations. Since becoming part of EarthLink in 2006, New Edge is also able to capitalize on that company’s national infrastructure to expand its service offerings, Beck said.

The network resources “expanded the EarthLink relationship--New Edge now has the EarthLink product suite and infrastructure to call on, and we can provide a wide range of price points and solutions depending on the size of the business,” Beck said. “EarthLink is putting a big investment into New Edge, and marketing is one example of the investment, but we are also upgrading the infrastructure and service quality and being able to expand our product set and marketing activities.”

In addition, she said, New Edge “will use the EarthLink brand more – we have integrated into the EarthLink solutions and products so we have more things to address the small to mid-sized business market. On the enterprise side, New Edge already had its lead generation engine.”

That includes taking advantage of EarthLink’s growing wireless expertise, including its business unit devoted to municipal Wi-Fi and fixed wireless networks, she added.

At the same time, Beck said she doesn’t want to eliminate the New Edge culture, nurtured by Moffat, which included an open office structure that kept even the president in a cube, and pirate-themed promotions and parties, along with an infamous cube-decorating competition.

“The pirate thing is fun,” she said with a laugh. “It was a signature item of Dan’s, so I probably won’t do it as well as Dan. It’s a fun thing.”

New Edge will probably be “growing up a little” by improving its customer facilities and making other investments that weren’t as possible when it was a stand-alone competitor in a tight fiscal market, Beck said.