WorldNet wields all-IP network to compete in Puerto Rico

WorldNet also is in the process of transitioning its customers still on resold ATM and frame relay circuits to the IP MPLS network and is introducing hosted IT services for small to mid-sized businesses as well, Freedman said.

“Our basic products are bundles of voice and data; that’s very popular,” Freedman said. “From a marketing perspective, we are trying to layer on ancillary services, such as an IT offer, wrapping around the core connectivity. We can go to an SMB, and say, ‘We’ll get you the gear and put it in and then train you how to use it, so all you have to do is turn it on and go to work.’”

More advanced services such as unified messaging and ringing multiple phones from one number are still in the marketing phases, Freedman said, but he believes that technology-crazy Puerto Ricans will have “a great interest in those features, and within the next year or two, we are going to see a great uptick in the take rate for those.”

WorldNet also is planning to exploit the lower cost of VoIP at a time when businesses are particularly cost-conscious, Freedman said.

Freedman is making his own personal transition within WorldNet, handing the operational reins back to company founder David Bogaty and stepping down as CEO while remaining outside counsel and a board member. The change will enable him to stop commuting from his home in Washington DC to Puerto Rico. 

Freedman’s first fight as outside counsel will be taking on PRTC and its own, Carlos Slim, in a battle over whether the incumbent should be required to provide EELs – extended, enhanced lines – which would enable WorldNet to extend the reach of its MPLS network even farther.