COMPTEL: Deltacom makes $20M network expansion

By offering the complete service, including the interface to other service providers and equipment providers, Deltacom and its retail arm, Interstate FiberNet, can meet business and carrier customers’ number one demand, which is for reliability, Curran said. Deltacom backs that up with more than 550 people devoted to sales and sales support including 75 customer service reps and 50 technology consultants. Enterprise support calls go directly to Tier 2 level techs, said Tony Tomae, executive vice president of sales and marketing.
With the expanded use of Infinera and Alcatel-Lucent gear, Deltacom is able to “go really deep into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, and handle the carrier customers who can’t get that deep,” Tomae said.

The company doesn’t do speculative builds but does expand based on customer demand. “We think we are well prepared for future growth,” Tomae said.

The on-ramps and off-ramps to the Infinera-fueled backbone are the Alcatel=Lucent MDX boxes which will enable Interstate FiberNet to eliver a wider range of Ethernet services, as well as PRIs and the full range of SONET offerings as well, said Jim O’Brien, executive vice president of operations.