Broadwing wraps service in end-to-end security

Hoping to leverage the local service experience of its Focal Communications acquisition, Broadwing this week announced a comprehensive service level agreement that will offer customers a plain language guarantee of end-to-end dedicated services including local connections.

Dubbed the Grand SLAm, the new SLA covers all Broadwing's U.S. dedicated access services, including voice, legacy data and IP-based offerings. It represents the company's effort to differentiate its services from those of other competitors.

"Our customer requests drove us to do something that would really resonate, and take a lot of the fine print out of the SLA process," says Jamey Heinze, director of Broadwing's data product management organization. Rather than use "arcane topics, crazy measurement techniques, and difficult credit procedures" Broadwing's SLA is measured simply by the existence of a trouble ticket.

By including Broadwing-ordered local connections, which typically traverse incumbent telco lines, "we will end the typical finger-pointing," Heinze adds.

"The key value proposition is that Broadwing is going to provide a better product," he says. "We will be easy to do business with, we will keep our promises and deliver service on time, and if it breaks, we will repair within the timeline we promise. If we don't do those things, we are going to pay and if you are not satisfied, we will let you out of your contract."

The contract exit option is one of the four primary elements of the Grand SLAm package, including end-to-end guarantees, four-hour repair guarantees, and installation guarantees.

Broadwing will leverage the local connection expertise developed by Focal Communications in order to include local telco loops in its SLA. That experience includes development of automated interfaces into the local LECs and well-established processes for tracking and fixing problems.

The company is well aware of the increased exposure of the expanded SLA and has carefully crunched those numbers, Heinze said.

"We spent a heckuva lot of time reviewing that business case," he said. "We are not kidding ourselves thinking that overnight we are going to have 100% availability on local access loops or even our backbone. We have done exhaustive analysis on our liability here."

The payoff is getting a leg up in what is a very competitive market. While competitors may have pieces of Broadwing's SLA, company officials say no one else has the full package.