What's News

New sales managers

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:56:00 GMT

Following the recent appointment of CEO, John Pellew, to lead the UK operations, global telecommunications reseller and franchisor, Telcoinabox has appointed two sales managers to escalate the wholesale and franchise businesses.

“We have received an overwhelming response from companies wanting to expand their businesses into telecommunications and from budding entrepreneurs alike”, says UK CEO John Pellew.

Click here to read the full story

Thriving in chaos to succeed in business

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:56:00 GMT

Damian Kay, Telcoinabox Global CEO, believes that for a business to ‘thrive’ in a constant flux of change they must become obsessed with being responsive to customers and without fail, constantly innovative.

So what is the recipe to a successful business operating in a world of chaos? All thriving industries are inherently chaotic because everything around us is forever changing.

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Fitting the bill

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:56:00 GMT

Whilst billing services has become so much more a competitive market over the last couple of years the products and services themselves have continued to develop at a pace. We report from the key players on how they add value for channel partners.

In a highly competitive market place it is not only expected but a necessity to provide resellers a billing platform which delivers exceptional value, service and potential additional revenue streams at every opportunity. In order to retain a competitive advantage resellers require an intuitive and automated platform which is dynamic and responsive to ever changing market requirements.

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A Telco of your own

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:57:00 GMT

From a standing start in 2002, Telcoinabox has grown revenues to £40m. The company offers anyone with a phone, internet connection and a laptop the opportunity to become their own telephone company. The company creates, supplies and supports telecommunications businesses.

UK CEO, Daniel Crespi, “Telcoinabox is a young and dynamic company where the focus is firmly placed on the culture of the business. We aim to get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus where applicable. We hire on attitude before experience, recognise achievement and celebrate wins in style. This same approach is taken with our customers, or partners as we prefer to call them, and the culture is equally important in relation to our relationship with them as well. This business doesn’t suit everyone.

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Organic growth or acquisition - which way to go to grow? – Part 1

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:57:00 GMT

In the first of a two-part article Damian Kay, Managing Director at Telcoinabox examines the acquisitional option for business growth.

Let’s face it; if you are not growing you are going backwards. It might be a cliché but it is true. If you are not growing be assured that some of your competitors are, and remember ‘size matters’. Critical mass is key. It provides economies of scale and a level of security in economic uncertainty, however not necessarily in a recession.

Click here to read the full story

Organic growth or acquisition - which way to go to grow? – Part 2

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:57:00 GMT

In the second of a two-part article Damian Kay, Managing Director at Telcoinabox examines organic growth - the act of growing your business in two ways - winning customers and getting more out of the customers you already have.

I am a big believer in the saying ‘if you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got’. If you are growing your business successfully and the growth is consistent, then maintaining organic growth is a good option

Click here to read the full story

Naked DSL...

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:57:00 GMT

There has been much talk of late marking the end of the bog standard fixed phone line. While this may be a little premature there are certainly one or two clouds gathering on the horizon and the cause of the doom and gloom is a shameless little product called “naked DSL’.

The driving force behind this has been the emergence of VoIP technology, which lets you make phone calls over the internet rather than route them through the traditional telephone network. But there was a catch: to use VoIP you needed broadband and most broadband connections still require a telephone line.
Now there's a new type of broadband service called naked DSL, or nDSL, which not only removes the need for an active phone line but lets you ditch the monthly line rental charges. That's a saving of over $27 a month based on Telstra's line rental.

You still need the physical line to connect your PC to the internet but that line no longer has to be "live". There's no dial tone so it's as if the line has gone dead.

But it's not dead: it's just a "naked" or bare bones copper line without any services loaded onto it. Sign up for naked DSL and that line becomes your super-speed ADSL2+ broadband pipe to the internet.

Naked DSL has obvious appeal to anyone who has already slashed their phone bill by moving to VoIP, where call costs are a fraction of those charged by the standard landline carriers. For them, a hard-wired phone line - and the mandatory monthly rental that goes with it - is largely redundant.

It's also a winner for anyone who mainly uses the mobile to make and take calls, and doubly so for renters who may baulk at paying Telstra's $59 telephone connection fee every time they move into new premises. Naked DSL can be activated on an otherwise "dead" phone socket without a technician making a house call. But the bare truth of the matter is that naked DSL isn't for everyone.

"It's certainly getting a lot of hype and no one likes paying line rental when they don't use their phone much or at all," says Phil Sweeney, editor of Australia's popular Whirlpool broadband hub (whirlpool.net.au). But Sweeney says that there's still a small line rental cost attached to nDSL plans - it's just rolled into the overall plan and paid direct to your internet service provider rather than Telstra.

"This hidden cost can range from $15-$20, so while it's typically less than what you'd pay for line rental the saving may only be $5-10 depending on what line rental plan you're on. And it can be worth paying that little extra to have a landline there just in case you need it, in case the net or VoIP isn't working or for incoming calls."

It is also worth noting that a landline is also a must-have for monitored back to base security alarms and anyone who wants the security of a phone line that's always available.

The public phone network is incredibly reliable, even if there's a blackout it will keep working, as long as you don't have a phone that plugs into an AC outlet to draw power. And your location is known, so if you call 000 the emergency services know exactly where to go.

For obscure technical reasons, not every internet service provider can do nDSL in all areas. At the time of writing only Exetel, Gotalk, iiNet and Internode are good to go naked across NSW, although more ISPs are certain to follow.

Naked DSL plans start at about $50 and usually cost a little more than standard ADSL2+ services, with that price difference being equivalent to the invisible line rental charge. Yet, as with any move to broadband, it pays to examine all the plans closely before you make the switch to nDSL.

For example, iiNet counts uploads as well as downloads in your monthly tally. This means you'll need to be careful running peer-to-peer file-sharing software such as BitTorrent or LimeWire because they work by constantly uploading files, even when you've finished a download session.

Overall data allowances for the cheapest plans range from 4GB to 48GB, with the allocation often split between peak and off-peak hours. Some ISPs charge an excess fee if you go over that limit, while others will cut back your connection speed until the new month (and a new billing cycle) begins. Other factors to consider and compare are contracts and set-up fees.

If VoIP is on the menu - and with your landline phone being ditched, it probably will be - then you'll also want to examine what each ISP does as part of its nDSL broadband bundle.

There is yet another sting in the tail, the loss of your cherished land line number. Number portability is by no means guaranteed and customers will have to make the difficult choice of letting go of their long held land-line numbers. That may be too much of an inconvenience for many.

ALPHABET SOUP

Acronyms abound when you start to look at naked DSL and making phone calls over the internet. Here is some of the jargon you are likely to encounter.

ADSL (Aysmmetric Digital Subscriber Line): This is the breakthrough technology that allows digital data to be transmitted through your telephone line by chopping it up into small pieces known as "packets".

VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol): VOIP is the protocol (the way the data is organised) by which a voice call can be transmitted digitally over the internet.

PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network): This is the conventional public telephone network used around the world. It is a circuit-switched network, meaning a fixed connection must be established between the caller and the person being called. This contrasts with the VOIP approach, which uses "packet-switched" technology.

Mbps (Mega Bits Per Second): The speed at which data is transferred through the line. The fastest ADSL systems can reach up to 24 Mbps.

The Scientific Franchisee Selection Process

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:40:00 GMT

In April 2008, telcoinabox changed the franchisee recruitment process by working with the Franchise Relationship Institute (FRI) to introduce a scientific franchisee selection process called the “Nathan Profiler”. FRI developed the Nathan Profiler to assist franchisors in reducing the cost and indirect negative impact of poor selection on their franchise businesses.

The Profiler has been developed from extensive research on franchise systems and we believe it will provide us with a systematic selection process for assessing prospective franchisees.

With this new process, when a prospective franchisee is confident that they wish to proceed and buy the franchise, their contact details are passed on to Senior Management, Paul Line (General Manager) and Claire Smith (Operations Manager), by our Sales Department. Paul and Claire introduce themselves and set the candidate up with log-ins for the online Profiler.

The candidate then receives an email inviting them to complete an Information Request Form and a Self Assessment Profile.

The Information Request Form is similar to an application form and gathers information on basic personal details, reason for choosing the franchise, commitment to the business, proposed family involvement and attitude about the business, goals, past business and/or employment experience, referees, and legal information.

The Self Assessment Profile measures 17 attributes that drive franchisee success and compares the candidate’s results to a benchmark franchisee profile. This benchmark has been developed from the FRI research into franchising. While some attributes are more important than others they all play an important role in contributing to a franchisee’s potential success.

The attributes are weighted to suit the telcoinabox franchise system. The attributes measured are business acumen, practical intelligence, computer literacy, family and social support, personal organization, stamina, emotional resilience, communication skills, service orientation, drive for success, sales orientation, openness to growth, team leadership, optimistic outlook, cooperation, reliability and personal presentation.

When both sections of the online Nathan Profiler are complete by the prospective franchisee, it produces 2 reports for telcoinabox. In these reports the candidate is awarded scores for each attribute and an overall rating, which is an indication of their potential success as a franchisee. Senior Management then decides if they would like to interview the candidate or decline their application.

If the candidate is invited to an interview in the Sydney office with Paul and Claire, the Nathan Profiler produces a “Final Check Assessor Guide”. This guide contains the previously mentioned attributes along with a series of associated prompts, questions and tips for assessing them on each attribute during the interview. The prompts are used to remind the interviewers what they want to know about the candidate.

The questions are carefully worded to elicit specific information relevant to a set of behavioural indicators. In some cases additional questions are marked with a “red flag”, as the candidate has highlighted a potential weakness in the Self Assessment Report.

Following the interview, the Senior Managers combine their interview notes and add them to the profiler which again produces a final report with scores for the candidate. At this stage a final decision is made as to whether or not telcoinabox will accept their application, and the prospective franchisee is then contacted with the good or bad news.

The successful candidate is provisionally approved in the system while legal documents are signed and franchise fee paid. The franchisee commences the online pre-induction training, which they need to complete with an 80% pass rate before attending the 5-day intensive program in the Sydney Operations Office. The trainee becomes a fully fledged franchisee on satisfactory completion of all induction training.

The new process has been followed for the last few months and the feedback from those involved, including the new franchisees, has been positive. We have introduced the Nathan Profiler to ensure that we are getting high qualify franchisees that have potential for growth but also to ensure that this business opportunity is right for the candidate. This scientific approach not only equips us to make good selection decisions, but keeps the process consistent and professional.

Author: Claire Smith
Email: claire@telcoinabox.com

The Wireless Broadband Explosion

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:49:00 GMT

Wireless broadband is one of the hottest topics in telecommunications right now as consumers demand faster internet speeds and accessibility whenever and wherever they want it. For the last few years there has been much debate over which wireless broadband technology (Wimax or 3G) would win through. As it currently stands 3G wireless broadband services definitely have the upper hand. All 4 of the major mobile carriers now have a compelling wireless broadband offer and are seeing great take up rates across the board.

Furthermore 3G services are leaving behind providers of proprietary wireless networks like iBurst and Unwired in terms of coverage (fast becoming ubiquitous), download speeds (currently at least equivalent and only getting faster with new High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology), flexibility (a choice of hardware such as USB “dongles” or ethernet “bridges”) and price (dropping so fast that it’s now almost at the levels of traditional fixed broadband services). With all this in mind and the upcoming launch of Telcoinabox’s wireless broadband product (via Optus 3G) let’s take a look at what the major players have to say and what they’re doing in the market.

Wireless Devices
While some carriers offer the option of using your mobile handset as a modem (connected via USB to a laptop) all providers are also offering specialized modems for use specifically with laptops or, in some cases desktop PCs. In the case of 3G wireless broadband services all of these modems contain a SIM card. The price of the devices varies according to the carrier, device and plan but beware the promise of “free” devices when a sneaky extra monthly charge is actually added to the bill. Here’s a quick explanation of some of the devices you’ll come across.

PCMCIA cards (also known as PC cards)
Slightly larger than credit card size and slots into the “card slot” in the side of your laptop. Now quite a dated technology no longer supported by many new laptops and easily confused with the slightly smaller PC Express cards (see below) by which it has been replaced. May or may not need separate driver software to operate (provided by the supplier on a disk).

PC Express cards (also known as PC cards)
Similar to the PCMCIA card outlined above but slightly smaller. Beware confusion as a PC Express card slot will not accommodate a PCMCIA card. May or may not need separate driver software to operate (provided by the supplier on a disk).

USB “Dongles”
Now the preferred method of access for many users. Small and compact with a short cable connecting to the USB port on your laptop / PC. Drivers usually built into the hardware and “auto-install”.

Internet “keys”
The newest hardware option which looks very much like a USB hard drive (thumb drive). Smaller and more compact than a “dongle”. Drivers usually built into the hardware and “auto-install”. Currently offered by Telstra and 3.

Ethernet / wireless modem
While most other devices are firmly targeted at the more mobile user this option is great for users looking for a home or office solution. Ethernet ports and Wifi allow direct connection of multiple PCs / laptops. Can be powered via USB and is “plug and play” with drivers built into the hardware and “auto-install”.

3G capable lap-tops
Increasingly manufacturers such as Lenovo, Acer, HP and Dell are building the capability to slot a 3G SIM card directly into their lap-tops. No separate hardware is required leading to cost savings for the end customer.

Telstra Next G
Telstra stole a march on its major competitors when it unveiled its national Next G network in 2007. By taking the decision to use the 850MHz spectrum Telstra has been able to replicate the coverage of its old CDMA network which it has subsequently turned off (to much disdain in the rural community) and has been able to back this up with some major advertising spend.

While Optus and Vodafone scramble hard to catch up in coverage terms Telstra is enjoying a monopoly status as a wireless broadband provider in large swathes of the country and is set to enjoy this for the rest of the year. Telstra’s first-half results for 2008 indicate that this monopoly position has paid dividends with Telstra adding 136,000 new wireless broadband customers to take its total wireless broadband base to 464,000, generating revenue of $230 million

All this coverage comes at a price and the problem with monopolies is that they tend to be expensive - this is no different. Telstra’s wireless broadband service (in the guise of Bigpond wireless broadband) is the most expensive of the big 4. Pricing / Offer

Plan/Included Amount	Monthly Price (inc GST)	Excess Usage (per MB)	Other Costs & Notes
200MB	$39.95	15c	200MB plan speed is throttled to 256 kbps, upfront cost of $249 for modem. Beware the attractive looking offers on a 36 month contract that aren't all that good.
1GB	$84.95	15c
3GB	$114.95	15c

Good Points

Amazing coverage
Network being upgraded rapidly
Did I mention coverage?

Bad Points

Very expensive – even more so if using a mobile handset or laptop with built-in 3G
No free modem – upfront cost of $249 that is not made clear on the website
Speed throttled to 256kbps on some plans
Promotional prices on latest offer only for 1st 6 months of a 36 month contract – still expensive over the life of the contract

Hutchison (3)
3 has long been a pioneer in the provision of data services over its 3G mobile network and has had great success through its affiliations with “cultural phenomenon” Big Brother and major sporting events such as international test cricket. Nigel Dews, the CEO of Hutchison Australia has recently gone on the record announcing that 3 grew its mobile broadband customer base by 288,000 in the first 4 months of this year – that’s more than one new subscriber every single minute of every single day! Hutchison is increasing network speeds to enable speeds of 7.2Mbps and is focused on generating more non-voice revenue.

While 3 is a market leader in 3G wireless services its offer is somewhat diluted by its lack of coverage and the incredibly high cost of roaming data. It's all too easy for users to rack up a huge bill and suffer from “bill-shock”

Pricing / Offer

Plan/Included Amount	Monthly Price (inc GST)	Excess Usage (per MB)	Other Costs & Notes
1GB	$15	10c	$5 per month charge for USb modems, minimal included allowance when roaming (between 1MB to 4MB only) and $1.65 per MB for excess usage when roaming
2GB	$29	10c
6GB	$49	10c

Good Points

Cheap monthly price points
Range of devices available
Reasonable excess usage charge in 3G zone

Bad Points

Coverage limited to metro areas
Roaming charges extremely expensive

Vodafone
To some extent Vodafone has been playing catch-up in the wireless broadband market and is a little behind both Optus and Telstra in expanding its HSPA network. To try and catch up lost ground Vodafone are running a hot $39.95 offer for 5GB of included download with a free USB modem until 30th June. Aside from this offer its standard pricing is relatively high compared to both Optus and Telstra.

As a mobile only carrier Vodafone is at a disadvantage versus competitors like Telstra and Optus as it does not have a fixed network to enable backhaul of large amounts of bandwidth at reasonable prices, this could hamper Vodafone’s wireless data growth in the future unless it makes a strategic move to combine with a major fixed network provider.

Pricing / Offer

Plan/Included Amount	Monthly Price (inc GST)	Excess Usage (per MB)	Other Costs & Notes
1GB	$59.95	10c	5GB package only available until 30th June and must be on direct debit, hefty exit fees
2GB	$79.95	10c
5GB	$39.95	10c

Good Points

The limited-time 5GB deal is great value
Reasonable excess usage charges
Lower data bundles available for very low users (100MB and 300MB) but more expensive than 1GB packages from other providers

Bad Points

Roll-out of network is slightly behind other carriers
Limited hardware options
Standard pricing 3 to 4 times more expensive than some of the competition
Month to month charges (non-contract) are astronomical

Optus

Optus has recently made big announcements about its aspirations to become the number one mobile provider in Australia and it is certainly backing up these claims with investment in its network. Current projections mean that 3G coverage will be at 96% by December 2008, basically the equivalent of Optus’s current 2G mobile coverage.

Optus is the only serious player in the wholesale 3G wireless broadband market and is, of course, the partner that Telcoinabox is launching with.

Pricing / Offer

Plan/Included Amount	Monthly Price (inc GST)	Excess Usage (per MB)	Other Costs & Notes
1GB	$29.99	15c	Prices here are standalone prices, a $10 discount is available if bundled with another Optus service. 4 months free access fee offer also available to customers who bundle. The 5GB plan is available for a limited time only and is in direct response to the Vodafone offer
2GB	$44.99	15c
6GB	$59.99	15c
5GB	$49.99	15c

Good Points

Rapidly growing network and coverage
Very attractive incentives to bundle including 4 months free and $10 discount
Good value 5GB plan (only available for a limited time)
Dongles, PC express and “In Zone” Ethernet / wifi modems available, USB “stick” modems coming soon

Bad Points

$199 upfront cost for “dongle” modem with no monthly repayment options
$9.95 delivery fee for all modems

Summary
The 3G wireless broadband market is growing at a phenomenal rate and Telcoinabox will soon be in a position where our service providers can offer a competitive wireless broadband product that enables us to benefit from this. With increasing demand for mobility it certainly looks like this market is here to stay and there are clear parallels with telephony services where fixed-line services have been declining as mobile services are on the increase.

While fixed broadband solutions like ADSL and cable still have a place in the market the increasingly attractive price, performance and flexibility of 3G wireless broadband is sure to encourage its take-up as a secondary internet connection or even as a replacement for many fixed broadband services. Besides, a product that has brought the word “dongle” into everyday use can’t be all bad can it?

Author: Paul Line
Email: paul@telcoinabox.com

'No Excuses' - the way of the BAM

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:33:00 GMT

TIAB franchisees and service providers are able to beat the ‘big boys’ of the industry through one main weapon – that of dedicated personal account management and customer support. Having some sort of relationship with the person at the end of the line increases the customer’s trust, gives them peace of mind and dramatically improves the chances of finding a mutually benefitting resolution to any situation.

With this in mind, we figured that you would all benefit from more of an insight into the TIAB teams, their roles and their members. Many of you will have come into contact with most of the TIAB teams at some point or another, however that friendly voice at the end of the line has a face, and with that face is a life inside and (hopefully) outside of Telcoinabox. This regular feature will take you through all of the TIAB teams and staff, giving you an insight into the lifeblood of the company, those that keep it ticking over on a day-to-day basis.

The first team to be profiled is the newly created Business Accountability Manager team, or BAM. Well over half the franchises are benefitting from the services and support provided by their dedicated BAM and are showing considerable growth from the ‘Business Prosperity Course’ that is taught and used to improve the structure and running of their businesses. But BAM isn’t just about telling you how to do your job, it offers personal support and coaching as well as providing Telco knowledge and training.

Those of you who attended November’s roadshows will know that “Your business is just an extension of you”, so BAMs are trained to recognise how to help a franchisee personally in order to allow their business to succeed.

We all have fears, weaknesses, goals and strengths and a BAM ensures that your goals and strengths far outweigh your fears and weaknesses, allowing you to become the person you always wanted to be, owning the business that you always dreamed of. BAM gives you a motivational push and will hold you accountable for reaching the goals that you set. BAM’s mantra is simply “No Excuses’!!

So let’s meet the team that can take you and your franchise to a higher level of success:

Name: Tom Fry
Nickname: Tom the Pom
Hobbies/interests: All sports! Mainly rugby, sailing and golf. I am currently in training to take part in the Oxfam Trailwalker 100Km walk in August. I love an active lifestyle balanced with over-indulgence in fine foods and excessive alcohol! I used to be a DJ and still have a passion for music. I enjoy writing and relax in the evenings by spending at least an hour in the kitchen.
Favourite movie: The Matrix
Favourite music: Funky House, John Butler Trio, Jazz, anything with a good beat!
Favourite food: I can’t answer that…I’m obsessed with all food! Probably a curry, a Lamb Jalfrezi, but you can’t get a decent one in this part of the world!

Professional history: I worked in sales/account management for an IT hardware distribution company in England for three years before travelling the world and getting stuck in Sydney, I had a brief spell working for the NSW Department of Lands in Internal Communications and marketing.
Describe yourself as a person: I am happy-go-lucky with a passion for life. I live life to the full and am constantly on the go, usually surrounding myself with people. I love a challenge and have a competitive streak within me. I tend to lead the drinking and never shy away from making an idiot of myself on the dancefloor! My family means the world to me, which is odd considering I couldn’t live any further from them.
How has being a BAM changed you? Simple – focus and drive. I always thought I’d do well in life, but I never really knew how. I’ve now got control of my life and make of it whatever I want. Being a BAM has shown me that the only thing standing between me and world domination is me. Not only do I now know what I want to get out of life, but I also have a plan for how to make it happen, albeit a work in progress.
Describe life as a BAM: Work hard, play hard! We have a lot of fun in our team, but we have to be on top of our games to get the best out of our clients. It’s not always easy telling the franchisees what they need to hear to get them to break out of their comfort zones, but the rewards are huge when you make a breakthrough and make a difference, not just in their businesses but also in their personal lives too.

Being a BAM has taught me a lot about myself, I am now driven and focused, sure of what I want, and how I’m going to make it happen. Having first-hand experience of changing my way of thinking for the better makes it that much easier to convince others to do the same. If I can get all of my clients in the same frame of mind as me my job is done! It’s as easy as that!

Goals: I have a huge list, but the ones at the forefront of my attention at the moment are: Complete 100km walk in August; Become BAM team leader by Conference; Write a novel; I have completed a load of my other main goals in the last few weeks so it’s probably about time to re-write the list and prioritise them once again!
Something that we don’t know about you: I speak fluent French

Name: Paul Jackson
Nickname: Jacko
Hobbies/interests: XBOX 360, tennis, dining out, being social and generally having a good time.
Favourite movie: Lord of the Rings
Favourite music: Anything from Tiesto to Madonna to Marilyn Manson
Favourite food: Anything Thai

Professional history: Straight out of school I spent 9 ½ years in the Navy in Operational/logistical roles. After that I worked in Team Leader/Account Management roles for companies such as TNT, Hermes Precisa and Sun Microsystems.
Describe yourself as a person: Very outgoing social person, structured and looking to grow as person both personally and professionally. I have a very positive outlook on life, enjoy pushing myself hard and I have quite high expectations for myself. How has being a BAM changed you? BAM has been able to offer me direction in what I want to achieve and has clearly showed me how to achieve this. Although I am very structured in my life I can now realise how easy it is to put your own goals on hold, as you tend to other's needs. It really has been the light at the end of the tunnel that I have needed, even though I was quite stand-offish at first regarding goals etc. I can really see the benefits.

Describe life as a BAM: It’s a really good team and we all get along really well. We work in a fun, dynamic environment; it’s upbeat and very energetic, casual, but highly professional. 6 months has just flown!!
Goals: Quite a few really, I mean we had to write a 100 goals for JJ. But seriously some of my big goals this year are to Travel to the USA, finish renovating my investment property and start developing a new one. On a professional level I aim to further my current skills and advance to a new opportunity.

Name: Aileen Zaballa
Nickname: Ailzy
Hobbies/interests: Travelling, shopping, chocolate, wine (both red and white), dancing
Favourite movie: The Little Mermaid
Favourite music: Any – as long as I can dance to it
Favourite food: Chocolate!

Professional history: I was Customer Operations Exec with Optus for 4 years, then I moved to OnDemand Solutions where I spent a year in account management
Describe yourself as a person: Good things comes in small packages! Fun, outgoing and easy going. I like to try and experience new things that will help me broaden my horizons. I love travelling and meeting new people along the way. Shopping is my weakness, as well as chocolate.
How has being a BAM changed you? I am more goal-driven and focused in achieving my goals, both long and short term.

Describe life as a BAM: It’s been a lot of fun working as a BAM, my most challenging role to date, but also the most enjoyable role I’ve worked in. Working as a BAM has helped me grow both professionally and personally. The team is upbeat and fun to work with – wouldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with, day in and day out!
Goals: Running City 2 Surf (August 2008), Greece (September 2008), Buy my first investment property early 2009
Something that we don’t know about you: I cried at the end of ‘Home Alone’ ... hahaha!

Author: Tom Fry
Email: tom@telcoinabox.com

Supplier Profile – Marcus Eley, Optus

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:45:00 GMT

With the Optus launch creeping ever closer the engaged team thought this would be a great time to introduce you all to our new Optus account manager. Marcus Eley is Senior Business Development Manager (New Markets and Global Accounts) and has been with Optus for 5 years. Prior to joining Optus Marcus was a sales manager for CRM/Data intelligence company. Engaged spoke to Marcus to get the lowdown on life at Optus, what makes Optus unique and Optus’ vision for the future.

engaged: Marcus, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. How would you sum up your role in one sentence?
ME: To work collectively with our wholesale partners where we can create something greater than what we could accomplish individually.

engaged: How important is the wholesale channel to Optus?
ME: Our vision is to become 1st choice telco partner for Wholesale and Satellite service providers in Asia-Pac.

Considering our vision the Australian wholesale telecommunications relevant market is estimated at $2.7Bn, and Optus Wholesale delivers a significant proportion of revenue to the Optus group with annual revenue of almost $1bn making us the second largest provider in Australia, leading in mobile and satellite, but a distant number two in the wire-line sector.

The wholesale division is extremely important to the Optus group and has significant opportunity for exponential growth with last year’s market growth at 3.3%. This year’s relevant market growth is forecasted to be as high as 7% with exceptional performance expected in Broadband, IP and mobile data.

engaged: What would you say sets Optus apart from the other major carriers at a wholesale level?
ME: I believe what sets us apart from our competitors is we at Optus are passionate about our market, our customers and also our people. Our intent is to lead in customer experience through operational excellence and a focus on meaningful partnerships.

engaged: What type of support does Optus provide to its wholesale customers?
ME: Along with your dedicated account manager and solutions consultant, Optus also has its intuitive online portal that supports Switched Voice, Data and IP provisioning for reporting, billing and personalised customer information. The portal has recently been enhanced to include a number of customisable features to improve your overall customer experience with Optus.

We also conduct national training days whether you a new to Optus Wholesale you just want a refresher on a particular product.

engaged: How would you describe the culture at Optus wholesale?
ME: We play to WIN, we do what we say we will and deliver on our values of Customer Focus, Challenger Spirit, Personal Excellence, Integrity and Teamwork. We do so with a Whole lot of Fun, Passion, Vision, Focus and Energy

engaged: How is Telcoinabox perceived within the Optus wholesale business?
ME: A passionate and innovative company that is dedicated in providing the Australian entrepreneurs opportunity to profitably run their own telecommunications business in a highly competitive market.

engaged: Optus has recently made public in the press its goal to become the number one mobile provider in Australia. Given the superior coverage of Telstra’s Next G service why is Optus confident it can achieve this?
ME: Not only are the Network team working overtime to progress the expansion of the 3G network, in achieving 96% coverage of the Australian Population by December 2008 and we are well on the way to reaching this goal. It’s how we continue to strive to deliver competitive pricing to the Australian consumer that can have access to innovative products and services.

engaged: What do you see as the future products and trends that will be key drivers in the next 3 years within the telecommunications industry?
ME: Optus Wireless offerings with great speeds on an ever-increasing coverage footprint are just a couple of future products and constantly innovative trends that will be prevalent now and in the coming years. Optus Wireless Broadband introduces two new products that provide true convergence of Mobile and Fixed Broadband: OWB Roamer using a USB Modem and OWB InZone using a Wireless Router.

With Roamer and InZone, Service Providers are able to offer Mobile and Wireless Broadband products to those customers who are seeking or need an alternative to fixed line broadband that can be purchased off the shelf, easy to self-install and can be relocated without notice or penalty.

The InZone and Roamer Wireless Broadband products mean the end user is no longer reliant on having fixed broadband connected to their home or office, which appeals to customers who are renters or businesses with temporary or multiple offices; and who don’t want the expense of connecting broadband and/or may not be committed to staying in one location for a long period of time.

The InZone and Roamer product will be available over Optus’ HSDPA Network which should cover 80% of the Australian population by June 08, with 96% coverage planned to be reached by December 08. These new products open up significant opportunities for our service providers and we are really excited by the demand we have seen for these solutions over the past few months.

engaged: What’s the best thing about working at Optus?
ME: I don’t have to pay for my mobile bill! It’s massive!!! The people are great and it’s fantastic to work for a company where integrity is first and foremost! (Rewards are great as well!)

engaged: What’s the worst thing about working at Optus?
ME: The travel! I live on the East Cost of Victoria and it takes me an hour and 20 minutes each way!

engaged: If you had one key message for our franchisees & service providers when selling Optus 3G mobile products what would it be?
ME: Sell it as a “solution” not a product!

engaged: Marcus, thanks for giving us an insight into how Optus views the wholesale telecommunications world. We’re looking forward to seeing Optus deliver on those values you’ve talked about and to us both jointly growing our share of a growing market.

Author: Paul Line
Email: paul@telcoinabox.com

Update from Damian Kay

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:50:00 GMT

Welcome to the first edition of “Engaged” the new Telcoinabox newsletter. It is part of our commitment to share with our partners, suppliers, family and friends what is happening within the Telcoinabox extended family.

As this is the first edition I thought it appropriate to provide an overview of the business, what we have been focused on and where we are going as a company. Telcoinabox has a very strong and distinct culture and a part of this has always been an “open book” philosophy. With this in mind, I share with you my perspective of the company and where we are going.

Even today Telcoinabox is unique in what we do, and how we do it. We still have very little competition in our core business. Our purpose, “To enable you to grow through a reliable support framework and leadership committed to innovation and creating opportunity” is central to everything we do and if you ever come and visit the NOC in Sydney you will hear and see our purpose used by all our staff.

So what have we been doing?

We made a conscious decision last year to take a 12 month view on moving the day to day operations and management to a senior management team. With this in mind, we pulled back and worked on strengthening the foundations of the business to allow for greater sustainable growth which benefits every relationship we have, including franchisees, service providers, vendors/carriers and our internal staff. Every person in every team has been involved in the transformation of the business. Our teams have documented and published over 2500 processes and procedures that are now in use on a daily basis. This is a long and laborious task, but our people have embraced this program with the enthusiasm and passion we could only dream of.

We have made huge investments in both systems and processes to create a "reliable support framework”. We have also invested heavily in support (BAMs, NAMs and WAMs) and ongoing training programs to assist our franchisees and service providers to grow both personally and financially. As a result we have had to remove some of the road blocks to the transformation process which has been difficult but vital to the success of the business. This has included people, systems and vendors. All were given opportunities to "step up" and if they did not an alternative was found. John Jacob has been an enormous part of the transformation process and has provided invaluable training and guidance to all the teams throughout the last 12 months.

Across all teams, we now have record ticket response and resolution times, call answering times, abandonment rates and much greater consistency and accuracy of information. This has helped both us and our providers run their businesses more efficiently. We have seen vast improvements in all 4 areas of time, money, resources and communication (both internal and external).

Thank you to those franchisees who filled out the FRI survey (75%) which has shown

Our improvement on last year and
We far outstrip the industry benchmarks in pretty much every area of the business. In the last 12 months we have been recognised in a number of awards including:
- BRW 7th Fastest Growing Company
- BRW No 1 Fastest Growing Franchise
- BRW 4th Fastest Starter

This has helped grow the exposure of the business and many of our providers have used this to great effect to grow their own business. However, we still have much to do and I am adamant that the business continues to operate "on the edge of chaos". By doing this we will not "rest on our laurels" and will continually innovate both internally and externally.

Utilibill is the centre of our universe and we continue to invest in improving its capabilities and efficiencies. We made some big decisions to ensure that Utilibill meets our expectations and this is now the focus of Morgan Duncan, a fellow founder of Telcoinabox, who has a passion for the Utilibill platform that none can match. Lucy L'Angellier was also moved over to the operations of Utilibill due to her experience and knowledge of the billing process. This move has reaped many rewards for Telcoinabox as she understands our business intimately.

Some big investments in the platform have meant that we now are able to:

Provide you with a wholesale invoice approximately 20 days sooner than before
Get end-customer bills out in 2 days (aiming for 1 day)
Move to automatic payment allocations (Money-Go-Round) leading to greater than once per week clearing of funds to service providers
Give you more control to manage customers and their services efficiently and quickly

Other investments internally have meant that every part of the business is now measurable and therefore predictable. All team leaders now have access to a very advanced reporting portal including their own profit and loss reports, monthly statistics on cost per call/ticket, response times and costs and revenue per head. On July 1 Paul Line (General Manager) and Claire Smith (National Operations Manager) will officially take over the running of the day to day business with full P&L responsibility.

So where are we going?

We are continuing to invest in

Creating more time, resources, communication & money
Franchisee growth through ongoing training and support
Service provider growth and support (some big changes here)
The Utilibill platform

We are currently drawing up a roadmap of new products and services to drive growth through opportunity and product innovation and we will continually strive for low levels of “chaos” to drive evolutionary change (as opposed to revolutionary change).

It is now the time to expand overseas. We are currently live in the UK which is going well. We will soon be in New Zealand and we are currently negotiating carrier agreements and advertising for a Master Licensee to operate and build the NZ business. The UK is performing well and is testament to our unique model. Damien Gould is working like he has never worked before and loving the challenge of setting up a business from scratch. Much of what he is doing will set the scene for what is required in other countries. Many of our franchisees and service providers have expressed interest in the UK and NZ.

JJ (John Jacob) is heading up our international expansion strategy while continuing to work with our teams in a lesser capacity. John is also helping with re-engineering the service provider channel, as we strive to be “best in class” in this area.

So how do we look financially?

We have a strong balance sheet and our profitability is healthy. This year (2008 financial year) however, will see a reduction in profit due to

Investment in teams (labour) and systems
Introduction of lower trigger points for pricing tiers (lower carrier margins)
Owners finally being paid commercial pay rates
Investment in the “Business Prosperity" program to help you grow your businesses
Legal fees with terminated master franchisor and new franchisee and service provider contracts

In many respects 2008 has been a "sacrificial" year in terms of profit as we gear the business for long term sustainable growth. A solid Telcoinabox benefits the whole family from vendors/ suppliers to franchisees and service providers and of course staff and their families.

I hope this helps to give an insight into our business and it demonstrates our passion and commitment to the business. Whether you are reading this as a service provider, a vendor or a staff member, I want to thank you for your custom, support and passion. I sincerely hope you enjoy this edition, and future editions, of Engaged and look forward, as always, to your feedback.

Author: Damian Kay
Email: damian@telcoinabox.com

An Engaging introduction

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:33:00 GMT

Welcome to the first edition of engaged, the new telcoinabox quarterly e-mail newsletter. So why engaged? Isn’t that a bad thing in the communications world? A look at the dictionary definition below reveals a number of different interpretations of the word;

Welcome to the first edition of Engaged, the new telcoinabox quarterly e-mail newsletter. So why Engaged? Isn’t that a bad thing in the communications world? A look at the dictionary definition below reveals a number of different interpretations of the word;

Engaged [en-geyjd]
–adjective

Busy or occupied; involved: deeply Engaged in conversation.
Pledged to be married; betrothed: an Engaged couple.
Under engagement; pledged: an Engaged contractor.
Entered into conflict with: desperately Engaged armies.
Mechanics. a)interlocked. b)in gear with each other.
Architecture. (of a distinct member) built so as to be truly or seemingly attached in part to the structure before which it stands: an Engaged column.

So how is this relevant to you? Well we’re certainly all busy people. While many people may have hit the delete button by now we hope you’ll take a little time out of your hectic schedule to read further. Marriage, surely that’s not relevant is it?

Strictly speaking no, but the chances are that you may already be, or are considering becoming, “betrothed” to us in a business relationship. What about engagement as conflict? Well, we’re realists and we understand that life’s not all plain sailing, even with those you may be betrothed to!

The important thing is how you go about resolving those conflicts. Mechanics and architecture? If you’re reading this as a customer or supplier then you’ll understand how “interlocked” and “attached” our businesses are.

Our business success is derived from the success of our customers and in turn drives the success of our suppliers.

So, don’t hang-up, read on and we hope you find this newsletter informative, interesting and, most of all, Engaging.

Author: Free Mich
Email: free@telcoinabox.com

Blackberry Bold - review

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:33:00 GMT

If you were feverishly anticipating a cellphone this year, it was one of two phones: this is the other one. That's because the BlackBerry Bold is RIM's most powerful, polished handset ever. With 3G, a glossy new UI, a real web browser, serious hardware and an almost beautiful body, the Bold doesn't redefine the BlackBerry experience, but it does elevate to the highest point its ever been.

Let's be clear: If you hate BlackBerry phones, you will still intensely dislike the Bold. As many coats of polish as RIM has thickly layered on the Bold, it is still a BlackBerry, with all of its suit-and-tie DNA fully intact. Fundamentally, it works and plays just like every other BlackBerry, but with a load of small-to-medium improvements, updates and tweaks that add up to a richer, more refined phone that also looks far better than the rest while doing its thing.

Screen
Yes, the Bold's 480x320 screen is dazzling enough to warrant its own section dedicated simply to praising it. Incredibly rich and contrast-y with stunning pixel density, it's so nice you want to touch it. I actually tried to once or twice to hit okay on a dialog box, forgetting that it wasn't the touchy kind of screen. It almost makes reading the plain text of an email depressing, knowing you could be looking at a gorgeous video instead.

Keyboard
A BlackBerry lives and dies by its keyboard. When RIM diehards countered reckless banter about the death of the BlackBerry per the iPhone's Exchange support by pointing to the keyboard. After you get used to the slight angle shift in the Bold's keys, they're fantastic, like a delicately balanced wine, with a perfect blend of springy, punchy and spongy. The glossy navigation keys are overly large for reasons I cannot quite divine. The backlighting is beautiful.

Body
It's hands-down the best looking phone RIM has put out, not to mention one of the most attractive pieces of kit on the whole market, even if the clean chrome on black is borrowed from another phone (and we're not saying it is). It looks like an incredibly modern business device, what you imagine people with more important jobs than you would carry to conduct business that's more important than yours, while talking to their accountant about how much fatter their bank account is than yours. It exudes power. Welcome to 2008, RIM design department.

It's larger and wider than the Curve, but it still feels fine in my hands, which aren't giant-sized by any means. The faux-leather backing, however, is absolutely puzzling, like RIM tried to add a touch of class in the same way Donald Trump's hairdo gives him a touch of handsome. In other words, it's fake as crap and feels tacky. Insignificant, really, but it's actually the thing I hate most about this phone. Nonetheless, it feels rock solid.

Connections
It has everything you want: 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi. Despite earlier reports that it suffered from bad 3G problems. In drive-testing, handoff went smoothly. GPS was slower than I would've liked, more often than not taking up to a minute to get a lock, and the maps app could be snappier (and prettier) than it is, but it'll do.

Battery
It's a champ. Despite lots of 3G browsing, email and other everyday app use, a half charge right out of the box got me through an eight-hour day with no problem. Expect more detailed battery test update later, but all indications are that this thing will last you throughout the day with no problems at all. Way to go, RIM.

Browser
Okay, so there was some controversy about how quickly its browser renders compared to the iPhone. In tests over Wi-Fi it was either tied with, or just behind the iPhone, like the dude who lost to Michael Phelps by a finger tip. The speed difference really is trivial.

It's the best BlackBerry browser ever (this phone is a lot of "best BlackBerry ______ ever"), and one of the most usable mobile browsers around. In other words, it's actually usable. Not a miracle. The trackball isn't the most elegant way to navigate pages—largely because of the zoom metaphor—but it gets the job done, and the vast majority of the time, the Bold shows you pages the way they're supposed to be. It definitely sets a standard for what mobile browsers should do at a minimum, and it's fine for light surfing.

Email
What's a BlackBerry without email? Perhaps wisely, RIM chose to mostly not fix what ain't broken, adding small but significant tweaks like the ability to see pictures in message, full HTML and attachment viewing. Otherwise, it's basically the same experience you're used to. The higher res screen makes the text pop more and adds clarity, but it's not any prettier, which somewhat stands out against the rest of the overhauled UI.

Media
The Roxio-powered desktop Media Manager still sucks total balls—can you please get a decent integrated manager, RIM? And the music/video setup is essentially unchanged—same menu system and organization—but it has a cleaner, less tacky skin on top that makes it look like it's greatly improved, even though it isn't. But! Watching videos on this thing is a-maz-ing.

The sample Speed Racer trailer was so gorgeous and yummy, I almost wanted to watch that 80-car-pile-up of a movie. Almost. The external speaker is surprisingly good, too, with richer sound than most other handsets. Still, this is one of the areas of the phone that needs work—the video quality nearly woos me into giving it a pass—but I can't emphasize enough how much it needs a decent media manager.

OS & UI
RIM has re-skinned the entire operating interface, shifting from pixel-y, realish bitmaps to slick, almost Tron-like high-res icons that have a neon pseudo-science fiction modernist feel to them. One issue: It's no longer immediately apparent what each icon does, so expect to hover initially. (With Precision Zen, the theme with splashes of color, it's easier to discern what icons represent.) I like them, but it's really an issue of personal taste—still, future skins will benefit from being able to go high-res.

All of the top-level menus have been cleaned up as well, with crisp white text on a black background. It feels nice, and goes with the look of the handset itself, conveying the sense of it being modern and powerful. Unfortunately, when you go into applications themselves—mail, contacts, etc.—or deep into settings, you feel like you've entered a time warp three years into the past. It's like eating a tuna sandwich after a piece of sashimi—the tuna sandwich alone, uncontextualized, is fine, but next to a pure, clean slice of maguro it looks like crap.

Startup on this device has been exceptionally slow—I initially thought my unit was busted or something (maybe it is), though I suppose BBs are always damn sluggish on cold starts. For the for first minute or so after booting, the OS kind of chugs as well, but after clearing the pipes, I guess, it runs totally smoothly, as it should with its speedy 624MHz processor.

Still, overall, it's the same BlackBerry OS as before, just prettier and running on snappy hardware. If you're used to a BlackBerry, you won't have any problems getting around. If you're not, well, it's one of the easier mobile OSes to learn and deal with, everything is more or less up front, and on top, at least, it's pretty.

Conclusion
This is RIM's best phone ever. Does that mean it's the phone for you? If you're a BlackBerry fanatic, yes—it really is the phone you've been waiting for, if you're not hoping RIM radically changed the recipe. Because they didn't. It's cleaner and brighter, but it's not an overhaul by any means. It's a more powerful and beautiful distillation of the same experience.

For other people who were eyeing it as the time to switch to BlackBerry, the issue is less straightforward. As I said in the intro, it's coming into a complicated world, where it has more consumer crossover appeal than a flagship RIM device—currently, the 8800—ever has before. (No doubt, even more people are looking at it in light of 3G problems on other handsets, either suit-and-ties who were considering the jump, or people looking for their first high-end smartphone, though more of the former.) At its heart, this thing is a corporate workhouse. It will play movies, music, browse the internet and all of the things consumers usually want—and do it well—but it is coming from a different mindset than the iPhone, something to keep in mind if you're torn between these two phones.

Author: Mukhtar Khan
Email: Mukhtar@telcoinabox.com

What is the future of wholesale telecommunications?

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:34:00 GMT

Such was the question posed at a recent seminar delivered by Ovum, one of the world’s largest telecoms and IT research companies, attended by Telcoinabox and a host of other companies involved in the wholesale telecommunications market. Luckily for us the picture painted by Ovum was a fairly positive one.

The key message was that wholesale is no longer considered a dirty word and for the majority of carriers the wholesale telecommunications market has made (and is still making) the transition from being a “necessary evil” (i.e. something that had to be offered to satisfy the national regulator) to a thriving commercial opportunity.

Aside from mere compliance with regulatory demands a wholesale division offers a number of benefits to a telecommunications carrier including;

A “second bite at the cherry” to retain some revenue if a retail customer is lost to competition
Increased utilization of network capacity, which in turn brings…
Quicker return on investment in infrastructure
Lower incremental unit costs for the retail division

Some of these points are very relevant when it comes to discussion of the future direction of the industry and in particular the proposed National Broadband Network (NBN) and the roll-out of Fibre to the Node (FttN) technology. The principal behind the NBN is to provide broadband speeds of at least 12 Megabits per second (Mbps) to every Australian household or business no matter where it is located geographically. Requests for proposals have been issued and there are currently two parties (Telstra and Terria - a consortium of other carriers including Optus) who are frantically preparing submissions for the November deadline.

Without a crystal ball it is impossible to predict how this will pan out but it is clear that it will dramatically change the Australian telecommunications landscape. With all of this change going on in the industry it is tempting to think that those dependent on wholesale services (such as Telcoinabox and its customers) are at risk of being marginalized but the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth.

Both parties involved in preparing bids have made it clear that they intend to provide open access to the proposed network although the price of this and whether it is regulated or not are likely to be contentious issues. Should this turn into reality then Telcoinabox is well-placed to take advantage of the new products that our current supplier partners and others will be developing in conjunction with the new network.

It is, in fact, the infrastructure builders who have spent vast amounts of money on capital projects to roll-out equipment (DSLAMs) in Telstra exchanges that face a greater period of uncertainty. The likes of TPG/Soul, Internode and iiNet face the possibility that their equipment and investments will be bypassed and become redundant as the NBN is rolled out and they may be back to square one on a level playing field with everyone else when it comes to accessing the new network.

While there is undoubtedly much that is changing in the industry there are some universal truths that never change such as the things required from a good supplier. In the words of Ovum the ideal wholesale telecoms supplier is;

”An agile, fast-reacting supplier which proactively maintains strong client communication and offer s innovative forward-thinking products that take account of broadband and convergent futures, supported by automated processes for daily operations, all underpinned by a personal relationship at all levels based on trust and the delivery of promises.”

This statement bears a striking resemblance to Telcoinabox’s purpose and is equally applicable to the supplier of any products or services no matter what industry they operate in. Indeed if you are reading this as one of our service providers then it would be interesting to look at your own business through this “filter” and see how you measure up.

In summary the “brains trust” at Ovum believes that the wholesale telecommunications market in Australia is in good shape to withstand, and perhaps benefit from, the expected financial turmoil. However, the players that will really succeed in the market are those that can get close to their customers and really understand their needs, be flexible enough to adapt their business to meet those needs, streamline their operations to support those needs and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Hardly rocket science but sometimes the simplest sounding things can often be the hardest to do.

Author: Paul Line
Email: paul@telcoinabox.com