Frontier steps up a gear

With the start of the New Year, Frontier is ratcheting up its operations as a reseller of BT Wholesale Calls services with bulk purchase of minutes from BT, using BT’s network to transport calls. This means there is no least cost routing or carrier pre select required as the calls do not leave the BT network at the local exchange level.

 

“Frontier’s economies of scale and volume commitments with BT Wholesale, allow us to offer not only the most competitive market rates, but also bespoke call packages. Frontier will invoice and service clients directly, however we utilize exactly the same infrastructure as when calls are provisioned through BT direct”, says Peter Southgate, acting MD of Frontier.

 

Elaborating on the BT Wholesale deal Southgate says, “While some operators have their own network infrastructures, in this country BT continues to be the main network player because it is responsible for developing the entire national comms network. The 21CN project with all the enhanced services it will ultimately deliver, make it essential that we offer our channel partners access to those services at wholesale rates. Our agreement with BT Wholesale means that we are WLR3 ready to provide that.”

 

Southgate says the BT deal it typical of Frontier’s successful approach to the market. “Frontier was established because we perceived a gap in the market. Despite all the competing providers, resellers and dealers were still finding it difficult to get access to network services on good terms and at competitive rates. Frontier was launched to overcome those difficulties.”

 

Success has followed rapidly says Southgate. “We have increased our billings by more than £1.5 million in each of the past three years, because our appeal is obvious. We have market leading service level agreements coupled with highly competitive rates. For the resellers our rates are completely transparent, so they know our buy-in costs. And we don’t compete with our dealers and resellers. This is a channel only operation.”

 

All these policies came together in Frontier’s Reseller in a Box campaign launched last year to much success. “We needed a simple idea to conceptualise our reseller offering and Reseller in a Box sums it up perfectly. We provide access to all the network services needed at wholesale rates, with all the back office support. All our reseller has to do is sell. We’ve taken away all the impediments to starting up in this business.”

 

Southgate believes this is an excellent time to get started. “This is my third recession and my businesses have always prospered in the downturns, because it’s the weak that get swept away. If you have a strong business proposition and the personal drive to match, you will clean up in a recession. The next generation of multi millionaires in this industry will start their own businesses in 2009. And it’s not rocket science – promise a little and deliver a lot! Always exceed your customers’ expectations.”

 

Changes in technology also make this an excellent time to get into network solutions argues Southgate. “Take hosted telephony. You couldn’t wish for a better service to offer in a recession. For any small business it’s a no brainer! Capital expenditure on hardware is tough at the best of times and it’s never 100 percent tax deductible. Hosted telephony is a monthly service cost that is entirely tax allowable with minimal upfront costs. It also means customers can run a ‘virtual’ enterprise with no actual company premises and staff working from home, making massive cost savings possible. Yet they still have access to all the network services and free calls between staff, as if they were in an office together. This stuff was science fiction only ten years ago.”

 

Frontier now offers its own ‘white labelled’ hosted telephony service called MyIP. Frontier partners can offer their customers MyIP under their own branding with Frontier providing all back office support including billing, customer service and technical support on a 24/7 basis. “MyIP is a ‘plug and play’ solution, which is pre-configured. It’s simple to use and can be managed via an onscreen browser based interface. The onscreen interface also allows a full range of call handling facilities such as call transfer and call management functionality for features like hunt groups. Above all it’s reliable so our partners can sell it with full confidence.”

 

Southgate is also keen to emphasise the rewards and incentives Frontier provides for its partners. “We had an incentive running for the last quarter of 2008 so this month we are taking a group of successful partners on an all expenses paid skiing trip to the SportWelt Amadé, ski resort near Salzburg.” Partners will stay in the luxury Hotel Werdenberg, with skiing over four days at Austria’s premier ski resort. They can enjoy a range of winter sports including skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, with ski instruction available for all levels of skiers and boarders. For après ski Frontier will provide a free bar for all invitees. “Work hard, play hard is the Frontier way of doing business. And that’s something we want to continue.”

 

The first quarter of 2009 should also see Frontier with a new managing director. “I took on the reins temporarily last year and I’ve really enjoyed it. But this business needs someone who can give it 100 percent commitment to develop Frontier strategically. The comms market is undergoing profound and rapid change and we need a visionary who can build on the success achieved to date. I will then resume my role as non-executive director and shareholder.”

 

Summing up Southgate states, “Frontier has forced its way through to the front in a market space crowded with competitors. We have achieved that because our trading terms, rates and service are better than the rest and that’s the way it will continue.”