At&T Will Get "Murdered">
Frost & Sullivan: Customer Service Is the Key to Growth in
the U.S. Toll-Free Markets
PRNewswire
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 6
/PRNewswire/ -- Businesses are increasingly
focusing on customer service as a way to
differentiate themselves from the competition. As
a result, a growing number of small and large
businesses are subscribing to toll-free services to
provide 24-hour product/service support to their
geographically- dispersed customers.
According to the latest research from Frost &
Sullivan (www.frost.com), U.S. Toll-Free
Services Market, this attention to customer
service has resulted in 1998 revenues of nearly
$14 billion for the telecom carriers.
"Toll-free services have historically been targeted
toward the commercial customers," said Frost &
Sullivan Telecommunications Analyst Imran
Khan. "However, over the past few years,
toll-free penetration among residential end users
has begun to increase. On the whole, the
commercial customers are likely to remain the
leading end users for toll-free services."
Other key drivers of the U.S. toll-free services
market include:
The tremendous growth in the call center industry
which is fueling growth in toll-free subscription base. Call centers, which are
heavy subscribers of dedicated toll-free services, are increasingly being set
up to perform a variety of functions such as sales, marketing and help desk
services.
Declining toll-free prices are encouraging growth among small businesses
and residential consumers. "Residential consumers, for instance, are
subscribing to toll-free services as an alternative to collect or card calling,"
said Khan.
The availability of advanced toll-free features is increasing their attractiveness
among end users, an increasing number of which are employing toll-free
services to reduce their operational costs.
Competitively, the U.S. toll-free services market is controlled by "The Big
Three" telecommunication carriers, [ AT&T ] , MCI WorldCom and Sprint.
They are able to dominate the market by using their superior network
capabilities to offer toll-free services in the domestic as well as the
international markets.
The toll-free market has become intensely competitive. To be successful,
service providers must cater to the customer by developing and deploying
customized toll-free applications.
Frost & Sullivan presents Market Engineering Awards to participants in the
telecommunications market to recognize the companies that have worked
hard to make a positive contribution to the industry.
Sprint was selected to receive the 1999 Market Engineering Customer
Focus Award for launching customized products for its domestic business
and government customers, as well as actively promoting international
toll-free services designed to meet the needs of its multinational customers.
The 1999 Market Engineering Product Innovation Award recognizes SBC
Communications for its well-designed 800/888 service. MCI WorldCom is
the recipient of the 1999 Market Engineering Competitive Strategy Award
for demonstrating the benefits of competitive benchmarking and competitive
monitoring in the company's strategy.
Companies participating in this market include: Abco Communications,
Advanced Telecom Services, Allegiance Telecom Inc., Allnet
Communications, [ ALLTEL Corporation ] , American Long Lines Inc.,
[ Ameritech Corporation ] , [ AMNEX Inc. ] , Arcada US Tel Communications,
Ascending Technologies Inc., AT&T Corporation, Atlantic Connections
Inc., Available [ Communications ] , [ Bell Atlantic Corporation ] , BellSouth
Corporation, Branson Telephone, BTI (Business Telecommunications Inc.),
[ Cable & Wireless Inc. ] , Capital Telecommunications Inc. (CTI), Century
Telephone Enterprises Inc., Cincinnati Bell Telephone Co., [ Citizens Utilities
Co. ] , Coast International Telecommunications, Communications Services of
Colorado, Conestoga Telephone & Telegraph Co., Consolidated
Communications/McLeod USA, Dial U.S., East Florida Communications,
ECI Communications, Eclipse Communications, Feist Long Distance,
Forestel Inc., Fox Communications, [ Frontier Corporation ] , GFC
Communications, GST Action Telecom, GST Telecommunications Inc.,
[ GTE Corporation ] , Hemisphere Communications, IDS Long Distance,
Incomnet Inc., Interconnect Services Group, Intermedia Communications,
Iowa Network Services (INS), ITC Delta Com, KCI Long Distance, Logix
Communications, London Telecom Network, Long Distance Direct,
Marathon Communications, [ Matrix Telecom Inc. ] , [ MCI WorldCom Inc. ] ,
McLeod USA Inc., Midco Communications, Midwest Telecom of America,
Minnesota Equal Access Network Services, National Tel/Intermedia
Communications, Nextlink One, NTS Communications Inc., One Call
Communications/Opticom, Pac-West Communications (AddTel
Communications), [ RCN Corporation ] , [ SBC Communications Inc. ] ,
Shared Communications Services Inc., Southern New England,
Telecommunications Corporation (SNET), [ Sprint Corporation ] , Start
Technologies Inc., Tele Tech, TTE of Maryland, US LEC, U.S. Link,
United Communications Inc., United Communications Systems, [ U S WEST
Inc. ] , Valu-Line Long Distance Inc., Westel Inc., [ Williams
Communications Group ] , [ WinStar Communications Inc. ] , and World
xChange Communications.
This telecommunications industry research has integrated the Market
Engineering consulting philosophy into the entire research process. Critical
phases of this research included: Identification of industry challenges, market
engineering measurements, strategic recommendations, planning and market
monitoring. All of the vital elements of this system help the market
participants navigate successfully through the telecommunications market.
Frost & Sullivan is an international market engineering consulting, training
company that monitors the telecommunications industry for market trends,
market measurements and strategies. This ongoing research is utilized to
update a series of online subscriptions such as the Telecom Services Custom
Subscription (www.frost.com/online), and to support industry participants
with customized consulting needs.
Visit the Frost & Sullivan web site: frost.com
U.S. Toll-Free Services Market
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