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	home > customer care> company info New phone company to tap Internet Provider my people to enter broadband December 31, 2005 CHARLES R. McCAULEY The Birmingham News Alan Creighton, who led Momentum Telecom's (www.momentumtelecom.com) growth as a telephone service provider, has started another Birmingham-based calling company that seeks to piggyback on high-speed Internet connections. "Momentum Telecom is still active and successful and we're offering services right now, but we have started a new company (called) my people," said Creighton, president and chief executive of both companies. He said my people will offer bundled unlimited local and long-distance calling through broadband connections. The company is testing the service in Birmingham, Seattle, Kansas City and Raleigh. Plans are to roll out in early 2006, possibly February, the voice over Internet protocol service, Creighton said. For $25 a month, consumers will get standard calling features. "Plus, we've added unique features that nobody else in the country offers," Creighton said. One example, an automated speech recognition system can initiate calls and give weather forecasts, messages and other content. Another: "one call tell all" is similar to CallingPost, a service that distributes one voice message to a list of phone users, and emergency link will keep calling a group of numbers until it delivers a message to the first person to answer. Customers must have broadband access to use my people, said spokeswoman Sarah Pieri. Creighton said it doesn't matter which telephone service provider the customer uses "and you can bring your number with you." The independent VOiP provider was created to take advantage of changes in the high-speed online access industry, Creighton said. There's a huge shift to VOiP by people using copper wire dial-tone service, he said, because of price and additional features that can only be obtained through broadband. There are 3 million households using VOiP and industry analyst The Yankee Group is projecting 18 million by 2008's end. Telecom analysts IDC estimates the number will grow to 27 million by the end of 2009. As more people subscribe to broadband, Creighton said, my people sees a broad base of customers. Though the company will focus on NFL markets where there are broader sources of broadband, he said: "Our market is a national market." Creighton said the company will start with 5,000 new lines a month through 2007 and then scale up the service volume to add 50,000 lines a month. He plans to advertise nationally on cable TV. "In this business, you really got to be a national player to compete," Creighton said. Broadband market: A lot of big name providers are moving into the VOiP market, he said, but "we think we can differentiate ourselves from all these other players." Vonage and Packet8 are among the leading broadband phone companies. Skype users have to get on their computers to talk with someone else. "So it really doesn't take advantage of your home phone," Creighton said. Internet service providers Earthlink and America Online recently rolled out voice products while the cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast are offering the triple play - voice, cable TV and broadband - but the voice is not separate. Bell companies BellSouth and AT&T/SBC are not pushing VOiP, he said. VoiceWing is Verizon's broadband phone service. "We've built my people to take advantage of your existing telephone in your house yet run it over your broadband connection," Creighton said. He said he started looking at the offering about 16 months ago to take advantage of an opportunity in the broadband industry. How else does my people plan to use the Internet to improve phone service? At mypeople.com, customers can access a calendar to schedule wakeup and reminder calls. Any phone number, including mobile phones, can be entered to receive the calls. Creighton said consumer research shows that, for many people, cell phones have become primary lines and landlines have become secondary. back
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