Executive Roundtable Discusses Consolidation

CLEC scale is more important now than ever. Thats the message carriers and master agencies imparted to channel partners on Wednesday during the Executive Roundtable at the Fall 2006 Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C.

Moderated by PHONE+ Editor in Chief Khali Henderson, the panel addressed issues ranging from the influence of megamergers on the channel and the likelihood of continued consolidation to how those deals affect indirect channel contracts and commissions. Some panelists even predicted master agencies will mimic the combination trend and start merging with one another, too. Amidst it all, agency and carrier representatives emphasized the importance of the channel to their companies success.

Participants on the panel were: Ken Bisnoff, senior vice president of strategic opportunities for TelePacific; Jim Delis, president of XO Communications Indirect Channel; Greg Praske, co-founder and CEO of ARG; John Muscarella, regional director of the business solutions partners division for Sprint; and Geoff Shepstone, president of master agency TBI.