Top 7 Channel Stories: Big T-Mobile Fine, Layoffs, Master Agent Partnerships

A master agent gave its channel partners access to a new UCaaS solution.

Master agents made news multiple time this week, as vendors expanded their go-to-market strategies. Our editorial team also covered a contact center-related acquisition and several layoffs. And of course, there was that election, that doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon.

Check out the seven stories below before you start your weekend.

7. Avaya Adds TCG as Master Agent Partner

The communications provider signed the Florida-based master agent to sell in the U.S. channel.

TCG joins companies like Synnex, Telarus and Jenne. While Avaya and TCG touted the new Avaya Cloud Office solutions, their agreement also allows TCG to sell the rest of the vendor’s portfolio.

Read about where Avaya stands in terms of distribution coverage.

6. T-Mobile Faces Largest-Ever FCC Penalty to Resolve Sprint Lifeline Investigation

Our favorite “un-carrier” owes the Federal Communications Commission  $200 million.

T-Mobile faces a civil penalty for fraudulently accepting subsidies for low-income consumers. That is to say, Sprint inappropriately claimed the subsidies before merging with T-Mobile. A T-Mobile spokesperson acknowledged the record-setting fine.

“While we inherited this issue with our merger, we are glad that it is now resolved,” a company statement said.

Edward Gately has the scoop.

5. Five9 AI Portfolio to Get Boost from Inference Solutions Acquisition

The contact center software provider announced the purchase of Inference Solutions.

Inference provides an Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVA) platform, which can communicate with callers in a highly sophisticated manner. According to Five9, modern contact centers require an IVA.

“Intelligent virtual agents enable a quicker, more efficient, self-service experience,” Inference’s CEO and founder said.

Learn more about the consolidation.

4. 2020 General Election Results to Directly Impact Tech Industry

Yeah, we know. Probably not the sort of news you want to hear about right now.

But before the chaos on Tuesday night (and Wednesday, and Thursday, aaaaaand Friday), Edward Gately spoke to some expert sources on how Biden and Trump presidencies would affect the IT-telecom industries differently. They touched on trade agreements, worker visas and other topics.

Check out our analysis.

3.Which SD-WAN Provider Did Telarus Pick for Its Own Headquarters?

The Utah-based master agent signed a three-year contract with a managed SD-WAN provider.

Granite Telecommunications will deliver VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN for the Telarus location. The supplier has worked with Telarus over the years and recently unveiled a highly customizable SD-WAN portfolio.

Read about their partnership.

2. Channel People on the Move: Windstream, Broadvoice, T-Mobile

Craig Galbraith is at it again with his personnel roundup.

Our monthly gallery of appointments, promotions and departures features some big names. For example, Windstream Enterprise hired a new channel chief. In addition, T-Mobile announced a big change in its go-to-market leadership.

See Galbraith’s gallery.

1. Telecom-IT Layoff Tracker: COVID-19 Edition

Speaking of personnel news.

Unfortunately, we’ve written about a steady stream of layoffs in the tech industry in 2020. From affected AT&T employees to displaced NetApp workers, IT and telecom have suffered along with the rest of the U.S. economy.

See the latest layoffs.