Top Stories of the Week: Verizon, Frontier, CenturyLink, Windstream, TBI

Frontier, Verizon and other telecommunications companies made the news this week.

Some of the industry’s largest players announced changes as the holidays neared. For example, Verizon announced a new SD-WAN partner, and Frontier introduced a fascinating new CEO. On the other hand, a prominent carrier suffered criticism from the Federal Communications Commission.

We’ve assembled the five most-read stories on our site from the last seven days. Check them out!

5. TBI Gives Agents Imagit, Everstream Offerings as 2021 Looms

The Chicago-based master agency announced two new supplier partners.

Imagit and Everstream add diverse capabilities to the TBI portfolio. Imagit provides network engineering and IT services, and Everstream provides business-only fiber. These agreements reflect what TBI calls an “aggressive” expansion of its portfolio.

Learn about the partnerships.

4. UC Roundup: Windstream, Wildix 2021 UCC Trends Amid COVID-19

AI-driven contact center. Mobile meeting technologies. Vendors mentioned these as key technological trends will gained a major footing in 2020.

Edward Gately spoke to executives from Windstream Enterprise and Wildix about how they see the upcoming year playing out. In addition to relying more on AI and mobility, many businesses are expediting their cloud migration plans.

Check out Gately’s column.

3. New Frontier Communications CEO Led Significant Vodafone UK ‘Turnaround’

Nick Jeffery is replacing Bernie Han as the company inches closer to its bankruptcy exit.

Frontier needed to add a new chief executive as a result of its restructuring support agreement. Its board of directors unanimously voted for Jeffery.

Jeffery is no stranger to telecommunications companies like Frontier. He earned positive reviews during his four-year tenure at Vodafone UK, in which the company moved into a more competitive position.

Read about why Frontier made the hire.

2. Verizon Deepens SD-WAN Play, Signs New Vendor

The Verizon SD-WAN portfolio just got broader.

The carrier now includes Silver Peak Systems, which HPE recently acquired. Verizon offers Silver Peak in addition to SD-WAN solutions from Versa Networks and Cisco.

Learn about the updated portfolio.

1. ‘Completely Unacceptable’ CenturyLink Network Outage Prompts $500,000 FCC Fine

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai scolded the service provider for its 2018 outage that lasted for more than a day.

The company blamed third-party network equipment for the outage, as well as the delayed restoration. Some 911 calls didn’t go through as a result of the fiasco. Now CenturyLink is paying the price.

Edward Gately has the scoop.