PARTNER CHANNEL: WorldxChange, RSL U.S.A., Transpoint Merger to Create New Brand

By Tara Seals

Posted: 11/2002

WorldxChange, RSL U.S.A.,
Transpoint Merger to Create New Brand

By Khali Henderson and Tara Seals

WORLDXCHANGE COMMUNICATIONS INC.,
RSL Com U.S.A. Inc. and Transpoint Communications Inc. unveiled a plan to merge
under one brand at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in September.

The details were still under wraps
at press time, but according to a highly placed source the new company will
retain the WorldxChange name in some form. According to the WorldxChange Web
site, a new leadership team, new commissions for partners, new products and new
rates are being released, including a T1 bonus program that pays up to $5,000
per T based on pricing.

WorldxChange is owned by Counsel
Springwell, which acquired the company in June 2001. In May 2002, Counsel
Springwell was granted the sale of RSL Com U.S.A. pending state and federal
regulatory approval. The company’s acquisition of Transpoint Communications also
is pending approval. Both deals were to be finalized by year-end.

Counsel Springwell’s intention upon
the closing of the RSL Com deal is to merge the agent and residential business
of RSL Com U.S.A. into WorldxChange Corp. WorldxChange already is managing
Transpoint’s agent business.

Agent-focused RSL Com U.S.A. emerged
from bankruptcy this year as a facilities-based end-to-end provider of solutions
like intranet/extranet connectivity, application hosting, data storage and
database management services, as well as long-distance voice services. The
company continued to pay its agents during its Chapter 11 protection.

Transpoint, a California-based
integrated communications provider and reseller, offers voice, ATM, frame, IP
VPN, private lines and IP services.

WorldxChange, another bankruptcy
survivor, announced a new strategy last summer for a redesigned agent channel.
In April, WorldxChange recruited its new CEO, Ken Hilton, from Excel
Communications Inc. to spearhead the companywide shift. Hilton says the company
will have two agent channels. One channel will be multilevel and focused
primarily on residential and the other channel will be traditional agents
focused primarily on small- and medium-sized businesses. Agents can choose which
compensation plan they prefer, he says.

Hilton adds that the new combined
company is focused exclusively on the agent channel; there is no direct sales
force. To this end, the company brought online Oct. 1 its new agent commission
system, which provides real-time updates on customers’ traffic volumes by ANI
and real-time rating for commissions.

Intelligent Frame Relay
Source: Sprint Corp.

Frame Relay Market Forecast
Source: Vertical Systems Group