BUSINESS CONNECTIONS. Frontier Upgrades Phone and Wi-Fi at Holiday Inn in Johnstown VOLUME 5 ISSUE 4. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) 3

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1 VOLUME 5 ISSUE 4 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Frontier Upgrades Phone and Wi-Fi at Holiday Inn in Johnstown Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) 3 Spotlight on the Holiday Inn in Johnstown 4 FAQ on Next Generation Wi-Fi 5 Top 3 Takeaways on ac 7 frontier.com/businessedge

2 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS About Frontier Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) offers broadband, voice, satellite video, wireless Internet data access, data security solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for residential customers, small businesses, home offices and advanced business communications. Frontier s approximately 17,000 employees are based entirely in the United States. More information is available at By the end of 2014, the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the number of people on earth. This noteworthy statistic, from the Cisco Visual Network Index, points to the increasingly prevalent role of Wi-Fi networks in today s communications. People expect an Internet connection wherever they go, to use whichever device or devices they have with them. The topic of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is getting a lot of buzz these days as more employees want to use their laptops, tablets and smartphones to access company data on a corporate network. Learn the key challenges of BYOD in this issue so you ll be better prepared with the support of Frontier to handle what s ahead. We shift from the topic of a corporate network to a public network in the Business Spotlight. Hotel guests bringing multiple devices led to a Wi-Fi network upgrade at the Holiday Inn in Johnstown, N.Y., a long-time Frontier customer. We developed a new property-wide Wi-Fi solution for the hotel that increased bandwidth and speeds, resulting in improved guest satisfaction. You can always count on Frontier to keep you at the forefront of Wi-Fi technology and guide you through developments that could impact your organization. One such development is the new ac wireless networking standard, which you can also read about in this issue. In other news, we recently rolled out our new Frontier Business Edge commercial brand. It differenti-ates us from our competition and distinguishes our business offerings from our residential services. I will outline what went into this branding decision and what it means to you in the next Business Connections. Sincerely, Business Connections is a publication of Frontier Communications. Main Office: Stamford, CT. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, electronic, photocopying, recording, mechanical or otherwise without the prior written permission of Frontier. All rights are reserved. Editorial and Circulation Contact: Grant Waldrop Senior Manager, Commercial Marketing 805 Central Expressway South Allen, TX grant.w.waldrop@ftr.com All brand names and product names used in this publication are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright 2015 by Frontier Communications and Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc. Cory Jones VP, Commercial Marketing Frontier Communications 2Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

3 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Executive Summary THE CONNECT2HEALTHFCC TASK FORCE WANTS EVERYONE CONNECTED Bring your own device (BYOD) can also bring problems BE SURE YOUR BUSINESS IS PREPARED FOR SECURITY AND BANDWIDTH ISSUES Employee desire to use their own laptops, tablets and smartphones for work is the single most radical shift in the economics of client computing for business ince PCs invaded the workplace according to one major information technology research firm (Gartner). Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies permit employees to bring personally owned mobile devices to their workplace, and to use them to access privileged company information and applications. Work is becoming less of going to a place and more of an activity to be performed from anywhere, says Kevin Bates, Director of Product Development at Frontier. Employees have a growing expectation to use their personal mobile devices to access corporate networks, and these devices make it easier to use social media to collaborate. As a result, more companies find that employees want or need access to secure corporate networks through their personal devices just to do their jobs. Along with the convenience of BYOD, however, comes concern over security and bandwidth demands. Company data can be exposed The biggest issue with BYOD is security. Notes Bates, Your company data can be exposed by sitting on a remote device, whether it s Android or ios. For example, let s say your employees get new ipads or smartphones and want to use these devices to do company work at home or elsewhere. They might start using a workaround solution like getting a Dropbox account while at work and putting data there to use on their personal devices later. However, Dropbox may or may not be secure enough. If your company has employees using a variety of personal devices, there are ways to provide security both in terms of delivering information and securing the devices themselves. Contact Frontier for professional assistance. Bandwidth requirements increase Another key issue with BYOD is its effect on bandwidth requirements. A company not using mobile devices is mainly a consumer of bandwidth browsing the Web and downloading data. But with BYOD, the same company becomes a provider of information. Employees and customers download public and private company information using the company s network and their personal devices. They begin using more applications across more devices, ultimately resulting in a growing need for bandwidth. To accommodate the transition to BYOD, your business will likely need a wireless environment with significantly more bandwidth than it currently uses. What s ahead for BYOD? In a word, growth. So, if you haven t started planning for BYOD yet, do it ASAP. Frontier offers a wide range of Managed Information Technology services including ones which help facilitate a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program for tablets and smartphones. To learn more, visit frontier.com/businessedge. Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February 2015 frontier.com/businessedge 203

4 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Holiday Inn in Johnstown IN A DOWN ECONOMY, SERVICE UPGRADES FROM FRONTIER HELP KEEP HOTEL GUESTS HAPPY Jim Landrio, VP/General Manager Main entrance of the hotel, located at 308 N Comrie Ave We re a full-service hotel trying to do the right thing in a down economy to keep people coming in the doors, says Jim Landrio, VP/General Manager of the Holiday Inn in Johnstown, N.Y. Our guests are looking for perfection and being careful with how they spend their money these days. We re trying to provide the right amenities and make the right improvements, such as upgrading our Wi-Fi service, to meet or exceed guest expectations. Our long-time partnership with Frontier Communications helps us achieve this goal. Landrio has worked at this Holiday Inn for 41 years and is well acquainted with the people at Frontier. He notes, In all the years I ve been here, we ve always done business with Frontier or one of their predecessors. Many current Frontier employees came from these previous local providers and they have a great deal of experience. It s the people of Frontier that make the difference; they re dedicated to providing a high level of customer service. In fact, the biggest part of our relationship with Frontier hinges on service. Frontier is deeply concerned about the customer and will go beyond the call of duty. For example, I can call Frontier late in the day on a Friday about a service issue, and they ll be here in 15 minutes. That builds loyalty with us. Some companies would just say, We ll come out on Monday. outdoor pool, restaurant, lounge and three meet-ing rooms. In addition to Wi-Fi, Frontier provides the hotel its local phone and data services. Says Landrio, We wouldn t consider using anybody else but Frontier. We know they ll give us great service and be fair to us. My partners and I are very comfortable with Frontier and we ve built a strong relationship with them over many years. Located in a suburban neighborhood, the Holiday Inn in Johnstown is the only full-service hotel in the area and features 100 guest rooms. The property was renovated in 2011 and offers a business center, health and fitness center, Guests have access to high-speed Internet and office equipment in the business center 4Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

5 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Wi-Fi network gets a bandwidth boost The hotel offers free high-speed Internet access throughout the property. In the guest rooms and business offices, both wireless and wired Internet options are available. In the commercial areas (including the lobby, meeting rooms, restaurant and lounge), there is wireless Internet only. A change in how hotel guests were using the Internet led to the decision to upgrade the Wi-Fi network. Explains Landrio, I was finding that our clientele was demanding more bandwidth. Many guests are now traveling with smartphones plus another device or two. People working in secure fields such as government may travel with a company laptop plus a personal laptop or other device. This use of multiple devices as well as the increased band-width needed for today s applications was straining our hotel s bandwidth and creating demand for higher speeds. Guests were noticing and saying, I m not getting the connection I used to get. We wanted to respond quickly to these customer requests so we talked with Frontier about getting a Wi-Fi upgrade. We wouldn t consider using anybody else but Frontier. We know they ll give us great service and be fair to us. JIM LANDRIO, VP/GENERAL MANAGER, HOLIDAY INN IN JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. New phone system enhances caller experience The hotel also recently updated their phone switch to a Mitel SX-200 IP Communications Platform and installed new office phones. The system was designed with the hospitality market in mind and features the latest in Voice over IP communications and traditional telephony services. Our previous phone system was over 25 years old, recalls Landrio. The equipment was obsolete and it was becoming hard to get parts for it; only reconditioned parts were available. Frontier did a tremendous job of keeping that old phone sys-tem going for many years. But we knew it was time to replace it. Phone problems could disrupt our operations and inconvenience our guests and we didn t want to have to worry about that. The new phones provide a Caller ID display, which the old phones did not. Notes Landrio, The addition of Caller ID has been huge for us. When people call the hotel, we know whom we re speaking to and can address them by name. Some of our customers will ask, How did you know it was me calling? Did you recognize my voice? They re impressed to be called by name and it makes them feel valued. We get positive feedback on this and it s a nice customer service touch. For more information about Frontier communications solutions for hospitality organizations, visit frontier.com/businessedge. Grant Preston, Major Account Executive at Frontier, is part of the team that works with the Holiday Inn in Johnstown. Says Preston, We first installed Wi-Fi service at the hotel in Jim Landrio recently recognized the need to provide his guests with more bandwidth after seeing the multiple devices his guests were bringing on their stays. Frontier upgraded the comprehensive Wi-Fi solution in December 2013 to allow his users the best pos-sible Internet experience. The solution is served by both a Metro Ethernet and DSL service. When a guest checks in, he or she is given a password to sign on to the Wi-Fi network in their guest rooms. Passwords are required under the Holiday Inn franchise agreement, in part to enhance security. We ve had positive feedback from hotel guests since the Wi-Fi upgrade. The difference is like night and day. It was a major change, Landrio says. Gary Van Hooker, Front Desk Clerk, answers a customer call at the front desk 5Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

6 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS FAQ on next genergation WI-FI NEW AC WIRELESS NETWORKING STANDARD WILL ENABLE FASTER SPEEDS The Frontier Product Team is dedicated to helping customers use Wi-Fi to increase productivity and open the door to innovative business applications. A recent development in the wireless world is the new ac standard. TKevin Robertson, Senior Manager Product Marketing, explains, The ac wireless networking standard is the most recent deployed enhancement to the Wi-Fi standard. Its importance in the world of wireless networking is the continued improvement in the data throughput for devices that can utilize this equipment. As bandwidth utilization grows, it s critical that the equipment Frontier deploys in our network can give customers an exceptional user experience. The ac standard will provide the features and functionality to allow us to do that. What is ac? The ac wireless networking standard is essentially a supercharged version of n, the current Wi-Fi standard. First introduced during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012, the new ac standard can now be found in many routers. These routers, for backward compatibility, also come with Wireless-N (802.11n) and support all existing Wi-Fi clients ac builds upon the success of n, which itself improved previous data rates and link efficiencies. Recent consumer and commercial trends have created demand for an even more advanced new set of capabilities. What makes ac better than n? The primary user benefits of ac are higher data rates/speeds, improved reliability and greater access point capacity. Wireless connectivity to the AP (access point) will approach 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) ac can support current devices that operate in 5Ghz but the full potential of ac is realized when both the device and AP support the standard. Why is ac needed? ac is a great example of how Wi-Fi continues to improve and remain relevant. With the increased mobility of today s population, two trends have emerged for Wi-Fi solutions to address: Mobile applications now demand more bandwidth Video and voice applications have increased the demand for bandwidth to be available everywhere. Individuals carry multiple wireless devices With the average corporate mobile device user having two to three devices, client congestion has become a problem for wireless networks. 6Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

7 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS The challenge for ac is to meet today s quality and capacity demands for mobile real-time applications like video and voice, as well as the explosive wireless market growth that is expected over the next three to five years. What types of business are the best candidates for using ac? Robertson says, Businesses that would be most interested in this networking standard today are those that would have a high concentration of users in a relatively small area, or businesses that require extremely high data throughput on wireless devices. Examples would include sporting venues, conference centers hosting large numbers of people at a single event, and hospitals or medical facili-ties that may require high resolution data imaging transfer. What is the Frontier plan for rolling out ac? Frontier will look to roll out Wi-Fi services utilizing the ac wireless networking standard in much the same way we approached the transition from the b/g to n. While we always strive to provide a service offer-ing with the latest technology, it s most important that we time the introduction of that equipment so that any cost increases related to the newest technology are matched by enhanced performance or functionality that will benefit the customer. We try to ensure the benefit equals or outweighs any cost increase. We are not quite there yet with the ac standard, but we will continue to track that cost-benefit relationship and time our introduction of the product to maximize the benefit to the customer, notes Robertson. Will ADRAN play a role? Frontier has developed an excellent relationship with ADTRAN across many product platforms and that will continue moving forward with respect to Wi-Fi equipment using the ac standard. A current example of the expanded relationship between Frontier and ADTRAN is the equipment used to provide our Managed Wi-Fi Hot Spot product. Frontier began utilizing the ADTRAN Bluesocket BSAP 1920 wireless access points to provide that product starting in March What s the future of ac? It s expected that ac will only get faster in the future. Some industry experts predict real-world link speeds of 2 Gbps or more in the next few years. TOP 3 takeaways on ac When asked about the top takeaways from this discussion of the new ac wireless network standard, Kevin Robert-son, Senior Manager Product Marketing, offered the following: 1. While the added throughput and functionality associated with the ac standard are impressive, the added cost of deploying those devices today as compared to devices using the n standard would probably cause most businesses to hold off on deploying this technology at this time. 2. As wireless equipment with the ac standard becomes more broadly deployed, and therefore as the cost of this equipment relative to n equipment comes down, the value of add-ing or upgrading to ac standard will make much greater business sense. 3. The number and diversity of end user devices that support the ac standard are not yet broadly available. This too will change as the technology is more broadly deployed. To learn more about the many Wi-Fi solutions available from Frontier, visit: frontier.com/businessedge. 7Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

8 24/7 MANAGED WI-FI SOLUTIONS FROM FRONTIER You focus on your business we ll focus on technology Have wireless Internet access throughout the property. Our custom-designed solutions utilize the latest Wi-Fi technologies. Guests and employees appreciate secure, reliable and fast Internet connections. Frontier provides 24/7 network monitoring with ongoing maintenance and support. You save time by eliminating the hassles of Wi-Fi management. By leveraging one of our flexible financing solutions, no upfront capital outlay is required. Want to know more? Start a conversation about Wi-Fi with one of our U.S.-based representatives today. Visit frontier.com/businessedge Frontier Communications Corporation.