BUSINESS CONNECTIONS. More devices, more bandwidth, and more learning. Sponsored by: Frontier Communications SUMMER 2014 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1

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1 SUMMER 2014 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Sponsored by: Frontier Communications More devices, more bandwidth, and more learning Frontier Business Edge Gives You the Edge 3 Spotlight on Northwestern CUSD No. 2 4 Ethernet for Education Institutions 5 Meeting Growing Bandwidth Needs 6 Tradition is Not a Business Model 7 Internet Predictions for

2 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Sponsored by: Frontier Communications 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 and home offices and advanced business communications for medium and large businesses in 27 states. Frontier s approximately 13,650 employees are based entirely in the United States. More information is available at The average fixed broadband speed is expected to be 34 Mbps in 2016, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast ( ). The need for more speed just keeps growing, particularly among businesses and organizations whose operations are dependent on data-intensive applications. Frontier is well equipped to provide the bandwidth solutions your business needs and we cover these capabilities in the pages ahead. Be sure to check out the Business Spotlight on Northwestern Community Unit School District No. 2. Northwestern needed more bandwidth to accommodate its oneto-one initiative, which put hundreds of tablets and laptops in the hands of students for enhanced classroom learning. Frontier brought a dedicated circuit to the site and is providing Ethernet service at a current speed of 100 Mbps. Also in this issue is a reminder of the importance of reassessing your broadband needs as your online usage changes and a brief overview of Frontier Ethernet solutions Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) and Ethernet Internet Access (EIA). 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. By now, you may have noticed our new Frontier Business Edge commercial brand appearing in more places (such as this magazine). We share some of the background here on why Frontier made this brand change, including our goal of more clearly communicating with our business customers. Change can be challenging. But it s easier when you have Frontier at your side. Give us a call about the changes you need in communications services in order to maximize efficiency and productivity. Sincerely, Cory Jones Vice President Marketing Frontier Communications Copyright 2014 by Frontier Communications and Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc. 2

3 Business Connections What Do You Want Your Business to BE? Look for Frontier Business Edge to give you the edge on your competition In April, Frontier launched our new commercial brand, Frontier Business Edge. Since you deal with branding issues at your own business, you may be curious to know what led us to this marketing decision. Clarifying Communications It all began with an extensive research project involving more than 500 respondents in Frontier s 27 states and business customer segments. From this fascinating research, we learned that the primary perception of Frontier among businesses was that we re a low-cost and reliable communications provider. While these attributes are certainly true, Frontier is so much more than just those two things. The Frontier Business Edge commercial brand gives us the opportunity to more clearly present to you our entire suite of business products and services by: Differentiating Frontier from our cable competition Distinguishing between Frontier s residential and commercial offers Presenting solutions to specifically address the needs of small, medium and enterprise businesses Standing out in a cluttered market with a unique illustrated visual identity As you review Frontier Business Edge materials, whether at or in a printed piece from your Frontier Business Edge Expert, you ll see that Frontier is big enough for all your needs, yet small enough to care. Our local presence is backed by a nationwide network and 100 percent U.S.-based workforce. Frontier is a reliable, innovative and solutions-oriented company that stands ready to help your business BE what it wants to BE. Meeting Challenges There s a reason we put BE in capital letters. Business Edge in abbreviation spells BE. It represents the theme of this commercial brand, which is: Find out what your business can BE. Frontier wants to help your business achieve its goals through the strategic use of advanced, cost-efficient answers to your Internet, phone, mobile communications, television and security needs. For example, switching to greater bandwidth from Frontier can give your business the ability to increase productivity, expand your use of powerful applications and improve customer satisfaction all proven ways to BE successful, BE cost-effective, BE innovative and BE creative. To start a conversation about what your business could BE, visit 3

4 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Students use Mac Book Pro laptops at school. Matthew Phillips (left), IT Director and Bookkeeper, talks with Mr. Patrick Bowman, Superintendent of Northwestern CUSD No. 2. Northwestern Community Unit School District No. 2 More devices in classrooms led to more bandwidth via Frontier Ethernet Northwestern Community Unit School District No. 2 in Palmyra, Ill., is small in student numbers (just 350 total in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade) and large in the geographic area it serves (140 square miles in the northwestern part of Macoupin County). In addition, 50 percent of its students are from low-income households, many without computers. Despite these challenges, Northwestern has seen an increase in student engagement and a decrease in discipline problems, thanks in large part to the addition of hundreds of tablets and laptops. Connected Classrooms Matthew Phillips, IT Director and Bookkeeper, explains, In 2010, Northwestern received a big technology grant that spurred interest in buying devices for the schools. In 2012, we began a one-to-one initiative, which provided tablets or laptops to our students with the goal of using technology to foster learning. We purchased an ipad for every K-3rd grade student to use at school, a Macbook Pro for every 4th-6th grade student to use at school, and a Macbook Pro for every 7th-12th grade student to use at school as well as take home. All teachers were given a Macbook Pro and an ipad to broaden their options for classroom activities. The results of this one-to-one initiative are impressive. Our teachers are now doing more interactive online lessons and taking advantage of educational videos on YouTube. The kids are streaming content and getting news updates related to classes. But the most exciting part is that our students are now more engaged in learning. We ve also noticed a drop in discipline problems. The kids know that if they act up with their device, they lose it; this is a big incentive for them to behave at school, says Phillips. Not surprising, the use of all these Internet-connected devices in Northwestern s two school buildings one for Pre-K through 6th grade plus the district office and the other for the Junior and Senior High School dramatically increased bandwidth requirements. Frontier Ethernet Increases Bandwidth Janice Elliott, Frontier Medium Account Executive, works closely with Northwestern to meet its growing communications needs. Elliott notes, Northwestern has been a customer of Frontier s Internet and local telephone service for years now. The school district used to have two Frontier 4

5 Business Connections T1 lines but with the explosion in Internet usage, especially with the one-to-one initiative, this was no longer going to be adequate in terms of bandwidth. So Frontier offered to bring Ethernet service to Northwestern, along with the local Frontier supervisors/ technicians to support this product. Phillips recalls this period and says, Northwestern looked into other providers in the area, including cable companies, but nobody but Frontier was able to bring enough bandwidth to our campus. Frontier was the only provider willing to consider bringing a dedicated circuit to this school district to support our technology program with the necessary bandwidth. Frontier brought us a speed of about 30 Mbps initially, which was awesome, and this was increased to 100 Mbps in July I greatly appreciate the fact that Frontier is addressing both our current and future bandwidth needs. He adds, The transition from the T1s to Frontier Ethernet was very easy. We started with the paperwork and quotes from Frontier, then went to our board for approval. They were 100 percent behind it; our board feels strongly that technology is a good investment for our kids. The Ethernet was to be installed before the school year began and Frontier met that deadline, even calling in out-of-state workers to make it happen. Frontier was the only provider willing to consider building a dedicated circuit to this school district to support our technology program with the necessary bandwidth. MATTHEW PHILLIPS, IT DIRECTOR AND BOOKKEEPER, NORTHWESTERN COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2 What s ahead for Northwestern? Phillips replies, We are a Google for Education school district and are using Google Apps for Education. So now everything is automatically saved in the cloud and can be accessed from almost any device. Starting with the 2014/2015 school year, our 4th-6th grade students will be getting a Google Chromebook rather than a Macbook Pro. We re also buying Apple TVs and putting a Promethean interactive white board and projector in every classroom. With these devices and the new 100 Mbps Internet, Northwestern s staff, teachers and students will all be enjoying expanded education possibilities. Ethernet is a Great Option for Budget-Conscious Education Institutions High demand and near universal usage have quickly transitioned Ethernet from a developing technology to a mature product. As a result, education institutions can now take advantage of this maturity and enjoy Ethernet s high reliability at very reasonable pricing. The application of advanced networking and communications solutions, using Ethernet, provides a number of cost-effective benefits. For example, it can allow a college campus to leverage minimal assets, reduce dependence on brick-and-mortar facilities and accommodate distance learning. On a related note, financial assistance is available to schools to help with operational costs and technology upgrades. The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, commonly known as erate, helps provide affordable access to telecommunications services for all eligible schools and libraries, particularly those in rural and economically disadvantaged areas. More devices in classrooms have expanded learning opportunities. To learn more about erate, visit gov/guides/universal-service-programschools-and-libraries. For an overview of Frontier Ethernet, see page 6 of this issue. 5

6 Frontier Ethernet Meets Growing Bandwidth Needs Is it time for your business to increase its bandwidth? Consider how your business uses the Internet today versus a couple of years ago. Are your employees working with more data-intensive applications? Are there more users and more devices? If so, it may be time to consider significantly increasing your bandwidth in order to keep pace with these changing dynamics. Frontier provides a variety of scalable commercial Ethernet solutions within the categories of Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) and Ethernet Internet Access (EIA). Whether your business is an established Fortune 100 enterprise or emerging startup, there s a solution tailored to meet your needs. With Frontier Ethernet, you benefit from easy integration with existing networks and infrastructures, high availability and performance, symmetrical upload and download speeds, coordinated migration from other carriers with minimal downtime and a commercial grade network with a coast-to-coast data backbone. Nate Dirickson, Director, Product Marketing, notes, The Frontier Ethernet solution delivers superior broadband performance. Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) Frontier EVPL is a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint Ethernet data transport service delivered over Frontier s private layer 2 network infrastructure. Through service multiplexing, a single connection to the Frontier network supports virtual connections to multiple sites. Frontier EVPL service includes Quality of Service (QoS), Class of Service (CoS) and industry-leading Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The benefits of EVPL include: Convergence - With CoS, Frontier EVPL supports application convergence, eliminating the resources and capital required to maintain multiple network platforms. Bandwidth on Demand - Dynamic provisioning allows Frontier to upgrade your bandwidth immediately without a truck-roll. Cost-Effective Growth - With the capability to exceed 1 Gbps, EVPL can scale easily to support the growth of your business and ever-increasing demand for bandwidth. Plug and Play - Because it s Ethernet, EVPL is already compatible with your LAN. Ethernet Internet Access (EIA) Frontier EIA provides high-speed access from the enterprise LAN to the Frontier point of presence with excellent service reliability and performance. Speeds are available up to and beyond 1 Gbps. The benefits of EIA include: Integrated Internet access solutions with a single point of contact for service needs Limited susceptibility to peak time usage fluctuations Enhanced service reliability and performance To learn how the increased bandwidth of Frontier Ethernet could benefit your business, visit 6

7 Business Connections Internet Predictions for 2016 The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast ( ) is an ongoing initiative to forecast and analyze Internet Protocol (IP) networking growth and trends worldwide. It reports significant growth in Internet traffic and service penetration, driven by factors including: Tradition is Not a Business Model Sticking to traditions from the past may be hurting your business in the present Traditions are beloved parts of life the first-day-of-school photo, a recurring Thanksgiving menu, when and where you open holiday gifts. Doing the same thing year after year is comforting. But what works well at home doesn t work as well in the business world. Why? Because blindly following tradition causes us to turn off our brains and can get in the way of critical thinking, imagination and innovation. Unless your business is brand new, it has traditions. To identify them, think about these questions: Do you handle tasks a certain way simply because that s the way you ve always done them? Do you hold regular meetings more out of habit than necessity? Do you still have the same marketing materials, merchandising displays or products that you had five years ago? The problem with holding on too tightly to traditions is that it prevents your business from moving forward. Instead, stay open to fresh ideas and encourage your employees to look for better, faster and more efficient ways to do their jobs and serve your customers. An increasing number of devices: The proliferation of tablets, mobile phones and other devices are driving up the demand for connectivity. By 2016, the forecast projects there will be nearly 18.9 billion network connections almost 2.5 connections for each person on earth compared with 10.3 billion in More Internet users: By 2016, there are expected to be 3.4 billion Internet users, which represents about 45 percent of the world s projected population according to United Nations estimates. Faster broadband speeds: The average fixed broadband speed is expected to increase from 9 Mbps in 2011 to 34 Mbps in More Wi-Fi: By 2016, over half of the world s Internet traffic is expected to come from Wi-Fi connections. It s an exciting time of growth and Frontier is working diligently to meet or exceed our customers Internet expectations. Many resources are available to help your business develop fresh approaches to replace those tired traditions. For example, consider the following: Join more business and community groups to hear inspiring speakers and network with new people. Expand your knowledge by studying the success stories of businesses outside your community or field of business. Stay updated on trends by reading, taking classes and traveling. While the past should be respected, great business leaders are advocates for change. Make sure you stay curious and have the courage to challenge the status quo. 7

8 FRONTIER Ethernet IS FAST AND FLEXIBLE Frontier Ethernet provides high bandwidth in flexible bandwidth increments that better supports converged VoIP, video and data services. Your business gets access to speeds up to 10 Gbps for an economical cost, plus Frontier Ethernet: Is easy to integrate with existing network infrastructure Enables increased productivity from higher-speed, network-wide Internet access Meets your changing needs with scalable bandwidth Provides private, dedicated connection that addresses security requirements Connects branch offices to your Intranet Want to know more about Frontier Ethernet? Talk with one of our U.S.-based representatives today or visit Not all services are available in all areas. Speeds may vary and are not guaranteed Frontier Communications Corporation.