Florida CLEC REI Communications picks Pannaway for triple play

October 11, 2005 Portsmouth, NH -- REI Communications, a facilities-based CLEC in central Florida, has selected Pannaway Technologies' Service Convergence Network (SCN) platform to deliver VoIP, bi-directional high-speed Internet, and digital television services. The CLEC says it will leverage the platform to become the first local provider to deliver "triple play," or converged voice, video, and data, services.

After an evaluation of competitive access providers, the CLEC says it made the decision to partner with Pannaway based on the company's service and support capabilities, coupled with its Primary Line VoIP service, which enables Emergency 911 reliability in VoIP environments. Based on patent-pending technology, the company says its VoIP system provides automatic failover to an always-available, remotely powered back-up Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) phone line that runs transparently to the subscriber, ensuring that E911 service is always available.

"We chose Pannaway because we were looking for a broadband partner, and not just a product vendor," comments Carl Burgess, CEO of REI Communications. "With the local cable and telecom providers lagging behind in their ability to offer desirable broadband services, we need to step in quickly to fill that gap. Pannaway understands this urgency and is working around the clock to deliver a high-quality solution to meet our subscribers' needs."

Located in Bartow, Florida, but reaching into neighboring Fort Mead and other Central Florida-based communities, REI Communications serves approximately 200,000 residents. For the deployment, the CLEC says it recognized the opportunity to leverage a city-wide, fiber-optic infrastructure used to connect local public schools for the delivery of commercial broadband services, which are expected to debut before the end of the year.

"REI chose Pannaway based on our ability to deliver an extraordinarily high level of personalized service and support, and we are 100% committed to surpassing their expectations in this area," concludes David Meyer, executive vice president of sales at Pannaway.