Windstream 2011 Annual Report Download - page 77

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• Data centers: Our data centers offer cloud computing, colocation, dedicated server, managed services and disaster
recovery solutions. Our data center services offer the highest level of security, reliability and scalability to business
customers.
Carrier services provide network bandwidth to other telecommunications carriers. These include special access services, which
provide access and network transport services to end users, and Ethernet transport up to 10 Gigabits per second ("Gbps").
Carrier services also include fiber-to-the-tower connections to support the growing wireless backhaul market.
Business voice services consist of basic telephone services, including voice, long-distance and related features.
In addition to the services offered above, we sell customized communications equipment systems tailored specifically to our
business customers' needs. We also offer ongoing maintenance plans to support those systems.
Consumer
Our consumer services primarily consist of high-speed Internet, voice and video services. We are committed to providing faster
broadband speeds and additional value-added services to our consumer base, as well as bundling our service offerings to
provide a comprehensive solution to meet our customers' needs.
Our consumer broadband services are described further as follows:
• High-speed Internet access: We offer high-speed Internet access with speeds up to 24 Mbps.
• Internet security services: Our Security Suite offers customers critical Internet security services, including anti-virus
protection, spyware blocking, file back up and restoration.
• Online backup services: Our online backup service allows consumers to back up and restore important files through
the Internet. Additionally, our backup services provide consumers with the ability to store and share files on network-
based storage devices. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection.
Consumer voice services include basic local telephone services, features and long-distance services. Features include call
waiting, caller identification, call forwarding and others. We also offer a variety of long distance plans, including rate plans
based on minutes of use, flexible or unlimited long distance calling services.
We offer consumer video services primarily through a relationship with Dish Network LLC (“Dish Network”). We also own
and operate cable television franchises in some of our service areas. Our video offerings allow us to provide comprehensive
bundled services to our consumer base, helping insulate our customers from competitors.
We sell certain equipment to support our consumer high-speed Internet and voice offerings, including broadband modems,
home networking gateways and personal computers. We also sell home phones to support voice services.
Wholesale
We provide switched access services to long-distance companies and other local exchange carriers for access to our network in
connection with the completion of long-distance calls. We also receive compensation from wireless and other local exchange
carriers for the use of our facilities.
Universal Service Fund ("USF") revenues are also included in our wholesale revenues. USF revenues are collected from our
customers and subsidize the cost of providing communications services in high cost areas.
Switched access and USF revenues are highly regulated. For further discussion, see "Regulation" in Item 1.
In addition, we supplement our business services with wholesale offerings of voice and data carrier services to other
communications providers and to larger-scale purchasers of network capacity.
SALES AND MARKETING
In order to best serve our customers, we have separate, dedicated business and consumer sales and marketing organizations. As
of December 31, 2011, we operate 13 domestically located, geographically dispersed sales and service call centers.