Bandwidth Inc..jpg)
Executive Offices: Raleigh, N.C.
www.bandwidth.com
Q: What does your company do and how long has it been in operation?
Bandwidth (NASDAQ: BAND) is a global communications software company that helps enterprises connect people around the world with cloud-ready voice, messaging, and emergency services. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Zoom, Uber, and RingCentral use Bandwidth’s APIs to easily embed communications into software and applications. Bandwidth has over 20 years in the technology space and is the first and only Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) provider offering a robust selection of APIs built around their own IP-voice network. Our voice, messaging, 911 and phone number management services are built on our own nationwide 48-state facilities-based CLEC. More information is available at www.bandwidth.com.
Q: Please tell us about your company’s top executives and the work that they are doing in our industry.
Our leadership is a rare blend of creative thinkers, analytical wizards, and technology experts dedicated to delivering a superior communications platform.
David Morken is Bandwidth’s co-founder, CEO and chairman. Heis also the co-founder, chairman and former CEO of Republic Wireless. Among Morken’s many philanthropic activities, he is the co-founder of Durham Cares. Prior to founding Bandwidth in 1999, Morken served on active duty in the Marine Corps as a Judge Advocate and Headquarters Company Commander.
Marina Carreker is the President of Bandwidth, where she leads strategic initiatives on behalf of CEO David Morken. For the past four years, Carreker has served as Deputy General Counsel for the company, where she was responsible for a broad range of Bandwidth’s legal portfolio and the implementation of Bandwidth’s GDPR compliance efforts. Prior to joining Bandwidth, Marina spent eight years as a litigation attorney.
Brandon Asbill is Bandwidth’s General Counsel overseeing all legal operations for Bandwidth, including corporate, sales, human resources, intellectual property, compliance, and regulatory functions. Before joining Bandwidth, Brandon spent 12 years with Red Hat, where he served as Vice President & Assistant General Counsel. He led teams that completed over 20 acquisitions with an aggregate value of more than $1.5 billion. He also led key aspects of IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat, which was the then-largest software acquisition in history. He obtained his undergraduate degree in History from Princeton University and his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law.
Noreen Allen, chief marketing officer, is responsible for building the Bandwidth brand and driving revenue across all lines of business. For 20 years, she’s held leadership positions with both private and publicly traded companies. Previously, Allen served as vice president, Global Marketing for e-commerce software provider, ChannelAdvisor.
Scott Mullen, Chief Technology Officer, is responsible for the development, engineering, operations and overall technical strategy of the Bandwidth platforms and services. Mullen is a seasoned technologist with nearly 20 years of experience in engineering and software development. Prior to Bandwidth, Mullen worked for Lucent Technologies designing and implementing their next generation IP platforms and applications.
John Bell is Bandwidth’s Chief Product Officer. His team is responsible for driving strategy, design, and development across Bandwidth’s product portfolio. John has previously worked within the mobile ecosystem at Accenture, InfoSpace Mobile and Motricity.
Amaya Lantero is Bandwidth’s International General Manager. Previously Chief Revenue Officer for Voxbone, she leads international operations for Bandwidth, including commercial, product, operations, and technology. Lantero got her start in corporate finance helping fast-growing tech companies with their strategy, M&A, and financing.
Greg Rogers, Head of Global Policy and Regulatory Affairs, leads all of Bandwidth’s regulatory and public policy matters. Greg joined Bandwidth to lead its regulatory and policy work in 2010. Among other roles, Greg serves as an Incompas Board Member. Prior to joining Bandwidth, Greg was senior corporate counsel at Level 3 Communications, where he managed regulatory and public policy matters at all levels of government for over ten years.
Nick Sgroi, senior vice president of Voice Network Strategy and Products, is a proven, senior-level leader with 20 years of telecom experience and expertise. Sgroi serves as a board member for Nicholville Telephone Company and as an advisory board member for SOMOS. Prior to Bandwidth, Sgroi served EarthLink for over 13 years, most notably as the general manager and vice president of Carrier Services.
Q: Where do you provide services?
Bandwidth owns and operates a world wide software-integrated voice network,enabling enterprise customers to reach 60+ countries covering more than 90 percent of the world’s GDP. In every country where we operate, we connect directly to a partner who forms part of the PSTN. In 29+ countries, we have National Operator status with the National Regulatory Authorities. This enables Bandwidth to provide unprecedented network resilience, cost, and support for our customers.
Q: What types of products and/or services do you offer your customers?
Bandwidth has four portfolios of products, which empower our customers with access to voice, messaging, 911, and phone number management services from the cloud.
Voice: Bandwidth’s Voice portfolio includes Inbound calling, Outbound calling, Toll-Free Voice, and our Voice API, which does not require any SIP infrastructure. Our Enterprise SIP Trunking services can also be used to directly power the PSTN connectivity behind UCaaS, CCaaS, and Conferencing platforms.
Messaging: Bandwidth’s complete messaging portfolio has a solution for nearly any SMS, MMS or group messaging use case imaginable. Developers can use our robust API platform to build their own messaging application, or integrate directly into a CRM or other existing solution. Toll-free SMS and the new Local A2P API offer innovative, new routes for high-volume messaging use cases like appointment reminders, shipment notifications, or customer loyalty and retention campaigns.
911: Bandwidth’s E911 for VoIP and Unified Communications solution routes emergency calls to the roughly 6,000 911 call centers in the U.S. and delivers pre-provisioned caller location information. E911 Dynamic Location Routing supports highly nomadic environments by using real-time location information to route 911 calls. Both solutions include notification of key personnel during a 911 call, and are compatible with leading enterprise communications platforms from Microsoft, Cisco, Avaya, and more.
Numbers: Bandwidth currently has millions of actively assigned phone numbers on our network and gives our customers the ability to manage, order and provision numbers using either our Dashboard or API. Customers come to us for our robust phone number management capabilities and rich feature-set including : real-time ordering, activation, and provisioning, triggered and bulk porting, real-time port out validation, detailed call records, line access features such as CNAM, LIDB and directory assistance.
Q: What is your target customer base?
Bandwidth’s customers span three main categories. First, Bandwidth directly serves large, more sophisticated enterprise customers by providing SIP trunking replacement services, 911, and the option to directly power various UCaaS, CCaaS and conferencing platforms.
Our second customer base comprises software companies looking to integrate voice, messaging, number, or 911 functionality into their applications and products via API.
Third, Bandwidth serves VoIP resellers and carriers looking for direct access to IP-based wholesale services to supplement or create new offerings for their end customers. Some of our notable customers include Cisco (Tropo, Webex and Broadsoft), Microsoft (Teams, Skype for Business, GroupMe), Google (Home, AdWords, and Fi, GSuite and Others), RingCentral, Genesys, Zoom, BlueJeans, 8×8 and more.
Q: What are the biggest challenges that your company faces and how is your company overcoming these challenges?
Ensuring a fair, competitively neutral, non-discriminatory global operating environment that strikes the appropriate balance between necessary regulatory oversight and free-market driven outcomes is of paramount importance to Bandwidth. As has been true since the introduction of competitive carriers, protecting the rights of innovative entrants that strive to meet consumer demands in the marketplace but require access and interoperability with incumbent networks with outsized marketplace leverage is critical. Technological advances constantly present new and different scenarios that outstrip current legal and regulatory frameworks and Bandwidth is challenged to keep pace with competitive forces while also striving to shape these new legal and marketplace environments. Among the key challenges that Bandwidth is currently working hard to overcome are those associated with 911, robocalling, messaging and non-discriminatory traffic exchange generally.
Q: What are your competitive advantages; what sets you apart from other companies?
We pride ourselves on the ability to provide a full solutions package for anyone looking to integrate communications services into their, or their customers’ business. With the largest directly connected network in the world, we support the ability to scale with reliable and consistent quality to all enterprises that we serve. Integrating our network with our Communications Platform provides us competitive advantages that include in-depth enterprise support, real-time network visibility, number management control, market leadership in messaging, and the most modern and complete API access to public safely available today. Our 911 solution is based on both NENA and VoIP 911 “i-2” and NENA Next Generation 911 “i3” standards.
Q: How is the evolving communications marketplace impacting your business model?
Bandwidth’s ability to navigate the evolving communications marketplace is our greatest strength. With a focus on expanding and making our existing network as reliable and resilient as possible, we design our products and services for our customer’s business needs. As the market and our customers evolve, so do we.
Q: Describe your relationship with INCOMPAS. How long have you been a member? Why did you decide to join the association?
While Bandwidth was an experienced participant in the INCOMPAS trade shows, Bandwidth decided to join the association as a member in 2016 for the first time. Bandwidth joined at a time that INCOMPAS appeared to be changing its historical marketplace and public policy focus from traditional CLEC oriented matters to supporting a broader set of innovative technology driven service providers and their needs.
Bandwidth continues to be interested in having valuable business relationships and networking opportunities but is increasingly interested in the public policy advocacy matters that INCOMPAS is able to support for competitive providers in today’s marketplace. Finally, Greg Rogers’s role on the INCOMPAS Board of Directors allows Bandwidth and INCOMPAS to help drive critical and ever-evolving competitive policy initiatives.
Q: How have you benefited from INCOMPAS membership?
We value the ability to cultivate long-standing relationships and establish business opportunities at INCOMPAS trade shows and events. Since becoming a member, Bandwidth has likely benefited more from the public policy support that INCOMPAS offers its members and that remains our view of where INCOMPAS can provide unique value.