Southern LINC, which provides enhanced wireless services across much of the southeast, has a new backbone carrier for its network — US LEC.
The companies announced Tuesday that US LEC had completed the transfer of major services from an undisclosed carrier to US LEC. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Bob Dawson, president and chief executive officer of Southern LINC, said he was pleased with how the switch was made.
“Switching carriers is a huge undertaking, and US LEC provided a smooth transition,” he said in a statement. “US LEC did everything they promised.”
LINC stands for long-range integrated network communications. Southern LINC is a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), an energy company based in Atlanta.
LINC offers a wide variety of services, including two-way radio, numeric and text paging, wireless Internet and data, as well as wireless voice services.
Stock in US LEC (Nasdaq: CLEC)jumped 26 cents, or 13 percent, on Tuesday to close at $2.23.
US LEC will provide underlying connectivity and services for the network, including redundant inbound and outbound calling support. The Charlotte-based company included so-called SS7 network capability, which features options such as call forwarding and call waiting, as part of the network.
Southern LINC customers also get access to enhanced E911 (which can determine the location of a customer when making a call).
To support the new network, US LEC provided 387,000 local call numbers and 35,000 toll free numbers and customized services.
“The inherent diversity and redundancy of US LEC’s network allows us to literally build the complex network structures that companies like Southern LINC requires,” said Aaron Cowell, president and chief executive officer of US LEC.
US LEC: www.uslec.com
Southern LINC: www.southernlinc.com
