Global Crossing announced that Alpine Access is using Global Crossing's converged IP services to ease their network expansion, penetrate new markets and deliver superior customer service.

Recently named one of the fastest-growing large private companies in Colorado by the Denver Business Journal, Alpine Access is using Global Crossing's VoIP Local Service to expand the reach of their network and to support a rapidly growing agent workforce. Alpine Access recently announced that it is adding 500 employees in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Tampa, Fla., markets.

Global Crossing's VoIP Local Service, a direct inward dial service, lets Alpine Access' "work-at-home" agents receive calls from customers simply by calling a local telephone number. Global Crossing's voice network accepts the call from the public switched telephone network, converts it to IP and transports it to its final destination via Global Crossing's MPLS IP-based network.

Agents also can access the call center's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network via Global Crossing's VoIP Toll Free service. In addition, customer service agents will be able to handle caller inquiries more effectively due to more streamlined connections between Global Crossing's network and Alpine Access' Web hosting facility.

"Alpine Access' home-based employee model has rapidly surfaced as the preferred customer care option for companies that want to communicate their brand quality to each customer on the phone. We support major brands, such as J. Crew, Office Depot and 1-800-Flowers, in addition to large financial services and travel organizations," said Rick Owens, vice president of technology for Alpine Access. "As our rapid growth continues, we need a solution that will help us bring our business model to new markets. Global Crossing's network reach, broad VoIP portfolio and extensive VoIP experience is helping us continue to deliver superior customer experience to existing and potential clients."

"Alpine Access' business model has attracted widespread attention from customers and job applicants," said Mike Toplisek, Global Crossing's senior vice president, enterprise sales. "Our global IP network and comprehensive converged IP services portfolio position us as one of the few service providers in the U.S. that can offer a VoIP direct inward dial service on a national scale. That network reach is proving crucial to the growth strategy of Alpine Access and their foray into new markets."

Global Crossing offers a complete portfolio of VoIP services, including Global Crossing VoIP Outbound, VoIP On-Net Plus, VoIP Toll-Free and VoIP Local Service. This portfolio helps customers implement IP convergence, maximize telephony cost savings and reduce total cost of ownership. Global Crossing promotes the development of VoIP peering solutions and includes VoIP Community Peering as a feature in its outbound VoIP calling plans. Global Crossing is a leader in fully interoperable, secure VoIP services for enterprise and carrier customers and supports several access methods to connect to its VoIP service portfolio. These include Global Crossing's IP VPN service, Global Crossing Dedicated Internet Access and standard public Internet access.

Global Crossing was the first service provider to replace legacy switches with VoIP switches in its network core to enhance the seamless delivery of IP services. Today, it has replaced more than 25 percent of its Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) switches. By the end of the second quarter of 2006, IP interconnected VoIP traffic increased to nearly 300 million minutes per month, indicating the increase in IP originated and terminated traffic traversing Global Crossing's VoIP backbone. Global Crossing's VoIP platform currently carries an average of more than 2.5 billion minutes per month.