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Granite Telecommunications (News - Alert), a provider of communication products and services to various businesses in the U.S. and Canada, recently confirmed its participation the first phase of AT&T’s (News - Alert) proposed IP Technology Transition trial in Kings Point, Palm Beach County, Florida and Carbon Hill, Alabama. Participation in the trial will be significant for Granite, as it is one of the very few competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC) providing telecommunication services in these locations.

The company’s core service offerings include local and long distance telephony, as well as broadband and networking service, interior wiring, and security monitoring solutions. Granite Telecommunications centralizes these services and provides a single point of contact and billing for its customers over existing telecom carrier lines.

In a release, Sam Kline, senior vice president for strategic initiatives at Granite Telecommunications, said, “Customer service is of paramount importance to Granite and adopting new technology is part of providing the best service. Granite is enthused about the technology transition and only cautions that neither customers nor competition should be left behind in the transition.”

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)), under the leadership of Chairman Tom Wheeler, has been encouraging investments in innovative communications technology throughout the state and has helped to accelerate such trials with a blueprint for testing these innovations.

Michael B. Galvin, general counsel at Granite, explained, “While AT&T filed a proposal with the FCC, many details need to be provided including the way Granite and its customers will receive functionally equivalent products to ensure competition is preserved. In the meantime, Granite looks forward to working with AT&T and with the FCC.”