January 27, 2009
Alestra Acquires GetFon Business from AlianzaBy Anshu Shrivastava, TMCnet Contributing Editor Alestra, a company jointly owned by Grupo ALFA and AT&T, announced that it has acquired the entire business line of GetFon under a definitive agreement signed with Alianza, a Mexico-based provider of hosted voice over WiMAX (News - Alert) solutions.
GetFon delivers IP telephony services in Latin America and is a subsidiary of Alianza (News - Alert).
Additionally, Alianza and Alestra announced the successful migration of all GetFon customers to Alestra's (News - Alert) full service and handling.
The conditions of the agreement include a long-term license agreement between the companies, enabling customers of GetFon to receive uninterrupted service. According to the companies, Alestra will license Alianza's hosted platform, which has serviced GetFon customers for years.
Alestra reviewed the core technology of the Alianza platform and then decided to maintain the Alianza network rather than have GetFon customers migrate to a different voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform.
“After an evaluation by our technical team, we are duly impressed with the breadth and depth of their platform,” said Bernardo García, vice president of residential and small businesses division at Alestra.
Founded in 2003 by Alianza, GetFon offers a wide range of IP telephony solutions such as virtual PBX (News - Alert), interconnection of remote offices, extension-to-extension dialing, automated interactive voice response (IVR), GoFone (PC phone), and more.
“By combining their momentum with our continuous improvement in quality processes, innovation and customer support for voice services, we are confident that we will make tremendous gains in the marketplace,” said García.
The companies expect customers of GetFon to benefit from the new relationship with Alestra. The company said that customers can continue tracking their activities online and will also be eligible for other Alestra services, including access to local numbers and local dialing plans.
“With Alestra's great marketing presence and services offerings, it is the perfect match to support GetFon's customers and dramatically grow the business,” said Brian Beutler, CEO at Alianza. He added that the new partnership with Alestra is a powerful validation of company’s vision and technology.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement.
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