The company says it serves independent ISPs better than the Bell-focused vendors.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [January 30, 2008]

So other vendors make changes to their modems without informing the small customers? "We know they do," says Terry Manning, director of marketing at Boston, Mass.-based equipment maker Zoom Technologies. The company, which got its start building dialup modems, now offers cable and DSL and wireless broadband equipment as well as a VoIP service.

Zoom's ISP Partner Program is unlike many others. The key benefit that Manning highlights is the ability to insist on a specific configuration for your DSL equipment. "If somebody's interested in buying our unit, we provide them an evaluation unit with firmware x on it. Once the ISP approves it, that's the standard unit they will be provided until they approve a successor product," he explains.

Sometimes a new modem requires some tweaking in the DSLAM. "The UNH InterOperability Laboratory is just an hour's drive away. We use the UNH lab all the time. If we know of a DSLAM that's having an issue with one of our units, we go up there and figure it out."

"It's similar with VoIP," he adds. "You want to take advantage of improvements in technology but you also want to let your partners know you're making changes and to make sure it's okay with them."

Larger ISPs, those ordering at least 100 to 150 units per month, can join a shipping program in which Zoom ships the modems directly to the ISP's customers, for a fee. It obtains addresses through electronic transfer of the relevant data. Manning admits that few ISPs have taken advantage of this and we suspect it's because ISPs are accustomed to telcos violating all the rules that govern subscriber data and are therefore unwilling to trust any other company with that information.

Although the program has no formal feedback mechanism, Manning says, "we welcome feedback from our customers and talk to a fair number of ISPs."

He's bullish on the future of both of his company's main products, DSL and VoIP (it also makes wireless and cable modems), because he sees naked DSL driving up demand for VoIP.

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