A Whole New World

Under a new agreement with AT&T Inc., Bentonville-based TeleComp is now a retailer of bandwidth, essentially making the tech firm a newfangled phone company.

TeleComp will buy bandwidth wholesale from AT&T and then sell it directly to consumers in the commercial, governmental, health care and educational sectors. With the authority to negotiate its own rates, and with a new and endless market on the horizon, TeleComp sees the AT&T agreement as a watershed event.

“We are now going to be a bandwidth company,” TeleComp CEO Roger Thomas said. “In the old days, we would be becoming a telephone company.”

TeleComp was one of only a few telecommunications companies nationwide — and the only one in Arkansas — selected as part of the AT&T Partner Exchange, or APEX, under which, according to AT&T, “members will be able to bill their end-users directly, handle all financing, manage implementation and provide technical support for all commercial, government, health care and educational customers.”

In essence, AT&T is downsizing and outsourcing to trusted partners, and in the process is creating golden opportunities for ground-level companies like TeleComp.

“We’ll control the margin instead of AT&T,” said Gino Capito, president and chief technology officer at TeleComp. “This opens up a whole new world we haven’t been allowed to go into. This is capitalism at its best.”

Even though TeleComp will control the prices and oversee accounts, AT&T will still install the technology.

While the retail end of the business might be new, TeleComp is not sailing into unknown waters. The company has years of experience and a proven track record with AT&T, and before that with Southwestern Bell Corp., which bought AT&T for $16 billion in 2005.

“They know what we’ve done and they know what we’re going to do,” Thomas said, referring to TeleComp’s history with AT&T. TeleComp, of course, did not enter into the agreement until taking a long look at the wholesale-retail business model.

“The spreadsheets look good,” Thomas said.

 

Building a Brand

TeleComp provides office technology such as phone systems and servers, video conferencing and Wi-Fi, networks and firewalls. The company’s business is broken down into three broad categories: hardware sales, installation and bandwidth. The company’s footprint is likewise divided into three: Northwest Arkansas, central Arkansas and national-international.

Founded in 2003, TeleComp is now a recognized name in the industry.

Bandwidth, the rate at which data is transferred, represents access to voice lines, the Internet and internal information within companies. Capito compares bandwidth to something everyone can understand. A small amount of bandwidth is like a Ford Pinto and a lot of bandwidth is like a Ferrari. You
can drive either car, but the Ferrari will get you to Vancouver and back much quicker.

“People want to work at the speed of thought,” Capito said. “We’re not there yet, but how close can we get to that?”

TeleComp already does business with thousands of customers across Arkansas and the United States, and as the company grows into its role as a bandwidth retailer, those pre-existing relationships will be invaluable.

A typical contract for bandwidth is for three years, and when those contracts come up for renewal, TeleComp will be able to offer a new and more affordable rate.

“We know who’s coming out of their contracts in 2014,” Thomas said, referring to upcoming negotiations.

But bandwidth is not the only thing TeleComp can sell. The company still has its full array of offerings, and as new AT&T consumers come into the fold, they might want TeleComp to handle other aspects of their technology and communications.

Considered a lead-in product, the AT&T bandwidth is expected to generate volume for TeleComp’s other services in hardware and installation.

“How do we get our foot in the door,” Capito said, referencing the opportunities the AT&T agreement will bring.

TeleComp has plenty of business outside the retail universe powered by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The list of clients includes national brands such as America’s Car-Mart, Qualchoice Insurance, Riggs Caterpillar and Vestcom International. Locally, TeleComp counts the Walton Arts Center and Fayetteville Public Schools, where it has installed over 800 Wi-Fi connections, as customers.

But if Walmart is not at the core of TeleComp’s business, the presence of the world’s largest retailer certainly doesn’t blunt the company’s edge.

“We learn from the [Walmart] suppliers who are bringing in their technology from all over the country and the world,” Thomas said.

 

Land Rush

TeleComp recently purchased a choice 4,600-SF piece of real estate at 207 S. Main St., just off of the booming Bentonville square. The new location, which is believed to have been an old general store, recently underwent a $250,000 renovation by Norwood Construction and architect Dan Townsley, both of Rogers.

The building, an amalgamation of three structures of various ages, was stripped down to the bone and retrofitted for another 25 years of service.

When the location was purchased, it didn’t necessarily suffer from decay, but like many historic buildings, needed a serious facelift.

“It was very non-descript and dated from the 1960s,” Townsley said. “When you entered the front door it lacked any of the character and relevance of the old building.”

The drop ceilings were pulled, as was the tacky siding, flooring and paneling. The maze of partitions was taken out, and once workers got down to the backbone of the building, they found brick masonry walls, one of them over 100 years old, and sash windows, a few of which were saved.

New wiring, plumbing and HVAC was installed, and insulated glass was used to glaze the westward-facing storefront. Now, the building breathes with 14-foot ceilings and indirect lighting.

“I think we did justice to it on a limited budget,” Townsley said. “It should have another 20-25 years of life without having to need anything.”

Though the decision has not been finalized, the building could one day have a new feature — a rooftop patio overlooking Main Street.

Relocating to the historic center of Bentonville was described by Thomas as the “move a lifetime,” and has yielded great benefits for the staff. For those who are inclined, they can ride a bike or walk to work, and a shower has been installed for those who do. Dining, trails and the energy of the square are everyday realities.

TeleComp joins a recent migration of companies that includes Celebrate Arkansas magazine, DreamWorks, RevUnit,
Main Street Dental, 21c Museum Hotel, Shirley’s Flowers, The Klothe Boutique, Fresh French Homes and Blue Moon.

The growth of the square into a hub of commerce, leisure and living was quantified in a 2013 study commissioned by Downtown Bentonville Inc., the nonprofit advocate for the area. The report shows a plunging commercial vacancy rate, increasing residential population, an explosion of retail and restaurants, and rising property values.

Thomas knows how fortunate TeleComp was to not only find the Main Street location, but to close on the deal.

“There is no more commercial space available in downtown Bentonville,” he said. “We’re here. We love it.”