As seen in the January 18, 2011, COMPTEL Connection

United Gateway LLC
Headquarter: Dallas, TX
www.unitedgateway.net

Q: What does your company do and how long has it been in operation?
A: United Gateway provides quality-based wholesale origination and termination.

Q: To what do you attribute your company’s success in the communications industry?
A: Gaining a complete and very detailed understanding of our customers’ needs and expectations.  We also spend an equal amount of time understanding the needs and abilities of our partner vendors.  By spending the extra time with  them, we really feel we can over deliver our services by really matching the customer to the right set of suppliers.
We also spend time helping our customers meet needs in our industry outside our product lines.  We are blessed to have a management team that has been in the business a long time. We have been able to help our customers find the right people to work with in other areas outside of our products.  When you can help a customer find a supplier in an area you don’t even offer a service, then you earn the right to call them a partner.

Q: What have been the biggest obstacles your company has faced in the marketplace?
A: Vendor stability of price vs. quality terminations on certain U.S. destinations.  As a small niche provider we need to provide a service that has equal or better quality, and obviously a cheaper rate than our larger competitors to survive.  By having less staff and overhead we need to make sure spend our time with suppliers that can deliver what they sell.  When we turn up a vendor that either falls apart or can’t deliver we just can’t replace the lost time.

Q: What do you see as your greatest challenges going forward?
A: We really want to continue to see the mid-level, facility-based (retail) providers grow and prosper.  If they struggle, go out of business or merge it really reduces great customer opportunities for a niche player like United Gateway. 
Our other challenge is of course the regulatory overhang with access reform.  Understanding the timeline and rules for this will really set the table on where we put our efforts in the future.

Q: What have been some of your company’s most recent achievements (new customer wins, new service/product deployment, etc.)?
A: Our company started in February 2010  and we have had enormous growth in both our top and bottom line since the day we started.  We have had the fortune to sell to many of the very best telecom companies in the United States and they have continued to give us more and more business. 
I think our greatest achievement has been our customer’s satisfaction with our people and our service.   Our customers have written testimonials, sent e-mails, and made phone calls on our behalf to help us continue to grow.  Selling a product with profit where the buyer is really satisfied is our product has been our greatest achievement.

Q: Why is it important for your company to be a COMPTEL member?
A: Having participated on the COMPTEL in the past, I value the insight into the ever-changing regulatory environment, as well as ongoing networking opportunities the association provides.  We also want to join to just support the organization and its efforts.