Purple News_04.15

Purple News
Issue 08 | Spring 2015 For our Channel Partners
Broadband switching
is changing
The process of switching
broadband providers has
been simplified – we keep
you up to date
Telephone call
charges to be
simplified
Ofcom announce changes
to non-geographical
numbers – get prepared
with our handy FAQs
ALL CHANGE!
Keeping you up to date with
changes to the Channel
3
News from Spring 2015
Success is a journey, together
Purple News_04.15 Final.indd 3 22/04/2015 12:54

Welcome to the Spring edition of Purple News. The longer, lighter days and resurgence of
nature have got all of us at Nine Wholesale feeling pumped-up and positive about the year
ahead. Nikki McClelland, your usual welcome party to Purple News, is on maternity leave for
12 months and so, as Managing Director of Nine Wholesale, it seemed like a good opportunity
to say “hello!” myself.
Speaking of fresh starts and new beginnings, we are now settled in our brand new base in
Stonehouse. The long-anticipated move to ‘The Hub’ took place in a remarkably seamless
fashion at the end of February and now we’re very much enjoying the additional space,
on-brand decor and purple pool table (!) in our new office space. We’ll be holding a launch
party soon for Purple Partners, so keep an eye out for your invite.
I’m also delighted to announce that our sponsored racing driver, Josh Webster, will be racing
again this year. Last year Josh became not only the youngest champion, but also the first
Porsche GB scholar in history to win the championship in his first year of racing. I’m delighted
to be able to offer our Purple Partners the opportunity to once again come along and support
him this season. For a chance to join us at the race of your choice, please get in touch with us
at purplepartner@wholesale.co.uk. Don’t delay, as places are limited.
This issue of Purple News covers Ofcom’s planned changes to Broadband Switching;
something that you need to be communicating to your customers. Contact us for an email
template to brand up and send out. There is also a must-read article on NGN Communications
and, of course, the usual thought-provoking insights from our own Marketing, Industry and
Operations experts.
We love to hear from you with any comments or ideas for helpful articles, so why not get in
touch? Also, don’t forget to nominate yourselves or members of your team for our Real People
advertising campaign (see below). I hope to run into you at one of this year’s events or maybe
at the racetrack!
Nick Webster
Managing Director
nick.webster@ninewholesale.co.uk
Welcome!
Purple News | Issue 08 | Spring 2015
Nine’s Real People
Readers of Comms Business and Comms Dealer magazines will have
spotted some familiar faces on the back cover over the last few months,
as CDM Thomas Boaden and Product Support Executive Linda Matiiri
kicked off Nine Wholesale’s ‘Real People’ ad campaign for the year.
Real People was created to showcase the people who work ‘behind
the scenes’ within our industry, putting faces to names and displaying
them in a brand new light as real individuals with a passion for sport, the
community or maybe their friends and family by going above and beyond
to get the job done, rather than just a voice at the other end of the phone.
The campaign has started off by showcasing our own people and will shift
the focus onto our resellers following May’s issue, tying into our Wholesale
strapline, “Success is a journey, together”.
Look out for May’s issue of Comms Dealer and Comms Business,
featuring our Mobile Product Manager Simon Fort.
Real People is Nine Wholesale’s advertising campaign for 2015.
But what’s it all about?
4

Doing the rounds on the internet a few years ago was a quote from
Bill Gates that reportedly had him saying that if the car industry
had kept up with technology like the IT industry had we would all
be driving $25.00 cars that would get 1,000 miles to the gallon.
General Motors were quick to respond saying a Microsoft-like car
“executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would [occasionally]
cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case
you would have to reinstall the engine. For some reason you
would simply accept this.”
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/pnw/microsoftjoke.htm
Amongst these notes was the following:
“Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was
reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would
run on only five percent of the roads.”
So, fast forward to today and we are hearing of the Apple ‘Titan’
project, one of many new projects that are causing disruption
in the automotive industry. Not only are we more able to accept
the concept of electric cars, but the use of the car is changing
with start-ups such as ZipCar and Car2Go offering a pay as
you use model for city dwellers and Uber and Lyft using mobile
applications to call a network of self-employed taxi drivers.
At first glance this might not seem to have an awful lot to do with
us in the channel, but it is worth noting a couple of things that
Apple and their competitors do and execute perfectly.
Google and its ecosystem Android are there solely to collect as
much information about you and either advertise to you directly
or syndicate the data and sell it on. Microsoft are working to
consolidate their entire ecosystem into one seamless experience
for their users. Their users may be Enterprise, SME, individuals or
clans of gamers, but anyone involved with Microsoft recently will
be aware that all of these interactions are being brought into one
consistent experience. Why? Because they have seen Apple’s
success and are working hard to emulate it.
Whilst the public face of Apple is shiny kit that Hipsters adore, we
can and should learn from this approach.
INDUSTRY
NOTEBOOKMarcus Dacombe - Group Commercial Product Director
Because they have seen Apple’s success
and are working hard to emulate it.
• Apple are not an engineering company, they are a marketing
company. They understand their customer’s needs and
aspirations and then launch against those.
• Apple are never the first to market. They are very good at seeing
what the market is asking for and then supplying something that
is intuitive and easy to use.
• Apple will lock you into their ecosystem, which is seamless
across all of its platforms and then charge a premium to use it.
Their business model is proving time and time again to be one of
the most successful on the planet, pundits are now predicting
that the Apple Watch will make them a $1Tn company; so what
can we take away from this?
• Be true to yourself, your skill set and your knowledge.
Outsource if you don’t have the necessary skill set the customer
is demanding, and earn your customers’ trust.
• Whilst we are constantly being told about launching a ‘minimum
viable product’ this should never be at the detriment of the
customer experience. Pay attention to the ‘second mouse’ - he
always gets the cheese.
• Build value by creating a supportive ecosystem; make your
products complimentary and interlocking.
Inspiring isn’t it? A company that launched its first desktop
computer 30 years ago will soon be delivering a fleet of popular
self-driving electric cars. Where do you want to go today?
1

at the moonGroup Marketing Director, Mark Saunders tells a few stories…
Despite my ego enhancing job title, what I really do all day is
create and tell stories. Everyone in Marketing is in the relationship
business, or they are in the wrong business. To make relationships
work, you need to build and maintain trust and one of the best
ways to do that is to describe things in a way that your customers
can relate to – or tell them a story if you like.
Now, when the organisers of Content Marketing World in Ohio
thought about their keynote speaker last year, they turned to
Kevin Spacey. Just why would they do that, when there are no
doubt any number of erudite business or political leaders they
may have secured, for less money too. The organiser of Content
Marketing World is the acknowledged godfather of this genre, Joe
Pulizzi and he is nobody’s fool, so why call on the star of The Usual
Suspects movie rather than just hiring one?
Spacey was very much in tune with this puzzle. “I know what
you’re all thinking. What the hell am I doing here?” he asked,
before the audience erupted in laughter. Spacey answered his
own question. Movie stars, content marketers and journalists all
have something in common: “When you strip everything away, we
are all striving toward the same goal, and that is connecting with
our audiences,” Spacey said.
Spacey then shared his three key elements that make for better
stories: conflict, authenticity and audience.
“Conflict creates tension and keeps people engaged and the best
stories are filled with characters that take risks and court drama,”
Spacey said. “It’s the decisions that characters make in the face
of these challenges that keep us glued to our seats. Our stories
become richer, and become far more interesting, when they go
against the settled order of things to achieve the unexpected.”
Moving on, Spacey turned his attention to authenticity by
recalling the time Volkswagen first began selling the Beetle in the
U.S. The German manufacturer took some risks by bucking the
big-car trend, but rather than hide the Beetle’s small dimensions,
it emphasized cost and parking advantages in a successful
advertising program. “Yes, I’m cheaper, more economical, and
squeeze into any space I want!” Spacey said. “The truth? Face up
to it. Consumers appreciate this authenticity.”
Finally, Spacey said marketers must recognise just how much
audiences have changed. The sheer variety of devices, platforms,
and channels is transforming customer expectations, which, in
turn, impacts marketing and media landscapes. “The audience
doesn’t care about the platform, they care about the content,” he
said. “The audience wants control, the freedom to binge. I believe
we should give them what they want.”
So, what can you do differently tomorrow, having listened to Oscar
winner, Kevin Spacey? For me it is straightforward; whatever
content you are working on, think first about who you are trying to
talk to, make what you have to say disruptive, edgy and engaging,
but ensure that it is consistent, real and credible too. There is a lot
of noise in our market and cutting through it to make your story
heard is the number one talent that your Marketing person or
team must have.
Our Purple Partners have access to the entire range of
considerable marketing talent at Nine Group, either through
re-branded collateral and videos, our “colouring in” workshops,
or if you are really desperate, then 1:1 time with me. Investing in
Marketing is a zero brain option that I can guarantee will genuinely
transform your business, but the trick is to decide where and how
to invest – let’s chat about the options.
Email hello@ninewholesale.co.uk
If you want to watch highlights of Kevin’s talk at CMO, then
surprise surprise, it is on You Tube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJnP2wsgnoA
5

FAQs
How will it work in future?
From summer 2015, the cost to the consumer
of calling a service number (starting 084, 087,
09 or 118) will be split into two pieces:
1. An access charge. This goes to the
consumer’s telephone company. The
access charge for calls to service numbers
will be made clear on consumers’ bills and
contracts. The access charge will be a
pence per minute (ppm) rate
2. A service charge. This is the remainder; it
includes any revenue going to the service
provider, as well as revenue going to the
‘terminating call provider’
At the same time, all Freephone numbers
beginning 0800, 0808 or 116 are being made
free for consumers to call from mobile phones,
just as they usually are from landlines.
Which numbers are affected?
These rules will apply to all consumer calls to
084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers across the
UK, delivering clearer call rates for everyone.
Calls to other numbers – those beginning 00,
01, 02, 03, 05 or 07 – are not affected.
Do the changes apply to calls from mobiles
or landlines?
Yes, they apply to calls to service numbers
from both mobiles and landlines.
Do the changes apply across the whole of
the UK?
Yes, they apply across the UK. This does not
include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
which have their own structure for these calls.
Who will meet the cost of Freephone calls
from mobiles?
The recipient of the call will be responsible
for paying for the call, just as they are for calls
from landlines at present. The origination
charge for the call will be subject to regulation
that requires it to be fair and reasonable.
Ofcom has set out guidance as to how this
should be interpreted.
Are any telephone numbers changing?
The new arrangements do not require any
telephone numbers to change. None of the
organisations offering services on service
numbers will be required to change their
number.
New Ofcom regulations are affecting the use of non-geographic numbers for customer
contact. The changes being introduced on 1st July 2015 will make the cost of service
numbers, that’s those beginning 08, 09 and 118, more transparent and easier to understand.
Key changes:
• Freephone numbers will become free to call from mobiles as well as landlines – as a result
there may be an increased cost of operating an 0800 or 0808 number.
• The cost to call service numbers (that’s those starting 084, 087, 09 & 118) will be split into
two parts
o An access charge, which will be stipulated by the caller’s phone company, and
o A service charge, which will be promoted by the organisation offering the service
• From 1st July 2015 you will be required to advertise the cost of calling your non geographic
service numbers in a new way that’s compliant with the regulatory requirements stipulated
by Ofcom, Phonepay Plus and the Advertising Standards Agency.
Where can I get more information?
Ofcom have set up a website, www.ukcalling.info, to provide more information. It is available
now but will be actively promoted in January 2015 to support a national consumer campaign.
Ofcom announces changes
to Non Geographic Numbers
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW
We are now
offering lower
prices on
EFM and Fibre
Access!
084
6

Water is wet, the sky is blue and we all need faster internet access to keep up with everything that is now
online. So the good news is that Openreach are trialling a new connection technology in 2 locations to prove
the viability of a service that could deliver up to 500Mbps over the copper network. Timely indeed as during
the recent budget the government declared an aspiration to provide broadband download speeds of up to
100Mbps for most of us if re-elected in May. [Read into that what you will – Ed]
Openreach did identify several key points that SMEs demanded of their internet connection.
• Received performance to be the same as that advertised
• No disruption to service
• A need for enhanced care
• Speed requirements will only increase over time as more services become available, if not mandatory
online, so continuous improvements are essential.
Nine are committed to delivering our end of the bargain when it comes to these requests, so we provide
a broadband checker on the portal so that you can confirm the available speed that your customer is
going to get before placing the order. We offer 24/7 support in the event of a problem, with Enhanced care
available for essential services. We also provide the entire range of connectivity products from simple ADSL
to dedicated internet access circuits.
Do you agree with Openreach’s conclusions? Have they missed anything? What would you have added?
Let us know at hello@ninewholesale.co.uk and we’ll pass your comments onto Openreach.
Openreach trial new connection technology
You might be a veteran of the Mercury days, or an entrepreneur starting up your first telecoms
company. The product team at Nine have been around the industry for some time now, so I thought
I’d reintroduce them.
Ben Knights is our Connectivity Product Manager. He started with BT 20 years ago and has gained
some incredible experience in the industry building, managing and maintaining data networks.
Simon Fort, our Mobile Product Manager, also started his telecoms career in 1995 with Nokia
Networks and has since worked on projects with all of the major networks, as well as companies such
as Carphone Warehouse and Tesco Mobile.
Ollie Clutterbuck, who looks after all things hosted as our Telephony Systems Product Manager,
started his telecoms career with Club Communciations (now Nine Wholesale) 14 years ago.
He created a successful hosted voice start-up before we managed to convince him to bring his
considerable knowledge back to Nine.
And I’ve been around (Marcus Dacombe) since 1999 working alongside the likes of Best Buy Europe,
O2 and Nokia in product, marketing and project management.
So that’s 70 years of experience for you to call upon, whatever your question, whatever your product.
Get in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you.
Email
ben.knights@ninegroup.co.uk
simon.fort@ninegroup.co.uk
oliver.clutterbuck@ninegroup.co.uk
Extend your reach
How long have you been in telecoms?
Ben Knights
Simon Fort
Oliver Clutterbuck
7

NOTESFROMTHEENGINEROOM
It’s no secret that my particular view from
the Engine room hasn’t been the most
rosy over the years when it comes to IP
Telephony. If you have enjoyed this industry
as long as I have you will have seen your
fair share of movements in the world of IP
Telephony. Early adopters aside, it seemed
to hit the Channel with gusto in around
2003. At the time few among us truly knew
what their strategy was for this new threat
to traditional PBX but everyone was aware
they needed one soon.
Following an explosion of new acronyms
- don’t we just love our acronyms - the
Channel started to embrace any solution
that came along. Every kid with a garage
seemed to be setting up networks for
previously sensible, sound-minded
entrepreneurs. Those same entrepreneurs
were selling these ‘networks’ on price,
features and flexibility whilst simultaneously
ignoring those niggly little issues such
as bandwidth, voice quality and network
resilience. Thus ensued car crash after car
crash of network failures and a constant
unravelling of deals at the demand of the
customer. The VoIP revolution was more in
the cyclical sense that the transformational
sense as over and over ‘VoIP’ was built
up and torn down and the damage to its
credibility quickly went from paper cut to
bullet wound and the sales teams simply
didn’t have enough band aids to cover it up
any more.
With the threat seemingly not as real or near
as initially thought the Channel got back to
PSTN variants and simply kept a watchful
eye on ‘IP Telephony’ with phrases like
“we need it in our kit bag” common. I’ll
just take a moment to acknowledge the
few technically gifted partners that I have
worked with over the years that did make it
work from the start, you are rare.
We all have our horror stories, if we claim
we haven’t had them we didn’t get our
hands dirty soon enough and we should
thank the trail blazers for leading the way
and going through the pain on our behalf.
I personally had few positive experiences
of IPT and the negative ones had left me
tremendously negative towards all new
products, even the ones the companies I
worked for were selling.
All that has well and truly changed in the
last few years and our recent experience of
moving into Nine Group’s new headquarters
has underlined for me just how pro IPT I
now am. Our move was seamless; I’d be
surprised if anyone noticed outside of Nine
Group. I sat in my office on the Monday
morning following the move weekend with
everything just working and had IPT to
thank in a big way. IPT gave us the flexibility
to test run all our teams weeks in advance
without doubling up on ISDN and inbound
routing complexities. We were able to test
phone by phone how the move would work,
set up and test wallboards and queues,
replicate fail-over… You name it, we
tested it ahead of the move. No last minute
number ports, no advertising to change, no
DDIs to reissue, no last minute cease before
provides or porting hassles. I’m a customer
of IPT and I wouldn’t go back. The pitch is
now backed up by quality; resilience and
bandwidth just aren’t an issue any more.
So for the last time and with belief, IPT is
Telephony. If there are any sceptics left out
there it’s time to let IPT come in from the
cold because your customers are following
it. Even those with the horror stories are
embracing it and want it.
Finally, I’ll admit that though what we have
is pretty great, the perfect network is not
yet out there. However, I do anticipate
it won’t be very long at all until someone
builds the game changer. Be ready to
come on board when they do…
Barnes Clutterbuck - Group Operations Director
our recent
experience of
moving into
Nine Group’s new
headquarters
has underlined for
me just how pro
IPT I now am.
PASS
8

Inside
The Hub
Based in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, The Hub has been
custom-built for Nine Group. With wide open spaces,
cutting edge technology and easy links to the M5, the new
headquarters provide a fresh working environment for staff
and a welcoming atmosphere for customers and guests. Our
newly-expanded meeting room capacity can cater for a wide
range of layouts and formats, with exclusive use of kitchen
facilities (including barista-standard coffee machine!).
Bath Half
On Sunday 1st March, 16 Nine Group employees laced up
their running shoes for the start of the Bath Half Marathon.
From seasoned athletes to total beginners, the team – called
Martin’s Minions, in memory of friend and colleague Paul Martin
– began a strict training plan back in November to prepare
them for the 13.2 mile course around the historic spa town. All
team members managed to finish, crossing the finishing line in
some pretty impressive times!
There’s still time to donate – visit the team’s JustGiving page
www.justgiving.com/MartinsMinions
Josh Webster
Nine-Group sponsored racing driver (and son of our Managing
Director Nick) Josh Webster has flown into the history books
as not only the youngest ever champion, but the first Porsche
GB Scholar to win the championship in their first year of racing.
Josh is back this year for another season, putting in better
times than ever in recent practice runs – it’s sure to keep you
on the edge of your seat! Purple Partners can see Josh racing
in person; for a list of dates or to reserve your tickets email us
at purplepartner@ninewholesale.co.uk
What do find most enjoyable about your job?
The most enjoyable thing about my job is the variety; we provide
lots of different services to lots of different customers and service
is paramount. I still get a kick when we receive a compliment
from a customer when we do something well. Of course, not all
customers are quick to tell us when we do something well, but I
have to say that most of the calls we receive are very positive.
What parts of your job do you find most challenging?
The most challenging part of my job is keeping up with the changes
in modern technology. We are moving more and more into an IP
and IT based world so as a technology company we must be at the
forefront with this. Most telecoms solutions we provide today will
involve our IT company as well.
We also have another two parts to the group, Photocopiers and
Business Finance, and a lot of clients have multiple services so it
keeps me on my toes!
How do you keep your team motivated?
We have a quarterly team meeting and every member of staff is
involved. The team are kept informed of what’s happening in the
business and they contribute with ideas on how we can make
improvements. I believe it’s important to have everyone involved.
Oh yes - it also helps that we have the meetings in the pub!
What is the biggest change you have seen in our industry over
the last five years?
For me personally, coming from a mobile background the biggest
changes in the industry have been on the mobile side, so much has
changed with how we work with networks over the last few years
and not generally for the better! They seem to be coming round to a
sensible wholesale model so that has to be good news for resellers.
What is the most valuable piece of advice that you would give
to a start-up reseller?
The best piece of advice I could give would be to make sure you
can deliver what you promise from the start. It’s tough at the
beginning but make sure you don’t let your clients down!
Guest column
Gary Rodgers - CEO
Have a question for Gary?
Email hello@ninewholesale.co.uk and we’ll put you in touch!
Want to appear in our guest column and offer
some advice? Email hello@ninewholesale.co.uk
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2

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