Enhanced telephone services: Cedar Point Communications

Where it's based: Derry, N.H.
When it was founded: 2000
Website: http://www.cedarpointcom.com/

Why it's Fierce: Despite cord cutters and their ilk, the telephone is not dead. On the other hand, it's no longer a low-featured black dial-up device. The advent of IP and cable's commitment to voice-over-IP--even if the industry doesn't like that term--has pretty much kept the phone alive for many cable subscribers.

But the widespread use of mobile phones has led consumers to demand more from their residential phone service. Cedar Point Communications is working on a trial of what it calls a Visual Communications Suite of communications management for cable operators that will allow MSOs to differentiate their phone services from other telephone providers and, better yet, compete on a more feature-friendly level with cellphones as they continue to erode the wireline base.

Cedar Point has even done surveys to back up its belief that using the VCS to offer differentiated services can save the phone business. Not the least of these is that 17.8 percent of current video customers would add the MSO's phone service if VCS--including visual voice mail with audio review and other more standard phone services--were available and 13 percent would switch providers to get the package.