The vISP model enables resellers to enter the voice and data access market with little or no investment in infrastructure, kit, technical skills, training and marketing - making the resale of ISP services a no brainer for any comms dealer with a customer base.

The vISP model has evolved from being a one-size-fits-all broadband package to more bespoke services where the reseller can carefully select their channels, allowing them to fine tune which service they offer to end users, according to Dave Richards, Chief Technical Officer at 186k. "Using features like Quality of Service allows us to streamline the customer's requirements," he said. "The end result is the resellers now have a plethora of opportunities to create the vISP package they want."

The white labelling of products and services from the ISP is an important driver for vISPs who want to cut a niche or make their own presence felt in the marketplace, notes Richards. "Now, from under their own identity, a vISP can offer all Internet-based services to their client base. It allows them to be a one-stop-shop, giving them the ability to target a bigger proportion of the market," he added.

The types of Internet-related services provided by vISPs range from standard Internet access with minimal latency to greater Quality of Service, VPN connectivity or VoIP. "We also offer our vISPs additional telephony services such as the provision of numbers, bespoke call handling platforms (IVR) and SMS and Text services, to mention a few," added Richards. "Typically, vISPs can generate additional revenue on bandwidth by effectively managing the end user's service. Offering dedicated channels through QoS and providing a level of support also gives resellers many opportunities to create profitable revenue streams."

There are very few businesses these days that can survive without Internet access, and as such the need for reliable, stable and fast Internet connections is an easily accessible subject for business growth. Richards added: "The value of a reseller's customer base is dependant on the services it offers. In its most basic function, there is a great opportunity. However, with bespoke packages that allow for greater aggregation of services and provide greater choice to the end user, resellers are perfectly positioned to make the best of the available market. The face of the Internet has drastically changed over the last 24 months, and will continue to change at a rapid pace, allowing both newcomers and time-served resellers to take advantage of it."

Using 186k's Dolphin portal, 186k is able to offer a complete white label solution, configurable by resellers for their customers' needs. This also includes new services such as the much talked about walled garden facility for fast and secure payment collection or for topping up capped products. "It's the depth of service offering that makes a vISP's business far more profitable, a fact that we both recognise and champion," said Richards.

He says it's ‘very easy' for resellers to incorporate a vISP capability into their portfolio. "With our Dolphin platform a reseller can be up and running, providing broadband to their existing portfolio within a couple of hours of becoming either a vISP or reseller. Credit card and Direct Debit functionality are available ensuring we deliver a fully customised solution."

With the ‘big-four' promoting more and more services bundled for ‘free', Richards says it is clear that something has to ‘give'. "Like other industries it is usually the service and support side of the supplier that is forced to cave in to make way for what appears to be ‘too good to be true' packages," he claims. "186k believe upholding choice and value for money will prevail. We operate a big fish in a little pond mentality to all our customers. This strategy is one that the ‘big-four' providers cannot emulate."

Griffin was one of the UK's first ISPs and launched its free vISP in 1998. Soon after broadband was launched in 1999 Griffin developed a white label managed broadband product for BT Wholesale and adapted this for the channel in 2005. The ‘ISP in a box' product is still going strong. Andrew Dickinson, Sales & Marketing Director at Griffin Internet, commented: "Before Griffin's ‘ISP in a Box' resellers would generally refer their customers to an ISP (usually BT) often in exchange for a finder's-fee. Pretty quickly ISPs that also sold direct to enterprises realised that these referral schemes were a great way into selling other communications products to these customers. Resellers found themselves competing with ISPs that had turned from being suppliers to competitors."

The problem with reseller schemes at that time, says Dickinson, was that many schemes were not truly white label and gave visibility to the ISP within their reseller's customer base. "More of an issue was that provisioning broadband for customers was still time consuming and unreliable," he said. "Without full access to all the fault management tools First Call Clear (FCC) rates on reseller's first line support desks plummeted, creating dissatisfied customers and additional cost. Deals for calls, lines and PBXs worth thousands of pounds were being jeopardised by a product worth only a few pounds margin a month."

Griffin's approach is to integrate entirely into its suppliers, not only at a network level but also at an operational and reporting level. "Many thousands of transactions are executed by partners on our MOPS (Managed Online Provisioning System) every month and we don't touch any of them," added Dickinson. "Investment in automation is considerable - we have a team of 12 developers working 100 per cent on MOPS - but in the long run this saves us and our partners in manpower, and increases efficiency and customer satisfaction. Where the partner is new to broadband, or wants to scale-up quickly, we offer a branded first line product that can be transferred back to the partner at any time once they have the critical mass and skills required to support it themselves."

Selling their own broadband creates more margin for a reseller, reduces churn and increases the overall value of their business. Typically, resellers have found that they can halve churn by selling PSTN lines to CPS customers and they can halve that again by selling that customer a broadband line. "Typical penetration of a Griffin partner of broadband into a calls and lines base is around 40 per cent, and we run specific marketing programmes to help partners to convert," said Dickinson. "Over the years we have learned what works when it comes to getting existing customers to migrate their broadband. We run regular training sessions as well as offering white label ecast templates, and collateral."

Resellers in the main want to focus on their core business and outsource the operational infrastructure. This leaves them free to concentrate on sales and marketing. They benefit from the economies of scale that a large network operator such as BT can provide. They also avoid the need for significant capex investment and instead can benefit from a pay-as-you grow model.

"Some of our customers offer just straightforward Internet access services mostly to SMEs, though some also have consumer customers, ie, a classic broadband service offering email and Internet access," said Colin Annette, Client Director for BT's Client Services Provider Group. "Others bundle this in as part of a wider connectivity offering comprising broadband, calls, lines and minutes, some also include mobile calls. Others include utility services such as gas and electricity. Others offer additional services such has web hosting, anti- virus software and CPE."

vISP offers branding opportunities, and for customers with a well known brand name, such as the Post Office, it allows them to capitalise on their existing brand and to move into adjacent markets with a low set up cost. According to Annette, BT makes it simple for resellers to incorporate a vISP capability. "Small resellers can buy BT Wholesale's off-the-peg white label managed broadband service," said Annette. "This provides the broadband service itself, at wholesale prices, order and repair portals and management information. Larger customers such as the Post Office buy a bespoke solution from us tailored to their needs. This can include a call centre service to take orders and first line repair support. Pricing is done on a pay-as-you-grow basis so there is no high upfront investment required. The reseller obviously already has an existing customer base where they can market the new service."

BT has a wide range of broadband services, over both copper and fibre, all of which are available to customers as part of either a white label or a bespoke managed network service. "Our customers can buy all their telecoms requirements from us, not just broadband, and can choose the level of support they require," added Annette.