Scale Your Business Connectivity with Allstream Solutions
Allstream provides managed IP communications, fiber connectivity, and unified communications to North American enterprises through a high-touch service model.
Overview
Allstream is a leading North American communications solutions provider with a history spanning over 170 years. Originally rooted in the Canadian telecommunications landscape, the company has evolved into a powerhouse for managed IP communications, serving a broad range of business customers across the United States and Canada. Allstream’s core business focus is providing large-scale enterprises and mid-market companies with the connectivity and collaboration tools necessary to compete in a digital-first economy.
The company’s service portfolio is extensive, covering three primary pillars:
- Connectivity: High-speed fiber internet, private networking (MPLS), and wavelength services that provide the foundational infrastructure for modern business operations.
- Unified Communications: Cloud-based voice, video conferencing, and collaboration suites including UCaaS and Microsoft Teams integration.
- Managed Services: SD-WAN, security solutions, and managed IT services designed to optimize network performance and protect corporate data.
Following its acquisition by Zayo Group in 2016 and subsequent transition to Electric Lightwave/Allstream, the company has solidified its position as a specialized alternative to incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). Allstream targets organizations that require complex, multi-site deployments—such as those in finance, healthcare, and retail—where reliability and professional support are paramount. With a vast fiber footprint and a focus on "smarter" connectivity, Allstream continues to invest in network automation and software-defined technologies to meet the increasing bandwidth demands of cloud-centric enterprises.
Positioning
Allstream positions itself as the "Expert Choice" for North American business communications, strategically carving out a space between the massive, often impersonal national carriers and the smaller, localized boutique providers. Their brand positioning is built on the pillars of reliability, regional expertise, and superior customer experience.
In a market often dominated by price-war commoditization, Allstream differentiates by emphasizing the "Total Cost of Ownership" and the value of a managed partnership. Their messaging focuses on solving the complexity of digital transformation—positioning their team as an extension of the client’s IT department.
Key elements of their positioning strategy include:
- Cross-Border Capability: They are one of the few providers with a truly integrated North American footprint, making them the go-to partner for companies with operations in both the U.S. and Canada.
- Agility vs. Scale: Allstream messages heavily against the bureaucracy of "Big Telco." They position their size as a competitive advantage, claiming they are large enough to handle enterprise-scale requirements while remaining agile enough to provide customized solutions and rapid support.
- The "Human Connection": While competitors lead with "speeds and feeds," Allstream leads with their ability to design and manage solutions that align with specific business outcomes, such as improving remote work productivity or securing distributed networks. This outcome-based positioning helps them move away from being viewed as a utility and toward being viewed as a strategic technology partner.
Differentiation
Allstream’s product portfolio is distinguished by its seamless integration of legacy infrastructure with next-generation cloud services. While many providers force a "rip and replace" philosophy, Allstream offers a bridge for enterprises through robust SIP Trunking and Hosted Collaboration Solutions (HCS) that allow businesses to transition to the cloud at their own pace.
A key technical advantage is their privately owned, high-performance fiber network that spans North America. This infrastructure allows them to offer end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) for voice and data traffic, which is often lost when using over-the-top (OTT) providers. Their Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offerings, powered by industry leaders like Mitel and Cisco, are integrated directly into their network backbone to ensure superior clarity and reliability.
Furthermore, Allstream differentiates itself through its managed services layer. They don't just provide the "pipe"; they offer managed security, SD-WAN, and professional services that offload the operational burden from internal IT teams. Their SD-WAN solution is particularly innovative for its ability to aggregate multiple connection types while providing deep packet inspection and application-level visibility, ensuring that mission-critical business applications always receive priority bandwidth. This combination of physical network ownership and advanced software-defined overlays creates a more resilient and visible communication environment for the end user.
Ideal Customer Profile
The ideal Allstream customer typically fits the following profile:
- Company Size: Mid-market to Enterprise (100 to 5,000+ employees).
- Geography: Organizations with a significant footprint in North America, particularly those with cross-border operations between the U.S. and Canada.
- Industry: Professional services (legal, finance), healthcare, manufacturing, and retail where uptime is critical.
- Technical Maturity: Companies looking to move away from managing their own hardware and seeking a managed service provider to handle networking and communications.
- Budget Range: Organizations that prioritize reliability, SLAs, and unified support over the "lowest possible price" offered by consumer-grade ISPs.
- Team Composition: IT teams that are stretched thin and require a partner to act as an extension of their networking and telecom departments.
Best Fit
Allstream excels in the following scenarios:
- Multi-Site North American Operations: Organizations with offices spread across both the U.S. and Canada benefit from Allstream’s native cross-border network, eliminating the need to manage multiple regional carriers.
- Transitioning from Legacy PBX to Cloud: Companies looking for a guided migration path from on-premise hardware to cloud-based UCaaS (like Mitel or Microsoft Teams) find Allstream’s managed services highly effective.
- Microsoft Teams Heavy Environments: For businesses committed to the Microsoft ecosystem, Allstream’s Cloud Connect for Direct Routing provides a seamless, high-quality voice integration that is often more cost-effective than Microsoft’s native calling plans.
- High-Bandwidth Reliability Needs: Organizations where downtime is non-negotiable (e.g., healthcare or legal) benefit from Allstream’s fiber-rich infrastructure and robust Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Offerings
Allstream’s offerings are categorized into three main segments:
- Connectivity Solutions: Includes Business Internet (Fiber/Coax), Ethernet Services (E-Line, E-LAN), Wavelength, and Managed SD-WAN. These are differentiated by bandwidth (10Mbps to 100Gbps) and the level of managed intelligence at the edge.
- Voice & Collaboration: Includes UCaaS (Allstream Max), Cloud Connect for Microsoft Teams, and SIP Trunking.
- Basic Tier: Standard voice features and voicemail.
- Collaboration Tier: Adds video, chat, and mobile app integration.
- Enterprise Tier: Includes advanced analytics, CRM integration, and call center features.
- Managed Services: Includes Managed Firewall, DDoS Mitigation, and Managed Router services, providing a "hands-off" experience for IT teams.
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Introduction
Welcome to the Allstream Evaluation and Buying Guide. For IT leaders and procurement specialists, selecting a communications partner is a high-stakes decision that impacts every facet of organizational productivity. Allstream stands as a unique player in the North American market, offering a unified fiber-optic network that spans the United States and Canada.
This guide is designed to help you navigate Allstream’s extensive portfolio, which ranges from high-speed commercial internet and SD-WAN to advanced Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and SIP Trunking. By the end of this guide, you will understand Allstream’s core strengths—particularly their cross-border capabilities and Microsoft Teams integrations—and be equipped with the qualifying questions and technical insights necessary to determine if they are the right fit for your organization’s digital transformation journey.
Key Features
Allstream’s portfolio is built around three core pillars of business value:
Connectivity & Networking:
- Dense Fiber Network: High-capacity, low-latency fiber connectivity across major North American markets.
- Managed SD-WAN: Centralized control over your network traffic, prioritizing critical business applications and providing real-time visibility into performance.
- Wavelength & Ethernet Services: Dedicated point-to-point connectivity for data-intensive organizations requiring massive bandwidth and security.
Unified Communications (UCaaS) & Voice:
- Cloud Connect for Microsoft Teams: A carrier-grade voice solution that turns Microsoft Teams into a full-featured phone system without the need for complex on-premise hardware.
- Hosted Collaboration (Mitel-powered): A mature, feature-rich cloud PBX solution offering video conferencing, chat, and mobile integration.
- SIP Trunking: Modernize legacy PBX systems with scalable, cost-effective voice over IP (VoIP) connections.
Managed Services:
- Managed Security: Integrated firewall and threat management to protect the network edge.
- 24/7 NOC Support: Proactive monitoring of circuits and voice services to ensure maximum uptime.
Use Cases
Allstream’s solutions are applied across various industries to solve specific connectivity challenges:
- Professional Services (Legal/Accounting): A mid-sized law firm with offices in Toronto and Chicago uses Allstream’s cross-border MPLS network to securely share large case files while utilizing Cloud Connect for Microsoft Teams to unify their voice communications.
- Retail/Multi-Location: A national retail chain uses Allstream’s Managed SD-WAN to prioritize Point-of-Sale (POS) traffic over guest Wi-Fi, ensuring that credit card transactions are never interrupted during peak shopping hours.
- Healthcare: A regional hospital group utilizes Allstream’s dedicated fiber circuits for high-speed imaging transfers (PACS) and SIP Trunking to maintain a highly reliable, high-capacity phone system for patient scheduling.
- Manufacturing: A manufacturer uses Allstream’s Ethernet Private Line (EPL) to connect their production facility directly to their data center, ensuring low-latency synchronization of their ERP and supply chain management software.
Pricing Models
Allstream typically utilizes a contract-based pricing model tailored to the specific services selected:
- Connectivity Services: Generally priced per circuit based on bandwidth (Mbps/Gbps), location, and term length (e.g., 36 or 60 months). Installation fees (NRC) may apply.
- UCaaS/Voice: Usually follows a "Per User, Per Month" (PUPM) model. Tiers are defined by feature sets (e.g., Basic Voice vs. Full Collaboration).
- SIP Trunking: Priced based on the number of concurrent call paths and the volume of DIDs (Direct Inward Dialing) required.
- Cost Drivers: Key factors include the geographic location (on-net vs. off-net fiber), the amount of managed equipment (routers/phones) provided, and the level of security add-ons.
- Inclusions: Most tiers include 24/7 technical support and access to a customer portal for billing and ticket management.
Technical Requirements
To implement Allstream services, the following technical standards apply:
- Physical Infrastructure: For fiber internet, a secure, climate-controlled IDF/MDF room with adequate rack space and power (typically 110V AC) is required.
- Network Equipment: Allstream typically provides a Managed Integrated Access Device (IAD) or Router. Customers must have a compatible firewall if not using Allstream’s managed security.
- Voice Environment: For SIP Trunking, your PBX must be SIP-compliant. For UCaaS, end-user devices must meet minimum OS requirements (Windows 10+, macOS 11+, or recent iOS/Android versions).
- Bandwidth Requirements: A minimum of 100 Kbps per concurrent voice call is recommended to maintain high-quality audio.
- Browser Compatibility: The Allstream customer portal is best accessed via the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
Business Requirements
To successfully deploy Allstream solutions, organizations should meet the following business prerequisites:
- Stakeholder Alignment: Buy-in from both IT and Finance is critical, particularly when consolidating multiple regional telecom contracts into a single master service agreement.
- Internal Network Readiness: While Allstream provides the wide-area connectivity, internal IT teams must ensure local area networks (LANs) and Wi-Fi infrastructure are optimized for VoIP and real-time traffic.
- Policy Management: For UCaaS deployments, HR and Operations should define remote work and "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) policies to align with the software’s capabilities.
- Project Management Lead: A designated internal point of contact is necessary to coordinate with Allstream’s implementation engineers during the porting of existing phone numbers and circuit installations.
Implementation Timeline
A typical implementation follows this phased approach:
- Phase 1: Discovery & Site Survey (2–3 Weeks): Assessment of current infrastructure, number porting requirements, and site-specific cabling needs.
- Phase 2: Network Design & Provisioning (4–8 Weeks): Ordering of circuits and configuration of the core network. This phase's length depends heavily on whether new fiber construction is required.
- Phase 3: Hardware & Software Setup (2 Weeks): Shipping of handsets (if applicable) and configuration of cloud platforms like UCaaS or SIP trunks.
- Phase 4: Migration & Number Porting (1–2 Weeks): Executing the 'cut-over' from the old provider to Allstream.
- Phase 5: Training & Handover (1 Week): Admin and end-user training sessions to ensure high adoption rates.
- Total Estimated Time: 10 to 16 weeks, depending on the complexity of the physical infrastructure.
Support Options
Allstream provides a tiered support structure aimed at enterprise reliability:
- 24/7/365 Support: All customers have access to North American-based technical support centers for troubleshooting.
- Proactive Monitoring: For managed SD-WAN and integrated voice customers, Allstream’s Network Operations Center (NOC) monitors performance and often identifies issues before they impact the user.
- Dedicated Account Management: Enterprise-level accounts are assigned a dedicated Account Manager for strategic planning and business reviews.
- Online Customer Portal: A self-service platform for opening support tickets, checking circuit status, and reviewing invoices.
- Professional Services: Available for complex migrations, custom network design, and on-site hardware installation.
Integration Requirements
Allstream offers robust integration capabilities designed to unify communications:
- Microsoft Teams Direct Routing: Seamlessly integrates Allstream’s voice network into the Teams interface via Cloud Connect, allowing users to make external calls within the Teams app.
- API Availability: For enterprise customers, Allstream provides APIs for billing and usage data to integrate into internal ERP or IT Management systems.
- CRM Integration: UCaaS offerings support "click-to-dial" and screen pops for popular CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics.
- SIP Standards: Allstream SIP trunks are certified with major PBX manufacturers (Cisco, Avaya, Mitel), ensuring interoperability with existing hardware.
- SD-WAN Compatibility: Their connectivity solutions are designed to work with leading SD-WAN vendors (e.g., VMware/Velocloud) to prioritize voice traffic over data.
Security & Compliance
Allstream integrates security into its core network architecture:
- Network Security: Offers DDoS protection and managed firewall services (UTM) to defend against external threats at the gateway.
- Compliance Support: Allstream services are designed to help customers meet SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS requirements through secure data transmission and physical data center security.
- Data Residency: For Canadian organizations, Allstream provides the ability to keep data and voice traffic within Canadian borders to comply with local privacy regulations (PIPEDA).
- Access Control: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access controls (RBAC) are available for administrative portals.
- Private Connectivity: Options for MPLS and private lines ensure that sensitive data never touches the public internet.
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