Backbone Directory: McLeodUSA

Founded in 1991, McLeodUSA now boasts a SONET-based backbone network spanning 25 states.

by Jeff Goldman [March 29, 2006]

McLeodUSA's fiber optic SONET-based backbone network spans 25 Midwest, Southwest, Northwest and Rocky Mountain states, providing a wide range of integrated communications services, including local, long distance, IP-based data and Internet services, to customers in 490 cities and rural areas.

As a facilities-based telecommunications provider, McLeodUSA maintains 38 ATM switches, 38 voice switches, 697 colocations, and 432 DSLAMs. The company has approximately 1,700 employees.

The company was founded in 1991 as McLeod Telecom. In 1996, it became McLeod, Inc., a publisher known for producing the McLeod Yellow Pages. Then McLeod added direct marketing and telemarketing services to the mix, and re-named the company McLeodUSA.

In January of 2002, McLeodUSA filed for bankruptcy protection, then emerged in April of that year with a streamlined business plan. The company continued to struggle with debt, however, and filed for bankruptcy again in October of 2005. McLeodUSA emerged for a second time in January of 2006, with a new board of directors and a new CEO, Allegiance Telecom co-founder Royce J. Holland.

The company's Preferred Advantage products and services offer a wide range of solutions including Dynamic Integrated Access (VoIP), IP-VPN, Managed Services, Integrated Access and Frame Relay.

McLeodUSA's Colocation Services provide ISPs with private, secure floor space, 24-hour access, and 24/7 monitoring.

The company's Carrier Access Services program offers ISPs the opportunity to tap into the McLeodUSA intra-city local networks within 108 cities in 17 states over its fiber optic backbone.

McLeodUSA provides extensive Private Line and Local T1/PRI access throughout the Midwest, with deep coverage in hard-to-reach Tier 2 and 3 markets.

The company provides additional customized services for ISPs from its Wholesale Services.

The company's Network Management Organization is made up of two fully redundant Network Control Centers and a unified Customer Network Management Center. These support centers are located in Houston, Texas, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and are fully staffed 24/7. McLeodUSA's Network Management Center employs carrier class network management tools and processes to provide both reactive and proactive surveillance of the network.

Corporate Contact Info:

	Executive:	Royce J. Holland, CEO
	Headquarters:	McLeodUSA Technology Park, P.O. Box 3177 Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-3177
	Voice:	319-790-7000
	Toll Free:	800-896-8330
	Fax:	319-790-7015
	Sales:	800-593-1177
	Customer Service:	800-775-4876
	Acceptable Use Policy:	http://www.360.net/Customer_Care/Acceptable_Use/
	Technical Inquiries:	800-590-1025 or sales@360.net
	Web Contact Form:	http://www.mcleodusa.com/CarrierRequestInfo.do
	ISP Products:	http://www.mcleodusa.com/MarketSegment.do? com.mcleodusa.req.MARKET_SEGMENT=CARRIER
	Newsroom:	http://www.mcleodusa.com/NewsMedia.do

Related articles    [Feb. 1, 2002] McLeod Files for Chapter 11