EZ Connect and User Services 1

Organization Makeup and User Services for

EZ Connect Pre-Paid Phone and Internet Service Provider

Pasquale J. FestaUniversity of Texas at Austin

INF382C – Dr. Chen14 February, 2007

1. Company Overview

EZ Connect is an Austin based phone and Internet service provider that offers

telecommunication services for citizens of the state of Texas in over 300 cities (“EZ Connect,”

n.d.). The company currently has approximately 1,200 customers with a current monthly growth

rate of about 80 net customers. EZ Connect expects to double its net growth rate within 6

months. EZ Connect consists of five home office locations (J. Esdorn, personal communication,

February 8, 2007). The company works on a pre-paid basis and will provide services to users

regardless of credit history or past payment difficulties with other phone and Internet providers.

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EZ Connect does not require deposits, credit, or past payment checks. In addition, ID checks and

Social Security Numbers are not required to gain access to the company's services The EZ

Connect mission statement reads as follows, "To offer affordable, reliable and high quality

telephone and Internet service to the under-served citizens of Texas" ("EZ Connect," n.d.).

2. Company Organization

EZ Connect employs four full-time workers and has one contract employee. A number of

the company's organizational needs are out sourced to other companies and contractors.

According to EZ Connect CEO and primary office employee Jason Esdorn, each employ works

out of his or her personal home or office and due to this the company is considered to have 5

physical office locations. EZ Connect's main office is located in Austin (personal

communication, February 8, 2007). Deregulation of the telephone industry allows EZ Connect

to purchase lines from local phone companies and resell them. EZ Connect's line service is

provided by the Southwestern Bell telephone company. EZ Connect is regulated by the Public

Utility Commission of Texas ("EZ Connect," n.d.).

3. Services Offered

EZ Connect offers local and long distance telephone service on a pre-paid basis to

residents in over 300 Texas cities. With payment of a connection charge and purchase of the

package plan, users are given unlimited local calling. Other services provided with the package

include call waiting, call forwarding, three-way calling, speed dialing, call blocking, call

returning, caller ID, anonymous call rejection and call waiting ID. For additional charges users

may have other services such as a non-published number, priority calling, and selective call-

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forwarding. Long Distance services are offered on a pre-paid basis and may be purchased in

minute increment blocks of 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1000 (Table 1). Based upon the number of

minutes purchased, Domestic Long distance prices to any of the 48 continental states vary.

100 and 200 Minute Service 9 cents per minute300 Minute Service 8.5 cents per minute500 Minute Service 8 cents per minute1000 Minute Service 7.5 cents per minute

Table 1: EZ Connecting National Long Distance Rates

EZ Connect also offers pre-paid international long distance service to its users at varying

rates based upon the country and locality being called. EZ Connect offers flexible payment

options to its users which include the ability to pay via Western Union or electronic check or

credit card by phone or mail.

General inquiries and support services are offered via both telephone and Internet in both

English and Spanish languages. Emergency support services are offered through 24 hour phone

support by company CEO Jason Esdorn ("EZ Connect," n.d.). EZ Connect is in the process of

looking to start offering pre-paid DSL service to its users in the near future (J. Esdorn, personal

communication, February 8, 2007).

4. Users Overview

EZ Connect services users in over 300 cities and towns throughout Texas. The company's

user group is made up of individuals from diverse economic, ethnic and local backgrounds. A

large number of users come from a Spanish speaking background and require personalized

assistance that can accommodate their particular linguistic needs. The vast majority of users

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come from households with incomes less than $30,000 per year and have past problems in

regards to credit history, the timely payment of bills, and difficulty living up to contractual

agreements (J. Esdorn, personal communication, February 8, 2007).

4.1 Income Level

According to Jason Esdorn approximately fifty percent of users come from a household

with an income level below $20,000 a year. Thirty-five percent come from a household with an

income between 20 and 30 thousand per year and the remaining fifteen percent come from

homes with an income of over $30,000 a year (personal communication, February 8, 2007) (Fig.

1).

Fig. 1: EZ Connect User Population categorized based on income (Feb. 2007)

4.2 Ethnic and Linguistic Background

The EZ Connect user group is diverse in its ethnic and linguistic background. The

majority (40%) of EZ Connect's users are African American. Users with a Hispanic background

come in second making up 35% of the user group. Caucasian users make up approximately 20%

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of the EZ Connect customer base and 5% of the user pool reports its ethnic background as

"Other" (personal communication, February 8, 2007) (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: EZ Connect User Population categorized based on ethnic background (Feb. 2007)

4.3 Locality

While EZ Connect can offer services to over 300 cities throughout the state of Texas, its

user group can be divided into four major metropolitan areas. The majority of users (45%) reside

in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. Customers from Houston make up the second largest

geographic region in terms of users at 30%. Fifteen percent of users live in the Austin area and

the remaining ten percent of users come from areas of Texas other than these three principle

locations (personal communication, February 8, 2007) (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3: EZ Connect User Population categorized based on locality (Feb. 2007)

5. Staff Overview

EZ Connect currently employs four fulltime workers and one contract employee. Line

maintenance and other technical aspects (computer maintenance, network maintenance, etc.) are

out sourced to other companies due to lack of employees and time constraints in regards to

taking care of such issues. All employees on staff are bilingual, speaking both English and

Spanish. Each employee works out of his or her own personal home or office and each is situated

in or near the principle metropolitan areas listed above. EZ Connect CEO Jason Esdorn lives and

works out of the central office located in Austin (personal communication, February 8, 2007).

Prominent services offered by the EZ Connect staff include setting up new accounts, offering

advice for maintaining phone service in the face of economic hardship, offering affordable pre-

paid national and international long distance services, answering questions and inquiries

regarding services and payment plans via phone and Internet in both English and Spanish, and

offering a way for economically burdened Texas residents to have telecommunication services

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despite past credit history, lack of citizenship and without contractual agreement. EZ Connect's

services are made available to potential users through advertisement in both print and television

forms (J. Esdorn, personal communication, February 8, 2007).

6. Key Observations

· The EZ Connect user group is comprised of a diverse number of individuals coming from

varying economic, ethnic, linguistic, and local backgrounds who have a broad range of

needs in terms of both technical and support services.

· EZ Connect's services are meant to help under-served individuals in the state of Texas

have access to today's much needed telecommunication tools. EZ Connect as a mediator

between contractual telephone companies and customers who have illustrated difficulty

in meeting their financial obligations to such companies.

· EZ Connect's utilization of the Internet, telephone, print, and television to market their

business, provide information in terms of their services, and offer customer support

allows for a broad range of users and potential users to be exposed to the company and

the services it offers.

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References

EZ Connect (n.d.). Retrieved on February 10, 2007 from http://www.ezconnecting.com.