Philly and New York Service Providers Set MLB World Series Wager

Philly and New York Service Providers Set MLB World Series Wager

Companies Add Humiliation Factor to Pretzel vs. Bagels Bet

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK - October 28, 2009 - As the New York Yankees take on the reigning champion Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series, there’s more on the line for two unified communications providers. After last year's World Series bet with a Tampa-based company (Oranges for Cheesesteaks), Philadelphia-based Alteva, North America's largest enterprise hosted VoIP and unified communications solutions provider, has initiated another friendly competition with Stage 2 Networks, New York’s leader in hosted PBX and converged network solutions.

This year, Alteva decided to up the ante by adding a humiliation factor. The bet is Philadelphia pretzels for New York bagels, but the 2009 loser will also don opposing teams fan wear and have a photo session with a banner acknowledging the winner in front of well known landmarks. If the Phillies win, Alteva has chosen to have Stage 2 take their “photo of shame” in Times Square. If the Yankees win, Stage 2 has selected the Rocky statue in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“After winning bushels of Florida oranges last year, we bought a juicer and got accustomed to drinking fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast meetings…the only thing missing is a good bagel,” said William Bumbernick, CEO of Alteva. “We enjoy doing things like this as its fun for the company, overall morale and we get to show our support of our home team. Alteva is proud to be part of the Philadelphia business community, and we have an avid group of Phillies fans here.”

“While this is a great way to show support for our home teams, it also demonstrates how two companies who have a common business goal can use competitiveness in a fun and spirited way,” said Joseph P. Gillette, CEO of Stage 2 Networks. “The only previous Yankees-Phillies World Series was played back in 1950, so we’re looking forward to going head-to-head almost 60 years later. Who knows when we’ll get this opportunity again? We’re also looking forward to eating lots of Philly pretzels.”

About Alteva
Alteva, North America’s largest provider of enterprise hosted VoIP, has become the pioneer for showcasing the high quality and reliability of hosted unified communications solutions. Alteva provides businesses with “Communication as a Service” that requires minimal installation and configuration while eliminating monthly phone and on-premise system maintenance charges and reducing overall communication costs by leveraging the power of cloud-based computing. With a sophisticated open standards infrastructure, Alteva enables businesses to easily integrate existing business applications. Rather than building their processes around the limitations of their phone system, Alteva’s customers build their phone systems around their ideal processes. Based in Philadelphia, Alteva provides internet access, telephone system/service and hosted Microsoft Exchange/SharePoint/OCS services to multi-location growth-oriented businesses in 50 states and 14 countries. For more information, visit www.altevatel.com, http://www.altevatel.com/blog/, or call 1-877-258-3821.

About Stage 2 Networks
Stage 2 offers a robust and redundant network with connectivity, quality of service and local number portability available across the country and, often, around the world. Our services include hosted PBX or business phone system solutions, without the capital expenditure typically associated with purchasing a new phone system. Stage 2 also provides phone line replacement at reduced cost with enhanced functionality, whether POTS or PRI services. Finally, all of Stage 2's products are supported by robust data connectivity that can fully integrate its customers' communication platform for both voice and data services across multiple locations. Stage 2's productivity-enhancing features and functionality serve to differentiate its products and offer an added bonus to its customers. For more information, visit www.stage2networks.com.

PR Contacts:
Angela Cuzzo
MRB Public Relations for Alteva
723-758-1100, ext. 108
acuzzo@mrb-pr.com

Suzanne Urash
Stage 2 Networks
813-649-8504
suzanne@cre8groupinc.com

This release was published on openPR.