User Research - Phase 1 | EZ Connect Telecommunications

EZ Connect and User Services

Organization Makeup and User Services for EZ Connect Pre-Paid Phone and Internet Service Provider

Pasquale J. Festa University of Texas at Austin INF382C – Dr. Chen 14 February, 2007

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EZ Connect and User Services

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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.

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

EZ Connect and User Services 3 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 callforwarding. 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 300 Minute Service 500 Minute Service 1000 Minute Service

9 cents per minute 8.5 cents per minute 8 cents per minute 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.

EZ Connect and User Services 4 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 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).

EZ Connect and User Services

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15% 50%

Less than $20k $20k-$30K Over $30K 35%

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% 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).

EZ Connect and User Services

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5%

20%

40%

African American Hispanic Caucasian Other

35% 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).

10% 15%

45%

Dallas/Fort Worth Houston Austin Other

30%

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

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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 prepaid 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 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

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EZ Connect and User Services 8 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.

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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.

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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.

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

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