As any industry grows, many companies expand. One of the downsides to expansion is that many customers begin to feel like outsiders. Friendly voices give way to complicated and frustrating call routing systems, which usually lead you only to voice mail. Let's face it, if you need to arrange a relocation, or have a question about your bill, or have an outage to report, you want to talk to somebody, not something. We think so, too. That's why APT offers complete and personalized account management, 24-hour technical assistance, and full network management. Centralized support. That means, depending on your particular need, you call one number. No call routing, no long periods on hold, and a trained support staff. What we do for you... Design and engineering Installation and maintenance Network customization Addressing and security Disaster recovery and alternative pathing Complete coordination of local circuit distribution Around the clock customer service Single, itemized bills Account Management As soon as you contact us and tell us what level of service you're interested in, your company is assigned a Sales manager and an Account manager. As the Sales manager works up pricing and availability to work within your budget, the Account manager works with the technical staff to clear a path for your network. Usually, the same people you work with on Day One are the people who will see you through upgrades, relocations, and network outages. (TOP) Global Technical Support As a subsidiary of the Associated Press, APT has communications facilities in every major city in the world. Our Global Network Control Centers are located in New York and London. At any time of day, in either GNCC, an operations manager is on hand making sure the APT network is running smoothly. Depending on your level of service and base of network operations, you can call a GNCC directly and get immediate assistance with troubleshooting, testing, and outage updates. All of APT's technical staff are fully trained and highly experienced. And as employees of the Associated Press, they know how important it is to keep information moving. (TOP) Central Reporting APT offers the highest network availability of any international carrier. But in the event of an outage, you want it dealt with quickly and efficiently. That's where Central Reporting comes in. By dialing a single, toll-free number, you report the trouble and Central Reporting documents it and reports it to the local AP communications office by way of our custom designed Field Watch software. You no longer have to call your local service provider, APT works with the local carriers. And Central Reporting will call you back within 2 hours with an update. (TOP) Disaster Recovery As the Associated Press has always been first on the scene to report a disaster, APT follows the lead of its' parent company. In January 1996, a bomb exploded in an office building outside greater London. The offices of an APT customer were detroyed. APT management and technical staff worked around the clock, throughout the weekend with our customer to get them relocated and operational. And because of APT's long standing relationship with British Telecom, our technicians were able to access the disaster site even as it was being sealed off in order to retrieve needed equipment. Of course, situations this extreme don't occur often. But in the event of an international bearer outage or line failure, APT can utilize its' global network to find an instant, alternative path to keep your data moving. (TOP) Billing Support Regional phone service has become a confusing proposition. APT understands the need to get the best service at the best price, but we also understand how frustrating it can be to sort out multiple phone bills. As an APT customer, you receive one bill. Our billing department utilizes a sophisticated custom software package to ensure your bill is correct and up to date. And the people who prepare your bill are the same people who are on hand every business day to answer your questions. (TOP) Easy Ordering New service, relocations, upgrades, and disconnects are all handled by one department. Customers send orders via fax or e-mail directly to an assigned Customer Service Administrator. The CSA processes the order, which is automatically forwarded to the local service provider, the local AP communications facility, and the assigned Account Manager. After processing, the CSA tracks the order through completion.