TBayTel Selects The Utility Company™ as Strategic Partner for Managed IT Services Division

TBayTel Now “Single-source” Provider for Managed IT and Communications Services for Businesses in Thunder Bay & Northern Ontario Region

October 22, 2007 Ottawa and Thunder Bay, Ontario – The Utility Company™, the leading provider of information technology (IT) as a utility to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), today announced a partnership with TBayTel, the largest independently-held regional telecommunications provider in Canada.

The Utility Company was founded to address the two major problems plaguing businesses today:

Over-Spending – the fact that the average business spends $360 per user per month on technology for an industry total of $400 billion annually.
Under-Utilization – unfortunately only 15% of this investment in technology is actually utilized.

Technology convergence including network/desktop, business applications, Web/Internet, copier/printer and telecommunications provides businesses with an increasing desire to consolidate (or converge) their suppliers. To deliver on its “single-source” provider vision, The Utility Company partners with leading service organizations in the IT and vertical channels, such as telecom providers, across 2000 exclusive markets in North America.

“TBayTel is the ‘standard’ for business communications services in Northern Ontario with thousands of SMB customers in their region, so obviously we are pleased to have passed their extensive due diligence and been chosen as their key partner for managed services,” stated Mark Scott, President of The Utility Company. “Having spent the last several months together building a business plan, we are looking forward to the roll-out of our services to businesses in TBayTel’s region. We are very excited about our partnership and the prospects of bringing our “single-source” provider solution to the Thunder Bay market for the coming years.”

“My team and I have launched a new phase of growth for TBayTel in Northern Ontario. To achieve key strategic objectives, we are focused on: the consistent delivery of high quality customer service; innovation; and unparalleled expansion in services and in service area. We have identified Managed IT Services as a complement to our Business Solutions suite and a key growth area for our company,” stated Peter Diedrich, President and CEO of TBayTel. “The Utility Company represents the most complete solution set available to us today on the market. Their vision of utility computing and virtualization is at the forefront of where the market is going in the near future.”

New “Powered By Utility” Program provides Turnkey Path to Managed Services and the Emerging Utility Computing

Building on the success of its Beyond Managed Services franchise system, The Utility Company developed the “Powered By Utility” program for telecom providers, like TBayTel, along with large resellers and retailers, to offer its Connected Office managed/utility IT services portfolio on a monthly subscription basis to current and prospective SMB customers. While the managed services industry continues to evolve with various versions of “Do-it-Yourself” programs from vendors and distributors, many IT and vertical service providers are now turning to The Utility Company as a better alternative. This new type of channel approach creates complete alignment to tackle the activity-based sales and marketing required on the front-end and insurance-like service delivery on the back-end to be successful in the fixed-fee managed service business.

“We believe the future of computing is about reducing on-premise infrastructure and complexity through hosted services and virtualization - leveraging the Internet as the delivery grid while providing 95% of support and problem resolution remotely,” added Mark Scott. “In Northern Ontario, TBayTel owns that grid, and thus can provide a very scalable managed IT services program in a highly efficient, low cost and secure fashion. This is ultimately what small and medium-sized businesses are demanding now and into the future.”

Connected Office 2.0 is now available for a monthly fee per user through TBayTel and includes:

1-866-My-Utility Live Helpdesk to support users with secure remote access to network and desktops for on-demand service and training.
Remote Monitoring and Management of network, desktops/laptops, security and data-back-up 24x7.
Security & Protection – ongoing anti-virus and patch management service.
Online Backup and Storage – remote backup of servers, desktops and laptops.
Asset & Lifecycle Management – tracking of all hardware and software assets, including updates, usage and compliance.
Communications Services – Hosted Exchange with advanced email and anti-spam.
Hardware/Software – full range of hardware and software to meet your network, desktop and security requirements with both on-premise and virtual options.
Onsite service – network/security assessment, emergency support, onsite maintenance, end-user training.
Utility Meter Reading – business-technology assessment to quickly determine what you are spending on technology and how you are utilizing your investment.

“Our menu of services is geared for both small businesses with a few desktops up to medium-sized enterprises with complex communications, networking and security requirements,” stated Angela Desserre, VP of Managed IT Services at TBayTel. “The combination of our live helpdesk and remote monitoring and management platform results in the majority of support incidents being detected and resolved remotely - no downtime or onsite service call. Essentially, businesses are paying us for uptime instead of just break-fix technician time”

Hear what small and medium-sized businesses across North America are saying by viewing our Connected Office Success Stories at www.theutilitycompany.com or register for one of our upcoming Friday Webinars:

Technology is Converging (and So Should Your Suppliers) –November 23rd at 2 pm ET.
How to Address Technology Over-Spending and Under-Utilization – November 16th at 2 pm ET.

For more information on our Connected Office services in Thunder Bay contact:

Angela L. Domansky Desserre
Vice President – Direct IT Services
807.625.2278
angela.desserre@tbaytel.com

About TBayTel

As the #1 Communications Solutions Provider in Northern Ontario, TBayTel is dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art competitively priced telecom solutions that ensure people, businesses and communities of Northern Ontario have multiple points of access to the global communications highway. TBayTel offers the region’s largest digital cellular coverage with extensive products and services that include data, voice, wireless and Internet. With over a century of contributing to the quality of life, infrastructure and economic health of the north, TBayTel’s understanding of regional market dynamics is unparalleled. www.tbaytel.net

About The Utility Company™

The Utility Company is the leading provider of information technology as a utility to small and medium-sized businesses, delivering the required hardware, software and service for a monthly fee per user. Our Connected Office™ technology service program empowers people to operate, communicate and manage their business more effectively to increase productivity, performance and ultimately profit. Our customers are supported by the Utility Service Network delivering on-site service and business-technology consulting across North America – our Beyond Managed Services™ franchise opportunity is available by prospectus only. Learn how to make technology work for your business today at www.theutilitycompany.com

For more information contact:

Aaron Bradley
Marketing Manager
1-866-My-Utility (698-8454) ext.7675
abradley@theutilitycompany.com