Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. Telecommunication Systems Division

IRVINE, Calif., August 18, 2009 — Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (Toshiba — www.telecom.toshiba.com) delivers VoIP business telephone capabilities to NewWave Communications, a triple-play communications company based in Sikeston, Mo. Toshiba’s Strata® CIX™ VoIP system supports 80,000 incoming calls each month and has saved NewWave more than $100,000. NewWave operates its main headquarters location as well as 24 retail stores.

Greg Lathum, vice president at NewWave Communications, said, “In choosing a new business telephone system, our goals were to network our 24 retail locations over IP to help save money on telephone service costs. We also wanted a call center with remote agents that would be easy to manage. Very importantly, the system had to be reliable and durable enough to handle 80,000 incoming calls every month.”

ESI.com, an Authorized Toshiba Dealer for 25 years, recommended Toshiba’s Strata CIX VoIP systems with IP systems for the company’s headquarters and seven main locations and IP telephones for the smaller locations, all of which would be networked over IP.”

Ben Alcorn, sales manager of ESI.comm, which is also based in Sikeston, Mo., said, “NewWave had a mix of older telephone systems at their locations, including three Strata CIX100 systems and quite a few Toshiba telephones that could be re-used in the new system, helping save on equipment costs.”

Altogether, NewWave has nearly 350 telephones at its 24 retail locations, all of which are networked over IP. The system has a mix of IP and digital telephones at its larger locations. It uses solely IP telephones at its smaller sites and for remote call center agents.

The Strata CIX670 delivers a myriad of applications, including Toshiba’s Strata ACD Call Center Solution, TRACER, TASKE, and eManager® administration program, which enables remote management of the entire telephone system for all locations from the manager’s desktop or laptop computer.

The system also utilizes Toshiba’s Stratagy® ES96 Voice Processing solution in a rack-mount 32-port configuration for voice messaging. All of the other applications, including the Strata ACD Call Center, run on the Toshiba Strata MAS (Media Application Server). NewWave opted for Toshiba’s seven-year manufacturer’s warranty to protect its investment. By using Toshiba’s Strata ACD Call Center Solution, NewWave was able to greatly improve the efficiencies of its call center, which has 162 agents.

Lathum said, “Our Call Center is entirely IP-based now, with 50 remote agents and 112 agents at the headquarters. Moving to IP has allowed us to have remote agents, change ACD group routing on the fly, and manage our 10 ACD groups at a level that was not possible previously.”

Using the TRACER application allows NewWave’s six call center supervisors to listen to calls, monitor calls for quality, and improve training. The supervisors also use the TASKE application for real-time monitoring of the call flow at the call center. Using TASKE, the supervisors can check availability of agents, call flow, call status, productivity, and more. They can also run reports using virtually any set of parameters.

Unified Messaging Ensures Continuity
Using Toshiba’s Unified Messaging capabilities, Bosma’s employees have their voice mail, fax and email in a single unified interface. It is integrated with JAWS software for text-to-speech audio cues.

Veza said, “Our employees get a lot of faxes, so the integration between the Strata CIX and the JAWS software is imperative for our visually impaired workers.”

Call Center Functionality for Blind or Visually Impaired
Bosma has its own call center, which is almost entirely staffed by workers who are blind or visually impaired. Bosma also provides call center services for its customers. Integrated with the JAWS text-to-speech software, the Strata ACD Call Center Solution enables blind or visually impaired workers to serve as call center agents as efficiently as sighted people. With Toshiba’s IP-enabled call center, agents can also work from home.

Veza said, “Call centers provide great job opportunities for the visually impaired because they can handle incoming calls quickly and efficiently. A lot of our call center workers go on to work at other call centers. The Bosma Call Center is a very effective training ground that helps prepare people for employment at other companies and increases their independence.”

Bottom Line: $100,000 Savings by Using IP, Cutting Service Costs and Migrating Existing Equipment
Toshiba’s Strata CIX IP business telephone system with IP networking across 24 locations has saved NewWave more than $100,000 over buying and networking systems for each location.

By utilizing IP telephones at 17 stores instead of having individual systems, NewWave saved more than $45,000 in system costs and eliminated $59,000 in costs to network each site. Re-using the three existing Strata CIX100 systems and accompanying telephones saved NewWave an additional $24,000. In addition, networking all locations over IP helped reduce monthly long distance service costs by $3,400 per month, resulting in an additional annual savings of $40,800.

Lathum said, “We rely on our Toshiba Strata CIX IP business telephone system to deliver superior customer service and manage thousands of incoming calls every day. Together, Toshiba and ESI.comm have helped us increase the quality of our customer service and improve efficiencies, all while saving us more than $100,000.”

About NewWave Communications
Based in Sikeston, Missouri, NewWave Communications is a leading “triple play” communications provider offering cable television, high-speed Internet, and digital telephone services to its business and consumer customers throughout the South and Midwest. NewWave is a one-stop shop for its customers’ digital communications needs and has 24 communication stores throughout the Midwest and South, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee. NewWave was founded in 2003.

About Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS)
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications.

TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. Toshiba Corporation is a world leader and innovator in high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products. These products span from information & communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; as well as power systems including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances. Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 730 companies, with 199,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing US $67 billion (FY 2008).

For more information on Toshiba’s leading innovations, visit the company’s Web site at www.toshiba.com.

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