Care New England is a consortium of 5 health care organizations, including Butler Hospital, Kent Hospital, Women's and Infants Hospital, Care New England Home Health and Care New England Wellness Centers. The consortium also includes 50 remote doctors' offices and labs, with all the organizations connected via a private network. Due to rapid growth, the consortium had outgrown its Internet service and was looking for a telecom company that could provide more speed and bandwidth at a reasonable price.

Cox Business recommended its datalink and VAN (Virtual Area Network) service to connect the major locations in the consortium. It pulled fiber into 3 of the hospitals and select remote locations that required more bandwidth to get the system up and running. The remaining remote locations were tied into the VAN via 384Kbps cable modem hookups. Overall, the price was considerably less than competitors' offerings.

According to Mike Quinn, Network Specialist for Care New England, Cox Business simplified his entire process. "Before, I had to order the line myself, buy the routers, install them and maintain them. With the VAN, Cox Business supplies the cable modem, wires it into the network and I really don't have to do anything. I'm only responsible for one router now instead of 50. It's made my job easier."

In addition, the new network has resulted in significantly lower costs for Care New England. And Quinn was pleased with the service. "The whole team works together, from customer service to technicians, and they know how to quickly diagnose problems," he said.

"I can call the sales rep and tell him I need something installed in one location and he'll run with it," Quinn continued. "Cox Business installs the line, tests it end-to-end and makes sure what I paid for is actually what I'm getting. Once they turn it over to me I know it's going to work. Cox Business makes the whole process go easier for me."