PHONE+ magazine

PHONE+ was an American monthly trade publication serving businesses that sold, integrated, brokered, or distributed communications and technology services. Established in 1987, it was aimed at the channel between communications providers and end customers rather than at a general consumer readership. Its audience included private-label resellers, agents, brokers, value-added resellers, systems integrators, interconnect companies, and dealers involved in bundled voice, data, wireless, Internet, content, and customer-premises-equipment offerings. The publication's editorial role was to provide industry news and strategic information for channel participants whose businesses were shaped by changes in telecommunications, networking, wireless services, Internet access, content distribution, and related equipment. In this sense, PHONE+ functioned as a trade-information brand: its value lay in helping channel companies follow market developments, supplier relationships, distribution models, and the operational issues associated with packaging and delivering communications services. PHONE+ was published by the Telecom Division of Virgo Publishing, a media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. The magazine also sponsored the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, linking the publication to an industry event focused on communications-service distribution and channel relationships. This sponsorship extended the brand beyond print publishing into professional networking, education, and exhibition activity. The publication reportedly had a circulation of approximately 20,000. That figure identifies it as a focused business-to-business title rather than a mass-market magazine, and its specialist readership corresponded to the relatively narrow but commercially important communications channel ecosystem. PHONE+ covered an industry undergoing substantial change as voice, data, wireless, Internet, content, and equipment offerings increasingly became bundled and sold through indirect channels. In 2014, Virgo Publishing was acquired by Informa. Following the acquisition and associated portfolio changes, PHONE+ was renamed Channel Partners. The renaming marked the end of PHONE+ as the publication's active brand identity while preserving its channel-oriented subject area under the Channel Partners name. Accordingly, PHONE+ is best understood as a defunct or renamed trade-publication brand whose historical identity is connected to the later Channel Partners media and events platform.

PHONE+ was established in 1987 as a United States trade publication focused on the distribution side of communications and technology services. Rather than addressing a broad consumer market, it served organizations that sold, bundled, integrated, brokered, or supported communications offerings. Its readership included private-label resellers, agents, brokers, value-added resellers, systems integrators, interconnect companies, and dealers. The publication operated during a period in which traditional telecommunications products were increasingly joined by data connectivity, wireless services, Internet access, content, and customer-premises equipment. These developments created a specialized channel ecosystem in which providers and vendors depended on intermediaries to package, sell, install, and support services. PHONE+ positioned itself as an information source for those intermediaries, publishing news and strategic material relevant to channel operations and market development. Published by Virgo Publishing's Telecom Division from Phoenix, Arizona, PHONE+ was a monthly title. Its reported circulation was about 20,000, reflecting a targeted professional readership rather than a general-interest audience. The magazine's subject area included the commercial relationships and service combinations connecting communications providers, technology suppliers, and channel companies. The brand also had an events connection. PHONE+ sponsored the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, a professional gathering associated with communications-service distribution. This relationship gave the publication a role in industry networking and business development in addition to its recurring print or editorial output. A major corporate change occurred in 2014, when Informa acquired Virgo Publishing. After the acquisition, PHONE+ was renamed Channel Partners. The change effectively ended PHONE+ as a standalone brand name, while the publication's channel focus and connection to the Channel Partners event continued under the new identity. Its history therefore belongs to the development of specialized communications-channel media and to the consolidation of trade publishing under larger business-information groups.

• 2014

  Virgo Publishing acquired by Informa

  [1]PHONE+en.wikipedia.org

  Informa acquired Virgo Publishing, the company whose Telecom Division published PHONE+.

• 2014

  Brand renamed Channel Partners

  [1]PHONE+en.wikipedia.org

  Following the ownership change, PHONE+ was renamed Channel Partners.

• 1987

  PHONE+ established

  [1]PHONE+en.wikipedia.org

  PHONE+ was established as a monthly American trade publication serving communication-service distribution channels and related technology dealers.

A specialist business-to-business information brand for the communications distribution channel, positioned between communications providers, technology vendors, and the resellers, agents, brokers, integrators, and dealers that brought bundled services and equipment to customers.

• Trade magazine · 1987

  PHONE+ magazine

  A monthly business-to-business publication covering news and strategic information for companies involved in communications distribution. Its audience included private-label resellers, agents, brokers, value-added resellers, systems integrators, interconnects, and dealers delivering bundled voice, data, wireless, Internet, content, and customer-premises-equipment services. The publication had a reported circulation of approximately 20,000.

• Trade event sponsorship

  Channel Partners Conference & Expo sponsorship

  PHONE+ sponsored the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, connecting the magazine with a professional event for the communications distribution channel. The sponsorship extended the brand's role from editorial coverage into industry networking, exhibition, and professional information exchange.

• 2014

  Corporate ownership change following Virgo Publishing acquisitionM&A

  Background

  PHONE+ was published by Virgo Publishing's Telecom Division, and Virgo Publishing was acquired by Informa in 2014.

  Action taken

  The publication moved into Informa's ownership context and was subsequently renamed Channel Partners.

  Aftermath

  The PHONE+ brand ceased to be the active publication name, while its communications-channel editorial focus continued under Channel Partners.

  Source

• 2020-09-10

  Google introduces Verified Calls in Phone app[2]Google 在 Phone 应用中推出 Verified Callsthehindu.com

  Reported: 2020-09-10

  Google introduced the Verified Calls feature in its Phone app. The feature displays caller information and a Google verification symbol; Google said it would roll out in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Spain and India.

1. 1PHONE+en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Google 在 Phone 应用中推出 Verified Callsthehindu.com