UPDATE 1-Neutral Tandem Q3 beats Street, ups '09 revenue view

* Q3 shr $0.32 vs est $0.31

* Q3 rev $44.7 mln vs est $43.1 mln

* Raises FY '09 rev outlook

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Neutral Tandem Inc (TNDM.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which provides inter-carrier communications services, posted a higher quarterly profit that beat estimates by a penny, boosted by a 45 percent surge in billed minutes.

The company also raised its full-year revenue outlook to between $168 million and $170 million, up from its prior forecast range of $162 million to $168 million. [ID:nWNAB9681]

Net income for the third quarter rose about 80 percent to $11.1 million, or 32 cents a share, compared to $6.2 million, or 19 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 43.5 percent to $44.7 million. Billed minutes increased 44.7 percent to 23 billion minutes for the three months ended Sept. 30.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 31 cents a share, on revenue of $43.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the Chicago-based company closed at $21.83 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)