Sometimes businesses need to find a new telephone service entity. Perhaps your business has bought a used PBX or the old service company has failed you in some manner or your PBX was purchased on the used market and you need someone to install it or make changes. Who do you contact? How do you find a new, reliable company to make some moves and additions?
There is a slick tool to find good, reliable telephone maintenance and installation people anywhere in the country for just about any phone system you might have. Whether your PBX is an Inter-Tel or Mitel, Shoretel or Avaya, this tool will find the right maintenance company. And, the best part is that the service is free with no obligation whatsoever.
This tool also works if you are looking for a sales/service company to purchase your next PBX from. All of the popular PBXs are represented.
Take it for a spin today.
If your business has remotely located offices that need to be connected to your home office in order to share data, you should consider an MPLS based network. MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) is a feature that can be added to T1s or Ethernet service that is perfect for use in a multi-location network. Using MPLS, service providers can create one or more VPNs (Virtual Private Network) enabling your business to transmit all sorts of data between offices over the Internet in a very secure environment.
Your MPLS enabled T1s can be used to simultaneously carry normal Internet traffic including email, digital telephone and digital video between office locations yielding huge telecom cost savings. As a bonus, your network will probably work better than it does today allowing your business to better serve your customers.
By utilizing tools like QOS (Quality of Service) MPLS equipped services ensure smooth, great sounding VOIP phone conversations and digital video services. Video conferencing between offices or with customers will be very impressive. You will be able to utilize your telecom network as never before.
Where can you find MPLS pricing? QuoteMyMPLS.com will help you get the best possible MPLS pricing from several top-notch providers. A simple on-line form can be filled out in a couple of minutes. Check it out today and take your telecom network into the future.
Published on
July 10, 2009 in
VOIP.
One of the greatest telephone advancements for small businesses is the Hosted IP PBX System. You might be asking yourself “What in the world is this and why would I want it?” Well, the Hosted IP PBX brings features to your telephone system that are typically found on telephone systems used by much larger companies. This can really make a lasting impression on a customer when she calls you.
Now your small business can have telephone features like, call transfer, conference calling, intercom, automated telephone receptionist, corporate directory and more. What’s more is that this is all done using IP on your existing computer network within your office. And, it can extend over the Internet on your existing high speed Internet lines so that remote employees working out of the houses or offices in another city can be connect just as if they were in an adjacent room. Since this is IP based, moving an office phone is as simple is plugging it into the computer outlet in the new location, whether in the adjacent room or in a different city. All of this eliminates costly move and add fees common with a normal PBX based phone system.
One of the best Hosted IP PBX systems for small businesses is the Virtual Office system. Virtual Office is a low cost system that is chock full of big business features. The Virtual Attendant feature really gives a “big business” feel to your customers when they call. Extensions can be configured a number of ways dependent on calling patterns and usage.
Whether you need to upgrade an old phone system, add more users or you have a new business, you owe it to your employees and your customers to look at a Hosted IP PBX based telephone system.
Published on
July 3, 2009 in
T1.
Many businesses, when shopping for a high-speed Internet access service, are tempted to buy DSL service. They may look at the cost of a T1 and the cost of the DSL and make a decision based on cost alone. But, is that really wise? Yes, “Business DSL” can be found for under $100 per month and T1 costs range from just under $300 in metro areas to over $500 per month in less populated areas.
Does the under $100 DSL service really compare to T1 service? This Bloggist doesn’t think so. There are major differences between the two types of service. One area of difference is in the time to repair in the event of an outage. T1 service typically comes with time to repair guarantees. In most cases, the T1 providers will guarantee to repair an outage within 4 hours of notification. If not repaired within the guaranteed time frame, rebates are made to the customer. This elevates T1 repair to the top of the list when there might be lots of problems on the telephone network. With a DSL, however, outage restoration is typically handled on a “best effort” basis. There are no guarantees. The repair orders are handled basically on a first in, first out basis. Is that the way you want your vital Internet connection to be treated? If your customers or suppliers can’t email you because your DSL is down, wouldn’t that be a serious problem for your business?
A T1 also provides dedicated 1.544 Mbit/s service. It’s the same speed all of the time. It is 1.544 Mbit/s in both the upload and the download direction. DSLs typically have portions of the circuit that are ‘oversubscribed”. Another words, portions of your circuit are shared by other users. This can lead to slow downs during busy times.
DSL speeds can also be unsymmetrical. Typically, the upload speed is considerable slower than the download speed.
Business DSL may have a place for the home office or the smallest of businesses. But, if you want to present your business as being first class and always available to your customer, this Bloggist feels that a T1 should be seriously considered.
Instant T1 pricing for your location can be obtained at QuoteMyT1.com.
Reliable, quality high-speed Internet service for business has been traditionally provided using T1 (DS1) over copper wires. T1 is a proven workhorse for this type of service. More and more providers are now offering Ethernet based high-speed Internet service. Where available, a wise business owner or IT person should really consider the Ethernet option.
Ethernet delivery of high-speed Internet has all of the advantages that T1 offers. There are performance and uptime guarantees. Like T1, Ethernet has dedicated bandwidth. In addition, there are cost advantages and you can get higher speed service. A T1 provides a data rate of 1.544 Mbit/s. Ethernet typically is available in 10 Mbit/s increments up to 1000 Mbit/s. Some providers offer rates starting lower than 10 Mbit/s. The point is that there is a lot of flexibility to match any business requirement.
The real advantage is cost. These days a T1 providing Direct Internet Access (DIA) can be had for as little as $300 per month in most major metro areas. This is equivalent to about $194 per Mbit/s. A 10 Mbit/s Ethernet line may cost around $950 per month or $95 per Mbit/s. To get about the same bandwidth as the Ethernet line, the business would require over 6 T1s working together at a cost of $1,800 per month—about twice what the Ethernet service would cost. For businesses requiring high bandwidths, Ethernet should be considered.
T1s are available just about anywhere. At this time, Ethernet is not as readily available. To find out if the Ethernet option is available at your location, visit QuoteMyEthernet.com. Instant T1 quotes are available at QuoteMyT1.com.
Published on
July 2, 2009 in
MPLS and T1.
T1s have been a mainstay in the Telecom world since being introduced in 1961. Originally developed to transport digital voice channels, T1s are now used to transport all sorts of traffic including broadcast audio, computer data, IP traffic as well as digital voice channels.
As a T-Carrier, the T1 is a member of the North American Digital multiplex hierarchy. As such it is primarily utilized in North America. The T1, also known as a DS1, operates at a data rate of 1.544 Mbit/s. Other members of this hierarchy include the T3, also known as a DS3, which is equivalent to 28 T1s having a data rate of 44.736 Mbit/s.
So what can the business owner use a T1 for? Providers offer T1 service to provide a very reliable connection to the Internet. Specially configured T1s can also provide multiple services simultaneously. Internet traffic can be combined with telephone traffic on the same T1 line. More about this in future postings. You can also learn more at MPLS.QuoteMyT1.com.
T1 service typically comes with availability and restoration time guarantees. Whereas other services like DSL outages are restored on a “best effort” basis. An outage or problem with a T1 line is guaranteed to be restored within a relatively short period of time. T1 service is also a fixed data rate with dedicated capacity. DSL service, on the other hand, does not have dedicated, fixed capacity. Capacity is shared in some portions of the circuit with other users and at times can provide throughput substantially below T1 rates.
More about T1s and how businesses can capitalize on them will be in future postings.
Welcome to The Telecom Bloggist. Using this blog, I hope to provide useful information about telecom services and products that might be helpful for business owners and managers. Using this information, it is my hope that key decision making people can be equipped to make more informed decisions about telecom services and products needed by their companies.
The blog will be kept very informal. It will not be written for geeks or technical wizards, although you are most welcome to read and comment. Rather, it will be written for non-technical people who are looking for easy to understand information about products so that informed purchasing decisions can be made. From time-to-time, I will also comment about how certain products can be better utilized to help the business be more productive.
I will also use the blog to introduce new products that might be beneficial to the business.
Although primarily focused on products and services for the business community, I will occasionally comment on products for residential use.
Generally, I will not be commenting about politics. However, I may blog about telecom policy and telecom regulation as well as proposed policy and regulation changes.
I invite you to enjoy my new blog.
The Telecom Bloggist