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Momentum Builds for CLECs
Thursday July 02, 2009,
04:42 pm ET
MONROE, Maine, Jul. 02 /Daniel Johannesburg/ --
Small businesses all over the country are discovering a whole new universe of broadband access.
As the price of commercial-grade telecommunication services continues to drop, more and more
enterprises are starting to drop their plain old telephone service lines in favor of all-digital
T1 trunks that deliver voice and data over the same connection. These new enhancements were
made possible by the increasing pace of consolidation in the telecommunication industry along
with the increasing value bigger phone companies can provide.
"Like Forrest Gump said, finding the right phone service for your business is
like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get" joked
Elizabeth Forest of Detroit, Michigan. "Before finding Cavalier Telephone
through my Telarus agent, I was mislead into signing up for services that weren't
a good fit for my business. Add to that the billing inaccuracies and the hassle
it was to get everything straightened out. My new integrated T1 works flawlessly,
I am able to get full T1 data speeds when no one is on the phone, and I don't
fear opening the bill when it arrives in the mail each month."
With any new advancement in technology there is usually a lag in the time it take
users known as "early adapters" to try out and begin using the new services themselves.
Although dynamic T1 service has been available in many US markets since 2005, it's
just now that we have observed people beginning to embrace the new technology. One
such business that recently changed from a voice PRI and data T1 line on to one,
dynamic T1 line is Jason Oliver, a small business owner in Los Angeles, California.
"When I found out that I could replace my two T1's with one single dynamic integrated
circuit (offered by TelePacific Communications), I had two thoughts: 1- where do I
sign, and 2- why didn't someone tell me about this sooner!"
Min Lieu owns a small insurance agency in Maine. Five years ago he signed up with
XO Communications for a TDM-based integrated T1 line for $870/month, which did not
include local or long distance calling. Recently, he was offered XO's version of
a dynamic circuit called "XO Flex" for half of the price he was already paying.
"I would have been a fool not to take the deal" stated Mr. Lieu. "I'm able to
add headcount with additional voice lines, without any increase in expense or
degradation in high-speed Internet performance."
Hopefully the CLECs can continue to push the boundaries of innovation and economics.
The only thing that can keep them from the promise land is the gatekeeper of competition:
the Federal Communications Commission, and the huge Bells (AT&T and Verizon - that's you)
who make it a point to spend more money lobbying in Washington DC than Exxon Mobile.
Until deregulation allowed smaller, hungrier telecommunications companies the
ability to compete, the United States was stuck with technologies that were quickly
becoming out of date. Now that the Bells actually have to innovate to keep up with
the smaller CLECs, customer everywhere are reaping the benefits.
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