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Dynamic T1 Services Take Root
Friday April 17, 2009,
11:34 am ET
CHARLESVILLE, Minnesota, Apr. 17 /Olamide Lieberman/ --
For many small to medium size businesses, higher productivity with relation to their broadband
and voice services is just around the corner. Thanks in part to the recent price reduction trend
in the industry, carriers have deemed it necessary to consolidate in order to offer more services
at a lower cost than their rivals. Overlapping networks have been consolidated into leaner, more
feature-rich versions of their previous selves, dramatically lowering the price small businesses
pay for the popular dynamic integrated T-carrier (T-1) lines that combine local voice and
high-speed Internet service into one connection.
Dynamic integrated T1s are a fairly new phenomenon. Unlike their analog
counterparts that can never deviate from their initial set up configurations,
dynamic T1s are able to convert voice phone calls into data packets and
them prioritize their delivery through an all-digital trunk. The ability
to break everything down into the lowest common denominator (digital)
allows the system to change on-the-fly to reclaim phone lines for high
speed Internet the second the phone call is terminated. An integrated T1 essentially
provides the end user the same service as one data T1 line and one
voice T1 line, for half the cost.
The irony of the new small business communications revolution is that it took so long
to gain traction. The whole idea of reclaiming inactive voice channels for data applications
is not new, and was introduced by many CLEC operators over five years ago. So why did
it take so long for SMB's to adopt the technology and make the change? One might argue
that the Internet bubble burst in 2000 shook many people's confidence in telecommunications,
one of the hardest hit industries. With so many telecoms going out of business, or merging
with other small players just to stay solvent, many customers took the "wait and see"
approach before making the decision to entrust their communications with a company not
associated with Ma Bell. Now that economic Darwinism has taken hold, the remaining companies
are attracting new customers who see the benefits of the new technology without the downside
risk of loosing service or not being able to get through to customer service in the pinch.
To illustrate the types of decisions that small business owners are faced with
on a daily basis, we interviewed Glenda Probst, small business owner in Los
Angeles, California, about her recent move to a dynamic integrated T-1.
"I was in a quandary about how to go about expanding the number of voice
lines to my business. Before making the move to a dynamic integrated line,
I was using POTs lines. After the fifth line, my bill was above $300/month,
not including my $100/month DSL connection. Now, I have 12 pure digital
voice lines, 1.5 MB of broadband, and I pay under $400 for it. It was a major
upgrade in service with a reduction in total price. I only wish I'd learned
about this product sooner."
Recent advances in technology, fostered by competition from growing CLECs, is bringing
integrated T1 services to small business everywhere. And the trend doesn't look like
it will change anytime soon. CLECs continue to grow their networks, offering more
advanced services like metro ethernet, MPLS, and more.
CLECs are continuing to find new and loyal customers in the small business space, but
for how long will this trend continue? Will the RBOCs ever be able to give them a fight
on a level playing field? Only the FCC knows that answer to that question - all we can
do is be thankful for the past 12 years of progress and hope we never return to the
pre-1996 era of Telecommunications.
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