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Flexible Products, Lower Prices
Thursday July 31, 2008,
04:01 pm ET
SULLIVAN COUNTY, New Hampshire, Jul. 31 /Hunter Sheffield/ --
Higher productivity for small to medium sized businesses is just around the corner thanks
to commercial grade broadband services that are now being delivered at a fraction of their
previous cost. Due to the ever increasing competitive marketplace and a mad dash to consolidate
networks, telecoms are offering their premium business services to small businesses for a fraction
of what they used to cost just a few years ago. Businesses who use more than four regular phone
lines can now upgrade to dynamic integrated T-carrier circuits for the same price.
The adoption of any new telecommunications platform is never instantaneous. Many
technologies, like VoIP for example, have been in the works for years without
gaining much traction. Enterprises see communications as their life blood. Even
though many are becoming aware of newer, cheaper mediums by which they can conduct
business, the risk still outweighs the rewards in their minds. Couple the
'if it isn't broken, why fix it?' mind set with the telecom meltdown of the early
2000's and it isn't surprising that widespread adoption of new telecom services
has lagged. However, the new technologies of IP-based voice systems are finally
starting to gain an audience, and the chorus of satisfied customers continues to
grow. As this momentum pushes forward, so does general acceptance of it viability.
The two basic Integrated T1 line configurations, as they exist in today's
market, are analog and digital. Commonly referred to as "trunks", these 24-channel
bundles transmit TDM signals directly to the service provider's network via a
local loop. Unlike analog trunks, whose configuration can not change once the
channels have been allocated, digital "dynamic" lines can change reconfigure
themselves from data, to voice, and back again. This ability to reclaim voice
channels for data broadband access when not in use gives the user the performance
of two T1's in one.
Prior to the advent of the "all digital" integrated T-1 in 2005, customers only had
one choice when it came to dedicated service: analog trunks (24 line bundles).
Not only where analog trunks expensive - the average cost ranging from $800 to
$1500 per month depending on the user's geographic proximity to the LECs point
of presence - they could not re-allocate unused voice channels to carry data.
Digital trunks, on the other hand, can reclaim voice lines not in use and put
them to work carrying high-speed data packets. That means users enjoy the full
1.5 Mbps of broadband when they are not on the phone.
Once a forgotten segment of the business telecommunication landscape, small to medium
size businesses are finally being serviced with products (like the dynamic integrated
T1 line) at prices they can afford. Gone are the days when the Bells can shove TDM
services down the collective throats of SMB's at prices that resemble a mortgage rather
than a telephone service.
As the competitive local exchange carriers continue to compete by introducing new and
exciting products at prices most small businesses can afford, they are coming up against
increasing resistance from the RBOCs who are forces to lease their own copper lines
to these CLECs at reduced rates. This reality has the CLECs rushing to deploy their
own networks and fiber routes, but the FCC may ultimately relax the mandate - leaving
all of us wondering how long the party is going to last.
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