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Integrated T1 Progress Report
Thursday July 02, 2009,
10:00 am ET
ZEONA, South Dakota, Jul. 02 /Dolf Olviederlag/ --
During the 2000 Internet bubble meltdown, the telecom industry learned the hard way that
wild spending on network infrastructure was not the best approach to attracting new business
and investment. Over the past 7 years the industry, particularly the CLECs (Competitive
Local Exchange Carriers) have been focusing on building products that offer more bang
for the buck in order to compete with the Bells in their own backyards. One product that
has become the flagship offering to small to medium size businesses is the dynamic integrated
T1 line, which combines all the usefulness of 24 regular phone lines into a singe T-1
capable of delivering high-speed broadband on the same 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.
Adoption of new technologies take time, and dynamic integrated T1 service is no
different. Since the telephone service is regarded more as a utility than anything,
business pay very little attention to changes in the industry. Significant price
reductions and incentive packages need to be placed on their doorstep by proactive
consultants and telecom salespeople in order to grab their attention. However, once
the new technology begins becoming commonplace in the industry, momentum builds
and soon the new products become standard. Businesses soon see themselves at a
disadvantage to their piers if they don't adapt and keep up.
Will this train of innovation, lower prices, and services that add value to SMB's continue
to roll down the tracks of progress? It's all up to our government - and which political
party controls the FCC. Without the deregulation act of 1996, we would have never known
just how much the CLECs were capable of.
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.
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