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CLECs Target SMBs with Dynamic T1
Wednesday October 08, 2008,
10:45 pm ET
AMBOY, Washington, Oct. 08 /Ron Franatovich/ --
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 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.
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.
"I am very satisfied with my new XO dynamic T1" added Mike McLoude, a small business
owner in Santa Monica, California. "The flexible nature of the system allows me to
conduct business with the same efficiency as many of my bigger competitors, for less
than what they pay." Mr. McLoude is not alone - many Californians are seeing the
technology light and taking the leap of faith away from traditional TDM.
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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