We’re often asked if there is an alternative to the local phone company and/or how reliable are they? The answer is yes, there are alternatives and some are very reliable.

In the telephone world, what people call the “phone company” (BellSouth/at&t, Embarq/CenturyLink, or Verizon) is referred to as the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC). The ILEC generally owns the local copper and fiber cables that run throughout the city and is regulated by the Public Service Commission of each state they operate in.

Alternative carriers are referred to as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC). Many CLECs provide dial-tone to a business via a digital line called a T-1. This line often comes into the business via the ILEC’s cable, which they are required to lease at wholesale rates to CLECs. The T-1 can be broken down into 24 analog telephone lines (23 if using a PRI) via a channel bank. You can also connect a T-1/PRI to most modern telephone systems to take advantage of more advanced calling features such as DID numbers. The same T-1 can also be split to offer Internet service.

Is a T-1 reliable? You bet! And if you have a problem with a T-1, most service providers have a service level agreement that requires the issue be addressed within 4-hours, a much shorter time than traditional POTS lines.

Another alternative to the ILEC is the local Cable TV (CATV) company. Many CATV providers are getting into the phone business. They provide dial-tone via a special Integrated Access Device that connects to the companies coax, eliminating the ILEC wiring altogether. The cable companies have come a long way in providing dial-tone and internet access. They’re gaining market share quickly due to their low prices.

A third alternative is a Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP). An ITSP offers dial-tone via voice over IP (VoIP), carried by the internet. The most well known ITSP is Vonage, but there are countless others. Vonage, and many other ITSPs utilize analog terminal adapters to convert their signal to POTS lines that can be used with any standard telephone.

ITSP’s have made some headway into the dial-tone business as well. Remember that they depend on the public internet to deliver their product. When considering using an ITSP, make sure you have a very good internet connection, whether it is DSL, Cable Broadband or a T-1. You also need to make sure your vendor understands the importance of Quality of Service (QOS) settings on your network, to give priority to voice packets.

Some of these alternatives are better than others in price and performance. Should have any questions about these choices, and which would be best for your business, give me a call. We can also recommend some providers that have proven reliable over the years.

Larry Nazworth

As we continue to look at ways to save "green," let’s take a moment to look at the business telephone system. Yeah, I know most people don’t get real excited about telephone systems, until they stop working, but I do! Having sold, installed, maintained, and repaired phone systems for the past 22 years, I’ve seen quite a few changes. The past few years have brought some enhancements that can save many businesses some money, while making things more convenient for the customer.

One of the business telephone systems we sell at North Florida Communications is the LG iPECS VoIP system, formally marketed in the USA as the Vodavi Telenium. The iPECS differs somewhat from a tradition telephone system in that it has a fully distributed architecture, which simply means you can have different modules in different buildings on a campus, or in different cities. While the iPECS is a fully blown VoIP phone system, you can also purchase gateways for analog or existing digital phones.

Here’s a few ways to save some green with the iPECS telephone system:

1) SIP Trunking. Many businesses rely heavily on their business telephone system, and consequently have a very large bill each month from the telephone company. SIP Trunking allows you to route some or all of your calls through an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) via the internet. ITSPs are typically much more economical than your local exchange carrier. However, many LECs and CLECs are getting into the SIP business.

SIP Trunks also provide the ability to have DID numbers, for a very small cost each month. With DIDs, each employee or department can have their own phone number, helping to reduce the need for a receptionist to route calls, as well as speeding customers response time.

DID numbers can also be used to gauge a marketing campaign’s response and effectiveness. You can place one number on your web-site, another number on your newspaper ads, and yet another number on direct-mail pieces. Each time someone calls, your phone system will tell you what number their calling into.

There are many more uses for SIP Trunking, but those will have to wait for another day.

2) Unified Messaging (UM). Since I spend a good amount of time out of the office, I’ve called in thousands of times over the years to check messages. Fortunately, I no longer have to do that. My voice-mail messages are now forwarded to by email. I can access them from home, from my laptop, or any place else there is internet access. Even more convenient is that they’re automatically picked up by my web-enabled cell phone.

UM also allows me to receive faxes via my email account. While faxes are not used nearly as much as in the past, we still get a few. Again, it doesn’t matter where I’m at, the fax will be emailed to me and can be viewed on my cell as well.

3) Multiple Offices Operate as One. One of the features of modern VoIP telephone systems is the ability to tie multiple offices together via the internet, or an existing IP network. So, if you had an office in Gainesville, Florida and one in Ocala, Florida, you could tie both office phone systems together. This would eliminate toll charges for calls between offices, and allow employees in Gainesville to dial out through the Ocala lines and vice-versa.

Additionally, office staff at one location would be able to answer calls coming from the other location. Perhaps you don’t need an operator/receptionist at both locations. You could have one person in Gainesville to answer all calls, and Ocala callers would never know the difference. Don’t need to staff the Gainesville office every day of the week? No problem, the calls can be answered in Ocala. Someone calls Ocala wanting AR, but they’re in Gainesville? Just transfer them!

4) Remote Users. A few years ago a client of ours had a key employee move from Gainesville to Montana. Our client wanted to keep the employee so he had us install a VoIP telephone system and send a phone to Montana. This valued associate worked for our client for several more years taking calls every day from her home in Montana using a normal DSL internet connection. No one ever knew the difference, unless she told them.

A remote VoIP phone can allow employees to work from home, making it more convenient for them AND saving the cost of expensive office space. Working from home also helps the environment by keeping more cars off the road.

Do you travel a lot but still need to connect to your office telephone system? A soft-phone can be installed on your laptop. Just connect to the internet, put on your headset and start talking. You’ll be able to make and receive calls to your coworkers and clients, just like you would use your standard office telephone. The iPECS even has a built in "web-phone" that allows you to connect from any web-browser in the world.

There are other ways that a modern telephone system can help you organization operate more efficiently while increasing customer service and I’m sure we’ll discuss those in the future. The level of services achieved from a telephone system, like all sophisticated business electronics, has as much to do with the installing company as it does the equipment. Please call me if I can help, (352)224-3033.

Larry Nazworth