A Toll Free number is essentially a virtual number that piggy backs onto your main phone number. With this number people can call you free from anywhere in the country and just bill you a per minute rate. Some of the toll free plans include international calling as well so that it can allow you to market your company worldwide and have a number your customers can call for free.
A good website to research and find custom toll free numbers for your business is tollfreenumbers.com.
When connecting a WAN (wide area network) the most popular service to connect is MPLS (Multi Layer Protocol Switching.) This is done over the IP backbone of one of the tier 1 telecom providers. A lot of the smaller companies resell this service over the larger companies backbones. This service is done through a private connection from the router at location A to the router at location B over the private portion of the internet providers network. By doing this the two sites connect privately rather than over the public internet.
One of the newest services available is a T1 or multiple T1 that has voice lines, internet and MPLS all over one service. By doing this each site can have their own lines, and own internet access, as well as be able to transfer data back and forth over the private MPLS connection. By doing this it really cuts down on cost because you do not need to pay for multiple circuits. The one draw back to this is that if that circuit goes down, you lose your voice, internet, and connectivity to your other sites all at once.
One of the most important things when reviewing which company to go with for the voice and data needs of your company is reliability. Always review their service level agreement, and what the compensation is if service goes down.
The best in the industry for T1 based products is 99.999% guaranteed up time, and the industry standard is 99.99%. But if they don’t deliver what do they offer you?
Look for a company that will easily let you out of your agreement if they don’t deliever or one that gives you a day worth of credit for every hour of downtime. Look at review and research to see if the company provides their own facilities or they resell services off of someone else’s.
In telecom nothing is ever guaranteed, but what I always look for is when there are problems which company will fix it the fastest.
You have probably seen a lot of commercials saying DSL is better than cable or that cable is better than DSL for high speed internet.
With cable service it is typically faster due to that it runs over fiber where most DSL services run over copper. But with cable it is a shared bandwidth so that anyone in your area on the same service when they are online can slow your internet down. Also, because the service is shared it is less secure as well. Because of this for business applications we typically recommend DSL.
With DSL although the speeds may sometimes be slower than cable it is a more consistent speed and it is more secure.
Definitely check for availability in your area and what speeds are available before making a final decision.
SIP (Standard Internet Protocol) Trunking is a new technology, and the latest in Voice Over IP technology. Essentially you only need an internet T1 and an internet protocol based phone system and you can have phone numbers that you get from all over the country that will ring into you at one location. It essentially allows you to market locally all over the country from a centralized spot. The numbers are typically very inexpensive and the listings as well, especially in comparison to traditional phone services.
If your business requires a local presence throughout the country, but your calls are handled primarily out of a single location this is definitely worth looking into.
The LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) is the primary telecom provider in an area. They own the majority of the facilities and the majority of the other telecom companies provide services off of their facilities. The primary LECs are AT&T/Southwestern Bell, Verizon, and Qwest.
CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) are secondary telecom companies that in most cases provide their service off of the LECs facilities. Some of the main CLECs are Paetec, XO, CBeyond, TW, and Integra. Also, many of the cable companies are getting involved in business solutions as well such as Comcast and Cox.
In our experience the best and most reliable services available are from the LECs, these are the companies that have been doing telecom for over 100 years and know the business inside and out. Most of the time they are more expensive, but in the long run it is worth it for your business.
One question a lot of businesses have is should they go with digital or analog voice lines. There are positives and negatives to both.
With analog you need a phone number for every line that comes in and you have extensions for your employees. The one positive with this is that each line is on its own facilities so that if one line goes down the others still work.
Digital voice lines are more expensive due to the equipment needed to operate them, but they provide a lot more features. With this service you would need a PRI card for your phone system which typically runs $1,000-$3,000. The main benefit to PRI is that the phone system handles all of the features. You can have 8 lines for incoming and outgoing calls but have 50 phone numbers for your employees, the system can determine where there is an open line to make the call or to answer the call rather than having to answer a specific number coming in. The major issue with digital is that since it is receiving its signaling from the phone system if your power goes out in your office so do your phone lines. Also, it all comes in on 1 circuit so if there is a problem with that circuit all your lines are down. But just like an internet T1 these circuits are typically monitored 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
To find out which is the best solution for your business contact Intervive.
When it comes to internet connectivity for your business there are many options available. Dedicated T1 circuits, DSL or cable broadband, or wireless internet. If your internet connection is mission critical to your business we recommend a T1 class of service. With dedicated circuits you have an internet connection that is monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week. Also, as a dedicated circuit you will have your own private access to the internet.
The majority of the time you can get faster speeds through cable or DSL but those speeds can be misleading. With cable or DSL you are sharing your internet connectivity with a lot of other customers, so during busy times your speed can be slower.
Like everything else, though, a lot of times it comes down to price and you can typically get cable or DSL for a fraction of the cost of a T1. To find out what is right for your business please go to Intervive.com for a free quote. They will determine based on your needs what will be best for you.
For your business you will need telecommunications services (telecom) such as voice and data services. There are so many options when it comes to telecom that it can become very confusing, Internet T1’s versus Broadband, analog or digital phone lines, equipment.
Because it can be so confusing we recommend Intervive. They are a national telecom agent that can provide services for over 40 different providers. Because of this they can customize the very best solution for your company and find the providers that will give you the highest quality for the lowest price. You can request a free quote at intervive.com/quote.php.
Intervive has a great reputation and they have several years of telecom experience. They are also known for their great customer service.