Business Telephony: Are You Asleep at the Switch?

Are you asleep at the switch over the business opportunities created by digital audio and computer programming in business telephones and telephone/broadband service? Do you take it for granted that your business phone system has all the features you need? Are you sure your Local Exchange Carrier (Qwest in 14 states) should be your choice for phone service and Internet connectivity? Here are some answers, and a tip about DSL availability.

First, about phone systems. These days, phone system features range from caller i.d. at the desk top (potentially great for customer service) to answering systems that can be programmed with specific messages for each holiday, from New Year’s Day to Christmas. Record them all once and you’re set for the year. Bill Heath, president of CommWorld of Tucson, says that Toshiba’s phone systems can include voice mail, four phones and a seven year warranty for under $4,500, installed. A seven year warranty! Imagine asking Dell for a seven year warranty on a PC. You’d get stunned silence or a guffaw.

Your choices for business phone service are also better than ever. Deregulation and technology created number portability, so you can keep your phone numbers and move across town and/or switch from Qwest to a CLEC – a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier. So check out the competition. MCI, formerly WorldCom, formerly Brooks Fiber sells business phone services. Other CLEC’s include Expedius and Time Warner Telecom. Plus, Cox and Comcast, the cable companies, aren’t far behind. At first glance, saving $25 a month on six business lines may not sound like much, but that’s $1,800 a year that goes right to the bottom line.

Middle-sized and large businesses have even more options. Time Warner Telecom, for example, offers a package, Versipac, that gives you enough bandwidth for a customized, scalable number of phone lines and high speed Internet access. Les Smith, GM at Time Warner Telecom in Tucson, says that Versipac services start at $425 per month and include 6-24 lines, with dynamic allocation of bandwidth for your Internet service, with connection speeds up to 4 MBPS (mega bits per second).

Business phone number portability does involve a small catch. You can be misled about DSL availability. Here’s why. Initially, Qwest checks DSL availability based on your phone number. Historically, phone numbers were geographical in origin. So if you port your phone number from a “no DSL here” location across town, Qwest may tell you that your new location has no DSL. The opposite can also be true – you can be told you can get DSL when you can’t.

The solution is to port your main number wherever you go, but ask about/get a new phone line, and a new number, for your new DSL line, based on your geographic location. Above all, when asking Qwest about DSL, never trust the first answer you get. Get an alternative telecommunications provider/ISP, to check out DSL avail as well. Better yet, ask businesses adjacent to your new location whether they have DSL or cable. If they do, find out what phone number and company they’re getting it from. And how fast is it? Then give the company of your choice that information.

This article first appeared as a column written by Dave Tedlock, NetOutcomes' president, for Tucson Business Edge, a monthly magazine published by the daily newspaper, the Tucson Citizen.

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