What is PRI ? What are carriers charging ? A sample quote from the US and Canada

Have you ever heard of PRI ? How do PRI rates compare from city to city ? Country to country ?

A brief technical explanation: PRI, sometimes also called Megalink, digital, or fiber, is a TDM, ISDN type (circuit-switched) type telco service which is rapidly replacing the older style analog line. A standard PRI service in North America has 23B channels and 1 D channel – if added together you have 24 channels. These 24 channels are comprised of 24 channels of 64 kbit / second, or 1.544 Mbit / second (24 X 64). The PRI is a similar service to the T1 – a T1 is made up of 24B channels, or 1.544 MB as well. The T1 has 24B channels, and the PRI has 23B + 1 D channel. The PRI is used for voice, and the T1 is used for data.

The PRI is a digital service, which means that the sound quality is near perfect. Unlike an analog line, which sometimes has a 6 to 8 dB loss, the PRI service has a 0 dB loss, making the sound quality that much better.

The technology has been around for some time – Digitcom.ca has been installing PRI circuits for our clients since the mid 90’s. It is a very mature technology, with obviously, a very high adoption rate in the small, mid, and especially enterpise Telecom markets.

Next question: Is your current PRI contract competitive, and how do American and Canadian rates vary ?

I did a quick price survey – 1 in downtown Miami (with the help of my friend TJ Spohn from CPT Florida) and the other in downtown Toronto, 2 typical North American cities. Prices from the carriers are as follows:

Down Town Miami:

Nuvox
Rate / month $425
Install charge $0
Contract term 24 months
Lead time for install 30 days
LD rate .05 intrastate / interstate

Paetec
Rate / month $550
Install charge $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for install 30-45 days
LD rate .03 intrastate / interstate

AT&T
Rate / month $650
Install charge $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for install 30-45 days
LD rate .05 intrastate / interstate

Down Town Toronto:

Allstream
Rate / Month = $615 (10 DID’s included)
Install = $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead Time for Install = 4 to 6 weeks
Long Distance = $0.02 / minute North America

Bell Canada
Rate / Month = $672
Install = $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for Install = 3 to 4 weeks
Long Distance = $0.025 / minute North America

Telus
Rate / Month = $653
Install = $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for Install = 4 to 7 weeks
Long Distance = $0.025 / minute North America

Rates were coming down for some time, but seem to have stabliized over the last few years. Paying more ? Call your carrier !

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

My wife is moving us from Bell to Rogers. The switch happens Sunday night. Let’s see how it goes

Notice the title – “my wife” is moving us from Bell to Rogers. This isn’t my doing, in fact, if it were my decision I would leave well enough alone. Our home phone and cable have been with Bell for years (although our internet is with Rogers), and we have been running quite successfully, without incident, for the same length of time.

Why are we is she switching ?

My wife is on Rogers Day Time Live once per month. She would like to watch the show, and her aired episodes, but, we don’t get Rogers Day Time Live because, we’re not with Rogers !

Problem fixed. Right ?

Click here to continue reading

Avaya is giving away FREE Avaya IP Office phone systems

Well sort of ! Don’t get too excited just yet. But, read on …

This fall, Avaya will be visiting 20 small businesses—organizations with 10 to 50 employees—and giving them FREE communications makeovers. They will help design and install solutions specially tailored to each company’s specific needs. Actually, the installation, if the winner happens to be in a city serviced by Digitcom.ca, might be done by one of our own technicians.

How it works:
It’s simple: You will need to explain the “disconnects” (no pun intended of course) that are hurting your business, and if you win, Avaya will help you fix them (by donating a FREE Avaya IP Office phone system).

The disconnect could be technical—like an outdated phone system, or a patched-together “system” that’s unreliable. Or it could be a human problem—like frustrated customers or a key employee who no one can get a hold of. Or it could be a combination of both.

Whatever the problem is, you will need to explain this in a short video or written essay. You can be funny. You can be serious. You can be desperate. But however you do it, be sure to submit it by October 15, 2009.

Interested in finding out more – check this out …

Interested in speaking with Digitcom.ca about a new phone system (that’s not FREE) – then visit our web site or give us a call – 866-667-8357

P.S. I have been in the Telecom business for 20 years. I’ve seen some real horror stories out there, so if you are looking for some good ideas then give me a shout !!

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

Big Brother (Bell Canada) is watching what you are doing in a George Orwell way

“You must love Big Brother. It is not enough to obey him; you must love him.” – George Orwell 1984

Can you imagine a world where the information you access online, the personal and private data that you transmit, and the surfing patterns that you employ are all monitored by a corporate entity? A corporation that you pay to provide you with access to the internet?

Well – good news and bad news – you are already living in this world. Big Brother Bell Canada is using Deep Packet Inspection techniques to determine how you, their paying customer, are using the internet. What is deep packet inspection (DPI)? Wikipedia has a fantastic breakdown of DPI, and you really should read it to understand how badly Bell is violating the privacy of their customers. Basically, DPI is a wiretap of your internet, checking every packet of information that you send or receive.

What would a corporation do with this kind of information? Well, selling it would be the most likely situation.

Let’s just say that you choose to search for, uhm, compromising photos of inebriated women enjoying spring break in Florida. Since your ISP is able to see ALL of your search results with DPI, they might have sold your information to other companies that market to a person with your proclivities. Companies that want to provide you with more viewing options, similar to what you have previously searched for. Maybe at some times this is a good thing, but what if your wife/children/boss sees the results of your previous searches? This isn’t like a browser history that you can clear. These are targeted ads, directed at you, that indicate the types of interests you have online. Pretty hard to explain when they show up in your next search.

Or perhaps you feel safer knowing that your ISP can presort your incoming emails to determine if you are planning a coup. Perhaps this information could be sent to the government and authorities so that they can lock you up – before you have committed a crime.

Now Big Brother Bell says that they are not using this information to target specific individuals, merely they are trying to shape bandwidth to “punish” those that are using the internet for peer2peer transferring, spreading of viruses, or buffer over-flow attacks. Isn’t it fantastic that an ISP has the power of judge, jury, and executioner for the wild frontier that is the internet?

Maybe they can start telling us where and when we can go online, predetermining the “safe” sites that they have determined are best for us.

Canada’s watchdog on privacy has cowered politely requested that Bell Canada “generally” inform their customers about the DPI practice. A real watchdog would have demanded that Bell cease and desist all DPI operations, but I guess since we are Canadian, a polite request will have to suffice.

So – my question to you dear reader – is this acceptable?

And if Bell is allowed to do it, when will Telus, Rogers, Shaw, or MTS start doing it? If we don’t stop them, you know they won’t be able to overlook this incredible income stream opportunity.

Spread the word while you still can.

Tweet – Facebook update – Blog – email – whatever. Be loud and proud while you still can, for if you don’t say something now, you might not be able to in the future.

Telecom 2.0 – Where are we headed ? Nortel, Mitel, Avaya, Cisco, ShoreTel …

I did a guest post on AllAboutNortel.com yesterday. You could read the entire post here: , or, I have re-posted my guest post on TheTelecomBlog.com I know, seems strange that I am re-posting my own blog posting, but, I actually did this as a guest post for another site. Mark Evan’s has been a great help and a big supporter of this blog.

No, I don’t have a crystal ball but I wish that I did. I am looking at the next generation of telecom, and wondering where this rapidly evolving market is headed. I’ve been in the telecom business for 19 years – it’s almost like a 6th sense (although my sense is sometimes off).

With that in mind, let me offer my take of where the enterprise telecom market is going in the short and long term. Keep I mind I’m writing this post at a time when the customer premise-based equipment (CPE) market is at a crossroads.

Nortel’s bankruptcy and uncertain future has left many current and prospective customers wondering where to take their new telecom equipment business. Does it make sense for an existing Nortel customer to spend money on upgrading Nortel equipment, or, as my father explained in my early years in business, “never throw good money after bad”.

In other words, many of my clients are now throwing out their older Nortel gear in favor of new hardware, rather then spend dollars on upgrading their older Nortel systems.

Either way, Nortel is still a large player in the market but their absence at the table has left a void filled by their competitors. Of course, over the near term this issue will be resolved.

And what will follow in the enterprise telecom market?

In the short term, many customers looking for CPE will gravitate toward some of the larger players such as Cisco, Avaya, Mitel, and NEC. I believe these players will continue to shuffle market share around ever so slightly. There are also some smaller players in the CPE market – notably ShorTel, Asterisk / Digium, and Microsoft.

Some thoughts on some of these players:

- Microsoft hasn’t become the competitive threat I suspected they might – the enterprise market hasn’t adopted Microsoft’s OCS or Response Point telecom equipment – yet.

- Cisco is obviously making headway into the larger space but their SMB products haven’t been that widely adopted – yet.

- Asterisk, although a threat, isn’t taken that seriously within the enterprise market – yet. It seems that customers need a “manufacturer” to scream at!

The other spectrum of the enterprise equipment space is the looming threat of Hosted VoIP, Google, and Skype, which is hanging over the CPE vendors like a very dark cloud.

The world is gravitating toward an IP-centric model, and the “cloud” at a rapid pace. Over the next few years, there will a gradual adoption of cloud telephony. In time, the technology will be widely adopted as the technology evolves and becomes more reliable.

As a CPE vendor, I view the threat that companies such as Google and Skype hold over the CPE market with some fear. Not today, but certainly in the future. Cloud telephony represents a paradigm shift – something to be watched, and shortly, feared. I am going to label this next generation of telephony as “Telcom 2.0”.

What does Telecom 2.0 look like ?

Speaking along the lines of paradigm shift, the next generation of phone systems will be a highly intelligent server, much as they are now. The talk/communicate medium will not necessarily be the bulky phone on your desk, but rather a variety of end point devices.

Skype, Google, Facebook, iPhone, Blackberry – these all-in-one appliances will be the talk/communicate path, and the server at the back end will bridge these technologies together. And with the recent news of Silver Lakes (Avaya’s parent company) being part of an investment group buying a 65% stake in Skype, it will now bring together the old and newer emerging technologies.

In the meantime, I’m now watching the race for Nortel’s enterprise asset – the winner will change the landscape considerably.

What do you think? Where is Telecom 2.0 heading?

More: AllAboutNortel.com received some amazing, very insightful comments which can be read here.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

Bell / Telus launching HSPA network in the Fall?

So, as we near the launch of Canada’s newest wireless entrants, it is quite interesting to see how the established three are solidifying their networks and market positions. Recently I’ve taken keen interest on the upcoming launch of the Bell / TELUS HSPA network. Although there has been differing dates being passed along, it appears that both TELUS and Bell are on target to release their network somewhere in the fall with some optimistic projections suggesting TELUS might be ready to activate the network in September (Phones Review UK / Mobile Syrup).

In addition to the wider array of phones that will soon be available to both Bell and TELUS subscribers, it appears that Bell Mobility and AT&T in the United States have recently entered into a reciprocal roaming agreement (BCE) on each other’s HSPA networks. This not only will extend an extensive network to Bell subscribers in the USA, but will also open travelling Americans access to Bell’s new HSPA network – possibly cutting into Rogers’ once dominated GSM roaming revenue.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications (CWTA) recently enacted a “Code of Conduct” designed to provide greater rights to wireless consumers (CWTA News Release). This new code protects items such as transparent advertising, rate plans / packages and billing. One provision that caught my eye was an option to cancel your contract (without penalty) in the event your service provider changes your plan. I stated to think to myself “Where were you when I started paying for incoming SMS messages?” Although this looks great on paper, I guess time will dictate how effective these measures are in practice. It also appears that most of the major mobile providers (including new entrants) are onboard with the particular exception of DAVE Wireless?

Written by: Brian Cole, Telecom Enthusiast. Brian can be reached via email at: brian@colenet.ca

Skype sold. Silver Lakes is one of the investors. Silver Lakes also owns Avaya (along with TPG)

A small group of venture capital funds have agreed with eBay to acquire a majority stake in Skype. The group is led by Silver Lake Partners, joined by Index and Andreessen Horowitz Ventures.

I wrote a blog this morning speculating that this deal might happen, and also speculated that Silver Lakes might be one of the investors. It is now confirmed.

Quite a powerful combination – Skype and Avaya.

The next generation of phone systems will be a highly intelligent server, much as they are now, but, the talk / communicate medium will not necessarily be the bulky phone on your desk, but rather a variety of end point devices. Skype, Google, Facebook, iPhone, Blackberry – these all in one appliances will be the talk / communicate path, and the server at the back end will bridge these technologies together. I’m calling this TELCOM 2.0, and it looks like Skype / Avaya will be well positioned to take advantage of this technology.

Jeff www.digitcom.ca

The CPE Race is on ! Cisco, Avaya, Nortel, Mitel, NEC

Leading the way in the North American CPE’s race to see who the #1 Market Share company in the CPE sector is proving to be quite interesting.

At the halfway point it looks like Cisco has taken the lead, but there is a lot of year left, and some fantastic competitors.

These top 5 companies have gobbled up the lion’s share of the CPE sector, providing nearly 66% of all Customer Premise Equipment in North America. An amazing statistic, but it’s actually down from 70% in 2008. There are some strong competitors that are making up the rest of the market, but the top 5 are the companies to watch.

A bit about them and some explanations for their current success according to Allan Sulkin with nojitter blog:

- The “Marketing machine” that makes Cisco so ubiquitous has helped to establish the brand, while top-rated dealer support and training ensure that the support is there when the customer needs it. Being known as the safe choice doesn’t hurt, either.

- Consistent focus on aggressive pricing has enabled Avaya to stake it’s claim on the market behind Cisco. Bundling the UC All-in-One license fee with the Aura Communications Manager Enterprise Edition is unbeatable, and their licensing fee for the Standard Edition – only $50 – is one of the best deals around.

An aggressive pricing strategy combined with a strong product lineup allow Avaya to be a serious competitor, both at the Enterprise and especially the SMB level. As an Avaya dealer, I know that Avaya has some very aggressive (mostly Nortel targeted) discounts on right now.

A fiercely loyal customer base has allowed Nortel to hold onto the third place position. Though they may be losing some of their market share in the high end of the market, Nortel has been able to achieve stability in the lower risk/more economical market segment. The future of Nortel is certainly unpredictable at this point, but one thing is for sure – with a solid 12% of the market, there is still some value in Nortel.

Sulkin explains that NEC was able to slide into the 4^th place position over Mitel because of their recent improvements in the larger line size segment in the past quarter. Launching the UNIVERGE SV8500 system has allowed NEC to reclaim the customer base equipped with the NEAX2400 systems. In a welcomed change from the past, NEC is now using webinars to provide more company and product information to the consultants and analysts that can help spread the word about the changes in NEC.

Mitel has traditionally focused on the lower end of the enterprise market, but over the past few years they have been growing the capacity of their product lineup which has helped them gain more market share. Doubling the port capacity of their flagship 3300 and acquiring Inter-Tel has provided new direct sales/service opportunities as well as a solid team, skilled in selling managed services.

Well, in the top half of the year these five companies have shown solid and consistent performance. The competitors, many with less than 1% of the market but in total over 10%, are nibbling away at the leaders, hoping to break through the back of the pack and emerge as a real contender. With an estimated 5.5 million line stations in F2009 – this could make, or break, these companies.

Jeff www.digitcom.ca

Nortel’s Enterprise acquisition by Avaya is being investigated by the US Dept of Justice. Canadian Jeff Wiener writes to DOJ with reasons to back the deal

.
.
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001, USA

To Whom it May Concern:

It has recently come to my attention that the Department of Justice has taken interest in Avaya’s acquisition of Nortel’s Enterprise division. While I understand why the DOJ might be interested in this acquisition, I believe any competitive concern is without merit. As a result, I would encourage the DOJ to allow the acquisition to proceed.

I write this letter to the DOJ as both an active Avaya dealer, and a telecom industry insider. The Avaya link is important to the extent that I speak from an Avaya perspective, while my industry knowledge from nearly 20 years in the telecom market, which has provided me with intimate knowledge of the competitive landscape.

It appears the customer premise equipment (CPE) business market consists of five major players, which hold the following market share:

Cisco = 20.9%
Avaya = 15.4%
Nortel = 11.5%
NEC = 8.3%
Mitel = 8.2%

These five companies hold nearly 65% of the worldwide market share for CPE equipment, and although the company I work for, Digitcom.ca, represents both the Avaya and Cisco product lines, the technologies representing the biggest competitive threats moving forward are surprisingly not on this list.

What are those technologies, who are those companies?

Microsoft
Skype
Google
Hosted VoIP

The CPE industry is going through a paradigm shift with a VERY rapid migration away from the CPE market toward alternate means of communication, including the four threats listed above. These are the technologies that are changing our industry. The fact that Avaya is acquiring assets as part of Nortel’s bankruptcy protection process is proof the CPE industry needs some consolidation to better prepare for the future.

Avaya-Nortel Merger: Why It’s Likely to Succeed

I’ve just read Eric Krapf’s post titled: Avaya-Nortel Merger, why it’s likely to fail. In it Eric sites many reasons why he believes, as the title suggests, that the MERGER take over between Avaya – Nortel will fail. Although well written, and arguments well presented, I believe Eric is way off base. 3 weeks ago I also questioned the take over, further research has now proven otherwise. Some of Krapf’s reasons include:

KRAPF:
Companies overpaid and have too much leverage–crushed by debt & then the bloodletting begins

THETELECOMBLOG.COM
I suppose the presumption here is that Avaya is going to overpay. Is $475 Million a reasonable offer, or a steal ? I suggest $475 Million is a steal. Although I believe that Avaya will ultimately be forced to pay more then $475 Million, and that Nortel Enterprise will end-up a bidding war selling for $800 Million, even at that rate, should Avaya decide to purchase, could make their money back in a very short time.

KRAPF:
Poor strategic and tactical planning–once the deal is done, the executives can’t decide what to do next (call it “the Iraq problem”)

THETELECOMBLOG.COM
I’m sure that there are some very smart people (many of whom I have met personally) sitting in a dark smoky room planning and strategizing how they will make this take over succeed. Krapf suggests poor strategic and tactical planning – conjecture really. Nothing backing this claim up !

KRAPF:
Cultural clashes–Geeks-Suits, Europeans-Americans, Data heads-Bell heads

THETELECOMBLOG.COM
Cultural clashes – this is a take over, not a merger. Zafirovski has left the building. BOD has been reduced from 9 to 3.
Geeks-Suits – A year ago maybe. Avaya’s got a new chief in town and he’s doing a fantastic job.

KRAPF:
Strategically ill-conceived–even when the entire industry doesn’t see the value, somehow the buyer knows something everyone else doesn’t

THETELECOMBLOG.COM
The industry does see the value. Nortel’s got some major market share. Customers have been buying that value for a LONG time. Nortel has a LOT of product in the market. Lots of maintenance contracts, government contracts, customers, channel partners … and that revenue will now goto … “principally” AVAYA !

KRAPF:
The buyer forgets it’s really acquiring people
The Avaya-Nortel deal is really about bringing together very talented people quickly (my worry is that many of the really good people may already be gone) to create something unique which offers genuine value to customers looking for communications technologies, services, and support. The deal and its ability to succeed is ultimately about employees, customers, channel partners, and suppliers. It is about making the deal happen with speed, minimal debt, and minimal impact to these key groups of people.

THETELECOMBLOG.COM
Yes, good point Eric. And, as I stated earlier, Avaya has some amazingly talented business folks running the show. Avaya 2009 is not the same as Avaya 2007. Avaya 2007 was a stodgy, slow moving organization. Avaya 2009, post the Silver Lakes, TPG acquisition, has morphed into an entrepreneurial well oiled machine. A year ago I might have been more inclined to agree with you Eric. Not today. When I met Charlie Giancarlo last June, and then Kevin Kennedy in January of this year they both preached the same message. “Avaya WILL become a dealer centric organization within 3 years.” And the changes in the last 6 months have been outstanding. Avaya has made some big commitments in the last year, and they have followed through. And this is a BIG ship to turn around – kudos to Kennedy and his team for what so far seems like a job very well done. Granted, there is still some work to do, but, given what I have witnessed in the last 6 months the NEW Avaya is completely different from the OLD Avaya.

Yes, Avaya has been promising channel changes for the last 8 years. They’re doing it. I see the difference. Digitcom is a channel partner. I just finished a full day’s Channel Summit meeting held at Avaya’s Canadian head office. This isn’t something they would have done a year ago. That’s because this is a NEW AVAYA. Their focus is channels.

KRAPF:
I have an idea of who should–without naming names, I can tell you the profile of the “company” that has the best chance of pulling it off. The acquiring firm needs to be a private equity group with leadership who knows the communications business, has an intimate understanding of Nortel Enterprise, genuinely knows the people side of technology, and can quickly convince customers that it makes good sense to once again buy Nortel products and services.

THETELECOMBLOG.COM
Eric, you just described Avaya !

More: You can read some more comments on AllAboutNortel.com regarding this post.