Support
ISDN PRI: We’ve Heard Of That, Run That By Us Again
You’ve loaded up the kids into your fully-packed family station wagon, I meant late-model luxury SUV. You’re cruisin’ towards the Bay Bridge and bamm, the pounding temples return as you round the corner and see nothing but brakelights. Yes, the annual two hour holiday gridlock kicks in just to make the crossing. Subwoofers resonate with your throbbing headache, your wife goes into instant negative recall mode about vacation choices, your kids are fighting over the ipod. You get the picture, right?
So you simply surrender, dial into ESPN and commiserate with your newly-found road warrior comrades. Your buff and sparkling SUV inches towards the EZ Pass gateway to Eastern Shore heaven with the rest of your posse. Some wise guy yells through his sunroof, “Next 4th of July, I hear that each car will have its own lane and this traffic will be a thing of the past!” What!?
“..each car will have its own lane…“ This guy’s nuts. Imagine a roadway (and a Bay Bridge) that would have a dedicated lane for every vehicle that needed access to some destination on any given day. Just a bit wild, totally inefficient let alone impractical, not cost-effective and like the comment from the future Nobel Peace Prize Winner, nuts.
Doing It The “Old Way”- Not Really Nuts However, That’s How Analog Telephone Lines Work
When many of us ordered the telephone lines we currently use for our business, we didn’t have many options. We actually did purchase one line (or one traffic lane as used in the above scenario) for each inbound or outbound conversation (or vehicle needing access) required on a daily basis.
Lines were bought the same as our residential lines perhaps with the added feature of hunting within a multi-line group. Maybe we got really fancy and pushed the envelope by routing a toll-free 800 to our main published number. In other words, we did what Mr. Sunroof blabbered in the traffic jam. Bought individual telephone lines for voice or fax that sit idle until used.
Today, our business technology choices are more dynamic. Thus for any organization with 8 or more lines and recurring monthly telecommunications expenditures of $500, ISDN PRI is one of the best choices you can make to improve your bottom line.
ISDN-How Does It Work And What Are Its Sum Parts? How Does ISDN PRI Improve My Business Telephone Assets?
We all know that the one lane one car approach is incredulous. There just isn’t enough real estate to go around for that economic model. Well, with business telephone line capacities that exceed the threshold I outlined above, a shared digital PRI approach is the smart choice for many.
A PRI offers 23 B channels for voice, video and data traffic via a T-1. The 24th channel or D channel, is used for signaling. For high volume applications when combining PRIs, you only use one signaling channel, freeing one additional B channel for regular traffic. You can run 20-60 numbers over one PRI. This allows for better call center backup, overflow and alternate routing. Digital in nature, PRI's are equally good at handling voice or data. PRI has become the chosen access method for voice-over-IP traffic.
Here’s what you get:
- Elimination of pricey inbound/outbound voice lines
- Better rates for local/long distance
- Routing of faxes more efficiently
- Retaining and porting of existing numbers to PRI
- Consolidation of internet access on same “pipe”
- Scale-up easily with minimum cost
- Voice, data, video, and fax on PRI
- Free enhanced features, ie. Caller ID
Breaking Down The Costs
Lines vs. ISDN PRI:
| 12 line COMPARISON | LINES | ISDN PRI |
| FIXED COSTS -line charges -block of Tel numbers DID’s(qty.20-24) |
$380-600($19-$30/line) N/A |
$425-$550 $3.50-$6.00 |
| VARIABLE COSTS -Inter/Instrastate usage/minute -10000 minute/month@average cost |
$.050 -.085/minute $670 |
$.029-.040/minute $345 |
| EQUIPMENT ESTIMATE -non-recurring(one-time) |
$1100 | $2000 |
| SERVICE -recurring maintenance |
N/A | N/A |
| GROWTH -add a line or DID |
$19-$30/line | $3.50-$6.00/block of DID’s |
When ordering your ISDN PRI circuit, consult your voice solutions and equipment vendor. Many offer PRI solutions and address hardware and software requirements needed to interface your new service. They also play a large part of coordinating your installation, training, and support. Allow 30-45 business days for circuit delivery from the ISDN PRI provider.
