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Telephony 101. Part 1 Secrets Revealed. Dial “F” for Fone Fundamentals Presented by Ken Finkelson ABA 2004 National LRIS Workshop, San Diego. How do we get there ?.
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Telephony 101 Part 1 Secrets Revealed Dial “F” for Fone Fundamentals Presented by Ken Finkelson ABA 2004 National LRIS Workshop, San Diego
How do we get there ? Phil Anderer was “caught in the act” of an indiscretion by his wife. He quickly realizes he will need an attorney, for she has threatened immediate filing for divorce. She was overheard leaving instructions to her attorney: “I want him left only with one pair of socks and a belt from which he can hang himself after the judgment” He called your referral service’s 800 number.
Before the call even gets here • The 800 service routes the call to the servicing local phone company (last mile) • The caller is routed into your facility where it is handed to your system
Burnin up the wires • These are the “internal” connections to the phone system. • In addition to the lines feeding the rep, there are peripheral devices hooked in. These can be Voicemail, and other terminals
We’re finally there • From the floor closet, cables are run to individual locations on the floor, where the phones are connected.
Why is this important and Why do I care ? Each of these connections bear an expense, whether hidden or visible. Lets start from the inside out Excluding the capital expense of the PBX & the local and long distance charges, look at cabling and peripherals
Extending the phone company’s entry point into the building (DEMARC) to where your phone system is located can be expensive. This can be accomplished by the Phone Company, PBX Vendor, or Electrician/Cable contractor. Ensure you get quotes !
The cabling between the MDF and IDF or IDF’s is inexpensive (comparitively) to buy, but very expensive to pull. This is due to the size of the cable, coring, fire-stops, etc. Ensure you buy plenty of expansion so you only pull once. Generally this is pulled in by a cable contractor, electrician or the PBX vendor. Occasionally the phone company will do this, but they are not usually competitive and don’t want this type of business
Same rules apply, you only want to pull once. Ensure you have sufficient station cable to handle possible future expansion. Make sure it is data quality cable i.e.: Category 5 – 4 pair – UTP (or better) with RJ45 jacks. (Lets explain that one !)
What kind of system do I want • PBX • Key • Centrex/Essx • IP-Hybrid • IP
Both are legacy and they technically differ only by how they are classified by FCC-ID. They are hard-wired to the station jack so any compatible set will ring your line at your desk The exact wire leaving the switch needs connectivity to your exact jack PBX and Key System
PBX hints • Know what features you need and want • Get line item pricing • Try to get all the features you need up front and activate later. These are always cheaper initially and expensive later • Look for hidden costs
More hints • Hidden cost examples • Does not include cabling • Training not included • Needs server (not provided) • Does not include software license fee • Installation is during business hours – does not include overtime • Does not include UPS system
Centrex & ESSX These are same as PBX/Key except the phone company is using their switchgear and you have no (or minimal) hardware investment. In fact, you may not even own your telephone sets. Over an amortized system life, this will generally be a more expensive option.
Perhaps this analogy will help “Input/Output Device !” (Phone Terminal) 2nd Floor IDF 1st Floor Basement MDF Sewer Line Access to Phone Co.
VoIP - Advantages • Utilizes Data Network • Easier to maintain • Done properly – will be less expensive • Less Build-out Expenses • Less MAC • Cheaper maintenance fees • Open standards switchgear allow mix and match (NOTE: theory great – practice; not yet)
More VoIP Advantages • Sets work anywhere on network. Not port dependent • Variety of “softphones” available • Can be maintained by data personnel not necessarily voice experts • One network and cabling infrastructure • This is the future !
Line Side Means the phone or station connections inside the system Can be “soft phones” or traditional handsets Phones have Media Access Control Layer (MAC) addresses Trunk Side Means connectivity to outside world or remote offices Telephone company is the public internet or data connection VoIP Flavors
VoIP Practical Application • Faith Buena is an attorney who works with your LRIS. She has a laptop with “soft phone” capability on it. She can plug in anywhere in your network (or even off premises) and calls can be routed to her for her specialty. She can concurrently use her laptop to access LEXIS, her docs, etc
What if I don’t want to embrace this technology, just shake hands with it ? • Hybrids are available where you don’t have to go 100% into the VoIP arena • Examples of when to use Hybrids • You have a huge investment in sets or a legacy system • The system hasn’t been amortized yet • The system is serviceable and has custom applications written for it
What’s the Bottom Line ? • It’s a jungle out there ! Ask for help and use fundamentally sound purchasing techniques i.e.: RFI/RFP/RFQ. • Look at the whole system before you sign anything. Don’t ask for $200k for a system, get it approved, and find out you need another $80K in cable !
End of Part 1 - Questions ?? Part -2- Pumping up your vendor management muscle !
Let’s go to the Gym ! • Dealing with the myriad of vendors can make you feel like a 10 year old calculus student locked in a room full of school bullies. You may be smarter but there are more of them and they are bigger than you. How can you even the playing field ? Answer: bulk up with the free-weights of knowledge !
Who are the vendors ? • PBX Vendor • Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) • Interconnect Carrier (IXC) • Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) • Cabling Contractor/Electrician/Riser Management
PBX Vendor • Installs, Maintains, and performs Moves, Adds and Changes (MAC’s). • How is he/she paid ? • Maintenance Contract • Hardware Purchases • MAC’s • Time and Materials (T&M) where applicable
PBX Vendor – Cost Savings • RFI yearly maintenance pricing • T&M if this is prudent • Consolidate MAC Activity • Use independent for MAC work • Use the secondary market (resellers) • Pre-wire if possible • Learn to do the easy items yourself !
What the heck is a LEC ? The LEC is the local exchange carrier. In the industry they are known as the “Baby Bells” or the regional bell operating companies a.k.a. “RBOC’s”. They are a by-product of Judge Greene’s ruling that broke up the bell system in the 1980’s and created the SBC’s, US West’s, Bell Atlantic’s, Bell South’s etc.
What’s so important about Judge Greene ? • By breaking up the “Bell System” vendors can compete for your business. Today you can buy your local and long distance service from anyone in your market. • Remember when $ .10 for long distance was a bargain ? Now it’s a rip-off !! • The downside – It’s a lot more complicated.
Who are the IXC’s • The inter-exchange carriers are most commonly the big long distance carriers. AT&T, Sprint, MCI, Qwest etc. • They usually do not have local physical access to your facility and rely on the LEC’s for the “last mile” of service.
UNE-P // FCC // Court Rulings Simply stated, for LEC’s to provide long distance service as part of their offering, they were required to provide their “last mile” to the competition at a discounted wholesale rate. These Unbundled network element (UNE-P) rates were set by the government and were (as stated by the LEC’s) below cost !
Rulings Continued The Supreme Court refused to rule on a lower court ruling which will allow the UNE-P rate requirements to expire June 15, 2004. Ironically, IXC’s are the LEC’s biggest customers. One can assume there will be a re-negotiation of wholesale rates shortly.
CLEC’s (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) Want to be your own phone company ? There are over 300 in California alone. Lets say Jane Nosbisch wants to start a phone company (call it NosbischTel). She could make an arrangement to re-sell SBC service to you at a rate lower than the average. She negotiates a bulk rate with SBC for a 40% discount.
Secrets of “NosbischTel” Jane knows she can resell service to all the LRIS groups with a combined buying power to justify the lower rate. She offers LRIS groups 20% off the going rates. The carriers agree to wholesale the bulk rate to her at 40%. She can pocket the difference. All she has to do is bill you !
What’s the catch ? If everything works fine, None ! But, if NosbischTel goes bankrupt &/or stops paying their bills, you will be disconnected, even if you pay your bills on time. You are not the LEC’s customer, Jane is ! This also applies to outages and cases of line trouble.
Weigh the Risk vs. Reward CLEC’s generally offer the lowest rates. You will have to weigh the risk versus reward. Take the time to create a spreadsheet and see where the numbers come out. Then weigh the potential cost of an outage and speed of recovery. You are the best folks to make this recommendation !
Forget the old rules – There’s a new game afoot • Don’t get caught up in too much of the old naming conventions. LEC’s can sell Long Distance, IXC’s can sell local service, cable tv companies & CLEC’s can sell anything ! • So how do I play ??
What’s the bottom line ? The bottom line is you can win the game and lower prices. Using old proven techniques like RFP/Q/I will tell you where you are and where you can go. And, you are not alone. Use forums like this one to share ideas, victories and near misses.
