djweis
join:2006-04-02
West Des Moines, IA | reply to teleswitch
Re: What questions to ask when shopping for T1 / T3 services?
Facilities based means two different things, you can either have your equipment in the ILEC CO and purchase loops or you could have your own fiber or copper to a customer. |
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T1 Rocky
join:2002-11-15
Dallas, TX
 ·Time Warner Cable
| "2. Are you a Tier 1 provider or do you resell access from Tier 1 providers such as Verizon Business, AT&T, etc?"
You didn't ask, but I figured I would volunteer this information since many people are not clear on this topic. Unless you are buying from AT&T, Verizon, Qwest or Sprint, then your buying from someone selling their loops. It's a simple fact - the copper going into your home or office is owned by one of these 4 companies. There are exceptions to this rule but they probably encompass .05% of the total market in the U.S. That's not a bad thing, in fact if your a consumer this is a good thing. The Telecom Act of 1996 requires the ILEC's to allow 3rd party companies to have access to the copper.
Here's what you should know as a consumer. Shop the price. The ILEC (AT&T, VZ, Qwest and Sprint) will be twice as expensive as someone reselling their loop. And further more, when you get a quote from an ILEC you can add 40% onto that quote when you recieve the bill for taxes and fees that the government "requires" the ILEC's to collect. I put "requires" in quotes because these are things that the ILECs have spent billions over the last 10 years lobbying the government to be able to collect. Anyone besides the ILEC's will not have this fee.
So as a consumer, would you rather buy from a telco and pay $700 for a T1 or $400 from someone reselling their loops?  |
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AnonAnonAnon
@rr.com
| "Unless you are buying from AT&T, Verizon, Qwest or Sprint,"
i thought Sprint spin off their last mile facilities into another company called Embarq?
also- are you saying that overall taxes and fees are higher when buying direct than through a reseller? |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| said by AnonAnonAnon :
are you saying that overall taxes and fees are higher when buying direct than through a reseller?
T1 Rocky's generalizations are worth keeping in mind, but not to the point of not soliciting info from ILECs. If you need a circuit, get quotes from many companies. For many addresses, the variance in cost of the access loop itself could be greater than the sum of taxes and fees. Ask the questions about the circuit cost, about "below the line" surcharges and fees, and about taxes. When you call references, ask them what additional charges show up on the bill besides the original quoted price. This is a big world with many companies and jurisdictional requirements -- way too big with way too many companies for such broad generalizations to be helpful.
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"Teleblend has an agreement with the Assignee to solicit and support former SunRocket customers." |
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T1 Rocky
join:2002-11-15
Dallas, TX
·Time Warner Cable
| "i thought Sprint spin off their last mile facilities into another company called Embarq?"
I don't know the answer to that specifically because I've never dealt with Sprint (I'm in Texas.) But Embarq is probably a subsidiary of Sprint if that is the case.
"also- are you saying that overall taxes and fees are higher when buying direct than through a reseller?"
Yes, in my experience they are. The case scenario is you get a quote from an ILEC for a T1 and they send you a quote that says $500. You sign up for service and when the first invoice comes it is for $700. You call your sales rep and ask them what is up and they that the additional $200 is for taxes and other fees that the government "requires" them to collect.
When you buy from a CLEC, you pay state sales tax and that is it (8% in most places.) When you are quoting from an ILEC, its good to use the words, "what will this look like exactly on my invoice?"
"This is a big world with many companies and jurisdictional requirements -- way too big with way too many companies for such broad generalizations to be helpful."
I respect your opinion but I disagree. I think that my statements are accurate for 95% of the country.
But I totally agree with rockybb when he suggests that you get as many quotes as possible. |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| said by T1 Rocky  :"i thought Sprint spin off their last mile facilities into another company called Embarq?" I don't know the answer to that specifically because I've never dealt with Sprint (I'm in Texas.) But Embarq is probably a subsidiary of Sprint if that is the case. Embarq is a totally separate company, having been spun off from Sprint as a regulatory condition of the merger with Nextel. »www2.sprint.com/mr/news_dtl.do?id=12060
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"Teleblend has an agreement with the Assignee to solicit and support former SunRocket customers." |
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