klawler
join:2003-08-01
Danvers, MA
| reply to mastermind278
Re: NorVergence Continued
I searched the internet for info on Norvergence and here is where I have ended up.
They have also visited me twice now. I am a skeptic by nature being in sales myself. If it looks to good to be true etc.
Here is the quote they gave me based on 6 lines, high speed internet, 3 cell phones and an 800#
Currently with Allegiance charges are as follows
Domestic Outbound $111.39
800# $100.4
Cellular $520.05
Internet $300.33
Total $1032.17
Norvergences Propoal
Cellular Unlimited $59.97
Internet $159.25
800# $24.95
Matrix Rental $478.35
Total $722.52
Looks good on paper but does it makes sense with the 5 year contract? I have gone through several providers over the few years. MCI called an hour ago with 4c/minute and 53c line charge blah blah blah.
I would really like to know if Norvergence is working for anyone and if this Matrix rental plan makes sense. I will also say that the "if your approved" speech was a little much for me. |
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Thee One
Theeone. What? Ain'T No More To It.
join:2000-09-27
Chicago, IL | What I find most interesting Klawler, about your quote is the Matrix Rental is almost twice as much more by itself than the charges for the actual service.
--
Life is an interlude to Death. |
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stev32k
Premium
join:2000-04-27
Mobile, AL
 ·Mediacom
| reply to klawler
quote:
Matrix Rental $478.35
That must be one hell'va box to be worth $28,701 over a five year contract. The other prices look pretty good. My bet is that if these guys can make any money this way the competition will drive the price of the box down. If that happens you will be stuck with an expensive and likely obsolete piece of equipment for maybe two or three years of a five year contract.
The other thing I wonder is are all the other prices for cellular, internet, and 800 service fixed for the life of the contract, and what recourse do you have if NorVergence goes belly-up. And what if the local (or national) service providers refuse to go along with the NorVergence pricing ie Nortel, or Verizon or some backbone provider becomes concerned that NorVergence is driving the pricing down too low and decides to raise the wholesale rates.
Maybe they will become the Microsoft of Telecommunications and maybe they won't be around by the time the current five year contracts expire. So I'm going wait and watch their progress over the next year or two before committing to a long term contract. |
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pfershin
join:2003-07-29
Warren, MI | Our quote topped that. Matrix box=$4955.58 per month.
Total 5 year cost $297,934.80. |
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stev32k
Premium
join:2000-04-27
Mobile, AL
·Mediacom
| quote:
Our quote topped that. Matrix box=$4955.58 per month.
Total 5 year cost $297,934.80.
They must have quoted you the 100 gig, super deluxe, dual turbo model. LOL  - I think that's called charging whatever you think you can get. |
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pfershin
join:2003-07-29
Warren, MI
| Even with the extremely high cost of the box our rep stated that our savings would still be around $3000/month. As soon as we started pressuring them they could'nt get out of our office fast enough. We're just waiting to see how long Norvergence will be around and what competition will enter the marketplace. |
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Norvergence user
@67.128.x.x
| reply to klawler
There definitely are big savings if you switch to NorVergence, but you will have many headaches and will have wished that you hadn't, especially if they give you AT&T cell phones. Our company has now been waiting in excess of 2 months for a reimbursement check due to over 40 contract breakages from our prior cell phone provider. This amount is somewhere in excess of $10,000. I do not know why it is taking so long even though there has been many inquiries regarding this reimbursement check. Also, many of our phones are already starting to break and after waiting 35 minutes to speak to a human being, I was told to bring them to the manufacturer. NorVergence will take no responsibility regarding this matter. Not to mention, the reception of the cell phone is subpar.
As for the T-1, just make sure you can definitely get access to other lines in case it goes down because it will go down.
Advice : Get the T-1, but make sure you definitely can get access to your other lines when the T-1 is down. As for the cell phones, if you are a company that relies on them heavily, stay away from the cell phone part of this deal. |
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bhood
join:2003-09-01
Redlands, CA
|  reply to klawler
As a customer and telecom professional it seems that the problem that I keep reading about at Norvergence is the customer size.
Anyone with less than $500-$1000 per month in in-bound and out-bound voice (not talking about cellular) is not a good prospect.
What Norvergence is selling is a hardware solution, with support, that allows you to put all of your traffic over the internet.
Yes, the lease price is high if you just look at the equipment. Try getting a carrier to support this tpe of solution for less than $200 per month. Sprint tried it and failed (Remember ION). |
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reg64
join:2003-08-31
Lewisville, TX
| That is a good point regarding the comparison to Sprint ION. I do wonder why all of the negative postings on this company, when you consider what they are attempting to do is not all that far fetched. As an independent telecom agent this solution does cause concern from a competitive point of view. The amount of traffic to be billed monthly decreases substantially, which leads to reduced commissions.
Aside from all the skepticism, I really believe this could work in those enterprises where the volume does exceed $2,000 per mo in LD traffic. Honestly a solution such as this application could reduce the "revenue pie" substantially. |
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cas_assocs
@nj.h | reply to stev32k
MATRIX box price over 5 years
isn't it true that over the lenght of the contract, you can bring 2 quotes from competitors if there is a solution that is cheapier.. So you can break the 5 yrs contract..
But if prices go up your still locked in at the good price.. |
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orchid1
join:2003-09-10
Los Angeles, CA
| reply to klawler
Re: NorVergence Continued
Do the math. $1032.17 x .70 = $722.519.
$722.52 Cost with Norvergence
-$ 59.97 Cellular Unlimited
-$159.25 Internet (T1)
-$ 24.95 800 #
=$478.35 Matrix Rental
Just think if the total costs were $4,500. $4,500.00 x .70 = $3150.00
For this fictional example this company may be paying a high per minute rate with their current carrier....or they may have a lot of domestic long distance or high 800# usage. Let's say this company's Cellular Usage was $1,000.00 of that. So let's go high and say Norvergence price is $160.00 for cellular....do the math.
$3150.00
-$160.00 Unlimited Cellular
-$159.25 Internet (T1)
-$ 24.95 800 #
=$2805.80 Matrix Rental!!!
Multiply that by 60 months...$168,348.00!!! That is what Norvergence will receive from the leasing company!!!
Norvergence then pays wholesale rates to the local phone company and Qwest and whatever Cellular provider they are using with this company. They are a reseller using creative sales techniques and and nothing more. |
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huskyvolleyball
join:2001-05-15
Marlborough, CT | reply to Norvergence user
has anyone received a cellular termination fee refund check from Novergence? |
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technerd2
join:2003-09-22
Parsippany, NJ
| Bottom line = saving big $$ monthly...also unlimited calling on cell and land phones....
most wireless providers want approx $300/month to give you 6000 minutes anytime......Norvergence gives you unlimited calling on all you cell phones 24/7 for around $25 per month per cell phone...so whats the beef some of you have with this company, i cannot understand. How about this, all you non believers just go sign up with a telecom Co that will charge you more than what your currently spending monthly and still charges you per minute rates..thats what it seems like most of you are asking for....and you people rejecting the 5 yr contract, you must not have faith in your company to last for 5 more years, so your better off not signing up, I wouldnt think Norvergence would want to deal with customers like that. and 5 years to be protected from inflation and the fact that it cant go lower that ZERO cents-per-minute, whats the argument?
And finally, lets say your a 4 man operation, and you biz booms and in 2 yrs you have 25 employees, your telecomm expenses will stay the same monthly rate that you were paying when you were a 4 man operation. Think about that!
4 man operation - $500/month (sample amount)
grow to 10 employess - $500/month
grow to 20 eployess - $500/month
get the picture???
peace |
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shilkshock
join:2003-10-21
Enfield, CT
|  That part Technerd says about "you must not have faith in your co. to last 5 more years, etc." and "5 years to be protected from inflation, etc.", my 2 sources at Norv. tell me that is almost verbatim the scripted rebuttal they are told to use for the objection of a 5 year term. So it sounds to me like Technerd should change his name to "Norveregence Employee". |
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telecomguy4
join:2003-10-23
Reisterstown, MD
| This may be my last post.
I thought that it was a great idea. I still think the idea is good. I just question the implementation.
Often it is a sign of a poor argument to attack a person instead of their ideas.
Adtran makes a good product. I have had better luck with them than CAC. Reselling loops relies on the provider for quality. Sure you will always have installation issues. Sure there will be the tired/ bored switch tech that pulls out a T1 cable (he meant the other one, really). I imagine that once you are up, they provide a decent product.
I just wonder about the long term viability of a company that is relying on finding that one additional subscriber to pay for the usage of others. |
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Ex NorV SM
@tmodns.net
| Agree or disagree with how the sell and treat employees. These are secondary issues with the viability of a company. I know, I know - that can open a can of worms but lets address the main issues that people are talking about.
First, it is not a scam. What it is is a different business model that makes other nervous. They have built a system that gets them their money up front rather than over 5 yrs. When reducing a customer total telcom by 30% they (Norv) are seeing maybe 20-40% of those charges as expenses over the life of the contract. So, you don't have to sell a customer tomorrow to pay for the customer today.
Second, just becuase the hardware component is the same as an Adtran does not mean the softwate is the same. It isn't. If you compare capabilities you will see a difference.
Is the company viable? Yes
Can they sustain over the long term? Based on what I saw and experienced I have to say yes. This is not a company that is wasting money on expensive offices, first class travel, top of the line office equipment and furnishings. If you looked at the company you would see a growing company that watches how every penny is spent. |
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technerd2
join:2003-09-22
Parsippany, NJ
| reply to shilkshock
Shilkshock, No Im not an Employee of norvergence, but my company is a customer of theres.
You are right about the rebuttle, because that was a minor concern my boss had, and that was the rebuttle that the screening manager used, but you know what, it made sense.... |
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Kaygrey
@voyager.net
| reply to Ex NorV SM
Why would anyone post such posigtive information "anonymous" opposed to taking credit for the positive expirence.
While many of the negative comments are represented by identify "able" people all the positive comments are anonymous.
Somebody explain...To defuse the question about my anonymous...well I am investagaating them and maybe filing suit against them and while researching came across the site! Anybody wanna add? |
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shilkshock
join:2003-10-21
Enfield, CT
| they post anonymous because they are Norv. employees, simple as that!!What they are posting is probably scripted for them, like everything else.
What they are doing is not illegal, but the dishonesty in their sales pitch makes you wonder why anyone after reading some of the stuff thats been written here and elsewhere would want to do business with them, regardless of the savings. If the application someone is signing up for is cable or DSL, the magic matrix box which they are paying for does absolutely nothing, but they must show the leasing company something to get their $$$ upfront. |
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kayrgey
@voyager.net
| I received a call from a prospective employee who was going to training shortly. They stated that after calling around and speaking to strateic alliance partners they found the whole Nortel relationship to be bogus. In fact, Nortel has a script for customers or employees from Norvergence calling to verify relationship carfully worded to avoid any issues. But the Nortel employee said while he is telling the soon-to-be Norvergence employee the information being shared whould not be used when making a decision whether to work for Norvergence but if they pitch in the first sentence a lie what must the rest of the solution be?
How do you trust a company that stands on a foundation of lies?
Has anyone described the actual program and how they save everyone so much money. I have my theory but would like fact. |
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