T1 Installation Announcements
Thanks to SIP Termination for bringing the following blog post
For most of a decade, I’ve worked in the internet technical support field. For more than half of that time, I worked for a company that provided business class, dedicated internet connections, primarily T1 and T3 with a smattering of Frame Relay and SMDS. Since we were providing service for businesses, we had a service level agreement and had to perform repairs in a timely manner or else suffer the consequences, generally in the form of service credits.
The cost of service was fairly high, but because of the service level agreements and the high degree of competency, quality was high, too. It was not only a good place to be a customer, but a great place to be an employee. We felt like we made a difference for our customers and knew that they could rely upon us to get the job done for them.
More recently, I’ve been working for a large telecommunications company, primarily providing support for residential service. Issues crop up with service (both voice and data) and sometimes they can take days or even weeks to resolve. This is a huge problem for a residential customer, but for a business, it can spell disaster in the form of lost revenue. For customers who pay the extra money for a business class service, this isn’t a problem. But a majority of small business owners, concerned with expenses, go for the lower cost residential level of service. When their service goes down, this leaves them in an uncomfortable position.
So is it worth it to go for business class service? If your internet connectivity is mission critical to you, then it absolutely is.
Think about it in the same light as car insurance. You might be the safest driver in the world. You obey all of the traffic laws, drive at a reasonable speed based on conditions, and always wear your seat belt. But the unthinkable can happen at any time. For instance, a few years ago, I was driving home and the weather went from rain to sleet without warning. My car hit a patch of ice and spun out, sending me into a fence post. If all you have is collision insurance, the damages need to be paid for out of pocket. Comprehensive insurance costs more, but it covers you in case a situation like the one I was in arises.
Business class service costs more. That’s the bottom line. But you absolutely get more for your money. Value isn’t how much something costs, but how much you get for what you spend.
With business class service, you get guarantees. With residential service, you get best effort. The total value is there if your connection is that important to you. And it is that important for a lot of home-based businesses. A few hours can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. But it’s up to the consumer to make sure that their needs are being looked after. Corporations are even more concerned with the bottom line than the consumers and it’s simply not cost-effective to charge lower rates and offer a greater service level. The two are linked, just like taxes and government services.
So when you’re thinking about getting that new high speed internet service and you’re comparing prices, remember to compare the level of service that you’re getting too. Because if you have mission critical needs that absolutely require a 99.999% uptime, you had better be prepared to pony up a bigger monthly service fee.
Source: