atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems Nortel Telephones & Systems T1 Configuration Question

I am limited in my experience with T1's so, although I am a contractor, I contracted a company that I know provides experienced T1 techs. Currently, on a Nortel MICS 6.1, customer has a T1 card configured as Supertrunk. Customer is switching telco providers to save money, and wants to install a replacement T1 that is configured the same way-Supertrunk. Telco is good with this. The contracted tech, however, insists that the T1 card needs to be upgraded to PRI at an expense of over $1k.

I know that PRI would give the customer caller ID, which customer has lived without and can continue to live without. This tech gave me a vague reason that the T1 card is "old" and the channels (24) in the T1 "hunt" a certain way, and there is no way to replicate this. He explained it was similar to analog lines rolling over (hunting). Customer says he doesn't care where it rolls to, he just wants to save the money and keep the same config.

Is it true that customer needs PRI or can he keep Supertrunk?

https://www.sundance-communications.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/000632.html

Otherwise sounds like the tech is suggesting PRI and not telling you that you must use PRI.

I think most techs would suggest PRI to keep up with the technology.

First of all to go to a PRI all you need is an Enabler Code which goes for around $xxx.

Second if you want to stay with just a T1 circuit there is no reason you have to change.

Unless you've used this Tech before you might want to find another one.

Edited to remove pricing. Please do not post prices on the open public forum. Thank you.

If Telco is willing to keep you at T1, then do it. There is no reason to go to PRI unless you want certain things that a PRI would give you that a T1 will not.

They have been using T1 - Keep it.

And like JimmyT says: All you need is the enabler code to go to PRI. Same card does both.

Update- Tech just called to explain that he was going by the fact that the new T1 was configured as 12 channels voice/12 data channels configured as PRI. Customer had seperate T1 for data which is going away. Now telco is backpedaling , telling customer that they could reconfigure from PRI to supertrunk. I need to ask telco if this includes 12 channels data.
Would that 12 channels voice configured as supertrunk and 12 D channels work?

Telco would be giving you a box, maybe AT&T, maybe Adtran, maybe some other brand. You would plug your DTi card into one of the ports in that box and bandwidth into a different port.

You would tell the system which channels (1 to 12) were provisioned.

Did one of these last week. It took the XO turnup tech ten minutes to tell me which port for voice as the "box installer" left no labels and there were six possible 8 pin ports.