sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services T1's, CSU's and DSU's Is it worth an extra $100/mo for PRI?

I’m new to this phone system stuff but I’m learning slowly we are also considering PRI is there any advantage of getting a communications provider like ‘FDN communications’ to provide service over just staying with Bell South service? We have 60 phones on a partner system and planning to upgrade quickly.

Just my thoughts .

Some points to consider would be if a prospective provider offers similar or better service than the current provider and cost savings.

There may not be any reason to change providers if Bell South's level of service has met the needs of the company and they offer competitively priced PRI service.

Usually you can locate blogs on the Internet that talk about how well people have fared with a particular provider so that might be an avenue to consider. If you have first hand knowledge of a customer of the provider, ask them how well they have been serviced.

No matter who the company ultimately selects to provide PRI service, a new telephone system will need to be purchased as the Partner [Avaya Partner ACS?] does not support PRI.

Only $100. per month to upgrade the service to PRI actually pretty good. I would take a closer look at the terms of the contracts, toll charges and the like. Not to hurt anyones feelings, but sales tends to add up only the good numbers. The only other cost factor would be the cost difference between an 8 CO line card and the PRI card.

Thanks for your help on this

Another option would be becuase you are only using 8 channels/lines is to go with a BRI (aka ISDN).

Each BRI is 2 channels/lines and is digital with many of the same benefits of PRI depending on the carrier and CO switch they use. BRI lines have a D channel so you can get Caller ID, DID, etc. You also have the benefit of spreading the risk over multiple lines rather then putting all your eggs in one basket as you would with PRI.

BRI lines are usually billed the same as a POTS line. Local calling is free versus metered or a allowance that a PRI may have.

Here a BRI is $72.99 and a POTS line is $39.99 thats a $72 savings per year per BRI or $288 total per year. This does not count tax which could be less becuase a 8 trunks would be 4 BRI lines versus 8 POTS lines. Becuase your line count is less you could pay less in tax. You of course would also pay less becuase the cost of the line is less.

My European (Siemens) PBX expects and is engineered with the assumption that you are using ISDN so with my needs (8 trunks/lines) it was a obvious choice. When I need 12-16 trunks I will go for PRI (and a not funky VOIP over PRI line).

I have never heard of DID on a BRI in North America. I have only seen 2 SPIDS per BRI circuit 2B+D. Are you sure you get 8 channels in a hunt with DID?

Yes, I have DID. It took a lot of convencing. But I now have it. I am in downtown Minneapolis two blocks from the CO for the entire state and region. Its a Avaya 5ESS. If it was a Nortel, I would use PDID (Phantom DID) instead of a SPID. I would also move to a area that does not have a Nortel CO because I hate Nortel.

Remember, I have a Siemens PBX which is engineered around the assumption you are using S0 or Euro ISDN. It also assumes you speak German when you do a full reset. There may be some features I have (like DID over BRI) that is not the normal for a US/Japan spec PBX. US and Japanese digital switched circuits are very similar and in some cases the same.

Even if DID is not available for the Toshiba switch or area. You can still get a digital line which is similar to what the OP is used to with some cost savings.

The first time I called the small business line at Qwest for a BRI the kid said "uh English please". Second one asked if I could just use DSL and then kept checking my distance to see if I qualify. I kindly reminded him that the communications for the entire state and some of the region goes through the CO I use.

I eventually got someone who admitted he does not know anything about ISDN and gave me a number for the large business division.

The small business line at Qwest is answered in Downtown St. Paul, MN. I think there are some hiring and management issues they need to sort out. BRI lines have been in the market for 20-30 years. Even if its "not common" they should still alteast know of it and provide basic pricing. I was not quizzing them on BRI. Thankfully, my pension and profit sharing is no longer tied to these people.

Long story short, BRI is a viable choice and may be better for your needs. You just may have to do a little work to get it. I personally think for 8 trunks, BRI is a better choice. You get unlimited local calling and BRI cards on the used or new market are cheap.

Ed, with your ten channels of voice/DID, how many phone numbers do you get?

We have two blocks of twenty numbers, 1230 through 1269. There's no limit to the quantity of numbers that you can have on a PRI. The only limitation is the number of simultaneous calls that can be made/received, which in our case is ten.

Our service package comes with one block of twenty numbers; the second block was added for a small additional fee.

I run 12 channels voice with 200 DIDs.