If you were an agent say 15 years ago, you probably sold long-distance (interstate, intrastate, toll-free, maybe international) and maybe conference calling. Today, your options for providing voice and data communications have expanded considerably. This offers a greater opportunity to serve customers and make money, but also a greater burden to educate yourself on the benefits and applications of each.
The following is a summary of some of the services you can offer. It is by no means a complete list. And, it does not include premises-based hardware and software that might be offered in concert with subscription-based services.
Core Voice and Data Services
These are basic communications services that agents should offer unless they choose to specialize in another area, such as data services or conferencing.
Local dial tone is a standard local telephone line that residences and some businesses use. It’s sometimes called a POTS line.
Long-distance is service between local access transport areas (LATAs). It can be offered through switched lines or dedicated connections.
Toll-Free is inbound long-distance service paid by the recipient.
International Long-distance is long distance from the United States to other countries.
High-speed Internet Access can be provided through DSL, cable modem, T1 or DS3.
DSL, or digital subscriber line, is Internet access over regular phone lines at speeds around 1.5mbps.
Cable modem service uses the cable network infrastructure and runs between 1-6mbps for downloads, and 128-768kbps for uploads.
T1 lines can carry 24 digitized voice channels or can be configured as one 1.5mpbs data pipe for dedicated Internet access or point-to-point links.
PRI , or primary rate interface, is a standard applied to a T1 that is used to connect premises-based PBXs to the public switched telephone network.
Integrated T1 is a T1 line in which some channels are designated for voice and some for data traffic. A dynamic T1 allows the traffic to be allocated on the fly.
VoIP Services
VoIP, voice over IP, is voice conversations transmitted over Internet protocol. Voice is digitized into discrete packets that are transferred independently over the network, instead of through the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the PSTN.
SIP Trunking is logical connection between a PBX and a provider network for VoIP traffic. Since it’s not a physical connection, it is sold based on the desired number of concurrent call paths. It is a cost-effective replacement for traditional PRI or analog circuits.
