Centralia, Pennsylvania, Jun. 05 /Hunter Sheffield/ -- Is there a resurgence in the popularity of telecommunications providers that compares with the late 1990's? The answer may surprise you. Since the crash of the Internet bubble, struggling telecoms have seen Darwin in action as many companies were forced with the choice of bankruptcy or forced consolidation. However, some companies chose the road less traveled: innovation. By offering customers more for less, many small to medium size business customers are finding that they can upgrade to integrated T1 service for the same cost of five regular phone lines.

"The real benefit I've seen since upgrading to a dynamic integrated T1 from Nuvox Communications is simplicity" commented Johan Sebastian, a small business owner in Clearwater, Florida. "My phones work great, my internet is fast, and the best part is the reliability; I haven't had a single outage since I signed up for the new service over a year ago. Before when we had DSL and POTS lines, every day was an adventure."

There are two basic "integrated" DS-1 configurations, analog and digital. The 24-line bundle in which they come is termed a "trunk". The main difference between analog and digital trunks is their flexibility. With digital trunks, voice lines not in use can be dynamically reconfigured to carry data traffic, so they don't sit idle. Analog trunks on the other hand can not change their function once configured by the service provider. Data channels remain data channels and the same for voice channels, even if there is no voice traffic.

"I think the telecom industry in general has turned a corner" opined Jerry Gold of Boston, Massachusetts. "They have finally developed products that are understandable by the industry outsider and, thanks to competition, priced these services in a range that most small businesses can afford. For over 20 years I dreaded dealing with 'the phone company'. But now that I've switched over to One Communications, my integrated T1 is doing everything I need it to, for under $450/month. One actually answers their customer service calls and makes me feel like I'm part of their family. It was a long time coming, but I'm finally able to end the fight with the phone company so I can focus on my sports memorabilia store."

Pennsylvania, ordinarily not known for its telecom prowace, has been a hotbed for businesses making the move to dynamic telecom lines. One local business owner - Linda Peterson - who operates a travel agency, recently told us that "I never expected the phone company to come out with anything that would help me lower my costs. On the contrary. Ma Bell has had a history of raising my rates and making my life difficult. When I heard about the XO Flex package (offering 10 dynamic voice lines and 1.5 mbps of high speed Internet) at a price of under $500, I couldn't move over fast enough." Since then Linda reported a $150/month savings in her telecom expenses.

The old-school integrated T-1 was analog in nature, and came with 24 configurable channels (called a trunk) which could be configured to carry either voice or data traffic. The new "dynamic" trunks are all-digital and can change on-the-fly to carry either data or voice traffic. This comes in handy when none of the voice lines are in use - all channels can revert to carrying data traffic, giving the end-use a full 1.5 MBPS of broadband. Each phone call requires only 64K of bandwidth, so even a small handful of calls only slows down the data connection by a nominal amount.

With the help of super-CLECs like XO Communications, PAETEC, Nuvox, One Communications, Cavalier Telephone, and TelePacific, small business owners everywhere now have access to non-Bell service that is on par or better than those being offered by the former Bells. Integrated T1s that do more and cost less have transformed into a solid beach head for the newcomers. The recent progress made by CLECs leaves us thinking in hypotheticals. "What if the Clinton administration wouldn't have passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, requiring RBOCs to lease their lines at reduces rates to the CLECs?" "Will the FCC continue to enforce this law, or will it be overturned by the powerful AT&T and Verizon lobbyists?" It is impossible to know either way, but for the time being we can just be grateful that the industry has evolved to the point were small businesses can actually benefit from telecommunications at an affordable rate.

Definition 1. - The T-carrier system, introduced by the Bell system in the US in the 1960's, was the first successful system that supported digitalised voice transmission. The original transmission rate (1.544 Mbps) in the Centralia T1 line is in common use today in ISP (Internet Service Provider) connections to the Internet

Definition 2. - A type of high speed Internet connection that provides a great deal of bandwidth. Many businesses lease T1 lines to connect to the Internet, but because they are expensive and offer more bandwidth than most small businesses and homes need, they are not realistic solutions for small and low-demand Internet users.

Definition 3. - The T1 (or T-1) carrier is the most commonly used digital line in the United States, Canada, and Japan. In these countries, it carries 24 pulse code modulation (PCM) signals using time-division multiplexing (TDM) at an overall rate of 1.544 million bits per second (Mbps). T1 lines use copper wire and span distances within and between major metropolitan areas. A T1 Outstate System has been developed for longer distances between cities.

Definition 4. - A high-speed digital connection capable of transmitting data at a rate of approximately 1.5 million bits per second. A T1 line is typically used by small and medium-sized companies with heavy network traffic. It is large enough to send and receive very large text files, graphics, sounds, and databases instantaneously, and is the fastest speed commonly used to connect networks to the Internet. Sometimes referred to as a leased line, a T1 is basically too large and too expensive for individual home use.

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