The FCC filing that sought permission for AT&T to purchase T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom reported, “The network synergies of this transaction will free up new capacity – the functional equivalent of new spectrum – in the many urban, suburban, and rural wireless markets where escalating broadband usage is fast consuming existing capacity.”

AT&T defended the merger, stating reporting that if the capacity constraints for both AT&T and T-Mobile USA are left “unaddressed, [it] would translate into more dropped and blocked calls, slower speeds, and access to fewer and less advanced applications.” In addition, the acquisition enables AT&T to deploy fourth-generation LTE mobile services to approximately 55 million people – roughly 97% of Americans.

Great news! The multi-billion dollar merger will strengthen AT&T’s position in the small and medium-sized business market. According to AMI-Partners, (which specializes in Internet, IT, telecom, and business services strategy, venture capital and market intelligence) T-Mobile will help AT&T – specifically among businesses in particular vertical industries, such as construction, and companies that employ less than 10 staff members.

Those who opposed the merger believe that it will create a dualopoly in the mobile operators market. According to AMI-Partners, AT&T and Verizon Wireless currently control three out of four customers in the SMB market. Prior to the merger, AT&T had control over 28% of the market, T-Mobile controlled 8%, and Verizon Wireless came in with the largest share at 32%.

AMI-Partner’s manager of SMB Cloud Services, Brian Galgay, says the acquisition “creates differentiated SMB sales for AT&T and has an enormous upside potential… Compared to AT&T or Verizon, these T-Mobile SMB customers reported greater interest in adopting hosted services from a service provider, as well as indicating greater interest in purchasing multiple, adjacent SaaS applications.”

Galgay explained that what initially attracted significant sectors of the SMB market to AT&T were the specialized mobile workers and early adopters of technology that benefited from iPhone technology. Annually, AT&T and Verizon Wireless SMB customers spend around the same amount; however, AT&T SMB customers are said to be more “IT-savvy, focusing more budget on newer technologies beyond smartphones, such as … tablets.”

10 Steps to Follow:

1. Determine your budget. The faster your internet speeds, the higher the cost. Those on a tight budget have the more economical options of dial up or even a light version of DSL. Also, phone companies often give discounts for bundled internet and phone services.
2. Look for ISPs with good ratings in your specific area. A number of ISPs may have great ratings in one area of the country but fail miserably in yours. A good idea is to talk with your neighbors or local businesses to find out how they feel about their ISP.
3. Once you’ve begun narrowing your list down to the ISPs within your budget and with positive reviews in your area, check to see which of those offer special deals on bundled services. Most cable and phone companies offer bundled deals when you purchase phone, TV, and Internet services together, and give incentives for signing up for specific times, or contract lengths. But, as always, buyer beware – typically once that year is up you’ll find yourself paying regular price, which can be almost double.
4. Next, take a look at customer support. Is it offered 24/7; how are they rated? Remember that a computer isn’t limited to breaking down from 9am to 5pm, and even the best and most expensive connections can experience technical issues or downtime. Know whether you will receive live support and/or email, and if they charge a fee.
5. Decide the speed you need. Most ISPs offer plans with prices based on download speeds. Slower DSL (also known as DSL light) or cable speeds are the most cost-efficient for those only wanting to browse the web and utilize email. That being said, if you’re looking to play online games, transmit data or stream movies and TV, you’ll definitely want a faster Internet.
6. Subsequently, see if they offer a free email account. Most ISPs offer at least one free email address. Others may provide more or charge a small fee for additional email addresses.
7. Then, see which ISPs provide anti-virus email protection. Many viruses sneak onto a computer via email, and having it scanned before reaching your inbox offers an added level of security.
8. Don’t automatically omit dial-up. With all the new advances in Internet services, dial-up has been given a bad reputation for quite some time. The truth is, there are still many parts of the country where dial-up is the only option, particularly rural areas. Aside from dial-up, satellite is a good – but expensive – alternative.
9. Avoid usage caps. Occasionally ISPs will limit the amount of time you can use the Internet. Although not all ISPs have this, make sure to read each policy carefully to avoid any inconveniences.
10. Look for a company that has an online bill payment option. Most large Internet providers do, while smaller providers, especially dial-up services, do not. Paying online is quick, saves paper, and just makes life a lot simpler.

Whether your company has offices in one location or a network of regional offices throughout the country, XO makes it simple for you to buy local services. They offer standard product features, names, and functionality in over 70 nationwide markets with the convenience of one invoice.

XO offers a multitude of Local Services including:

Basic Business Lines – often called “Plain Old Telephone Service” or POTS lines, provide basic telephony features—such as sending faxes or support for a standard modem – over a single, voice-grade communication channel. It is inexpensive, easy to set-up, and simple to understand.

Business Trunks – are the smart solution for businesses that need dedicated bandwidth to support heavy traffic. They let you share access between your hybrid telephone system and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

Centrex – delivers a full PBX-like system, letting you conduct calls via standard feature sets such as three-way calling, call forwarding and speed-dialing. Centrex offers the flexibility to connect multiple offices and improve service for your employees. In short, it is an economical turnkey solution for all of your voice services.

ISDN-PRI – one of the most popular integrated voice and data services available in the industry. This service gives its users the option to transmit both voice and data simultaneously throughout a single trunking interface. This interface is fully digital, ensuring a high-capacity connection.

Additional services, such as Voice Messaging, Operator and Directory Assistance, Private Switch/Automatic Location Identification (PS/ALI), Remote Call Forwarding, and Foreign Exchange are available as well.

TelePacific commits itself to being accountable for the quality of their services. Metrics are in place to help cater to each account and customer experience. TelePacific works hard to review these metrics each week to deal with issues as they arise, making sure customers are given the best of what they can offer, while still focusing on opportunities for improvement.

The numbers don’t lie; customer care resolves 93% of all issues on the first call, and boasts a 95% answer and response time within 30 seconds or less. In addition, invoicing is never an issue with a dedicated team working hard to achieve a 99% invoice accuracy.

With such successful results, it is no wonder a monthly customer survey done by Receivable Management Services with over 2,000 participants places TelePacific in a 97^th percentile satisfaction score on a regular basis. Despite all of this, TelePacific never rests on its laurels, and continuously pushes for improvement.

TelePacific provides a well-rounded range of services to customers with a “one-stop shop” for all their telecommunication needs, eliminating the need to deal with one company for long distance services, another for Internet access, and yet another for conferencing and VoIP services. TelePacific caters to all of these, with the highest level of commitment and service for each customer.

No matter what size business, TelePacific has cost-efficient packages to match their quality services to as many customers as possible.

Data and Internet services presented by TelePacific use the most advanced, cutting-edge technologies, giving customers the most dependable service available. Internet connectivity ranges from high bandwidth T1 lines at 1.544 Mbps, to Bonded T1 services reaching blazing speeds of up to 12 Mbps. TelePacific data networking services include a Private Line, a Virtual Private Network product, and Collocation space for building private networks.

All of these options are augmented by TelePacific’s value added services that help protect the security and safety of customers’ valuable assets and secure constant connectivity with important stakeholders. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, TelePacific provides customers the ability to maintain operations under emergency situations and backup facilities to lock up off-site data to ensure constant connectivity with important business partners.

AireSpring has been providing services equal to over one hundred million call records per month. Such massive service for a company held by a private entity, and the fact they have possessed a debt-free record for nearly three decades, is proof that AireSpring is a provider that knows what its doing.

Due in part to their large user base, AireSpring maintains contracts with large Tier-1 carrier networks in order to provide uniform quality service to all their customers. This gives you the power to opt for low-cost solutions that are always at the forefront of current technology.

Why work with AireSpring

One of the benefits of working with AireSpring is the low-cost solution provided by the carrier.  AireSpring knows that money isn’t easy to come by in this day and age, and therefore gives their customers a significant pricing leverage. That doesn’t mean they cut back on the quality of their service; AireSpring prides itself in the high capacity fiber networks it operates, and gives full high-capacity service and redundancy measures to every consumer.

That’s because their service is unique in the sense that they can provide a solution that is flexible and personalized for every customer’s specific needs. AireSpring’s technology uses a multiple carrier bas network that covers a wide national territory – which gives you, the consumer, the power to connect to whichever point you should choose throughout the country.

If you’re setting up a local service for local communications, AireSpring is able to provide you with unlimited free local voice connections. That, combined with their unbeatable long distance rates, makes AireSpring one of the best providers of voice services in the country.

AireSpring can tailor each of their local services to the needs of every customer. Should you need to adjust an aspect of the service you’re getting at any time, just alert AireSpring, and they will help you get the exact service specifications that you require. This helps you save significantly on the services that you’re getting, and ensuring that you are getting only the best in terms of quality for your money.

Quality Service Features

Some of the quality services that you can expect from AireSpring:

• Unlimited free local calls
• Low rates in intralata and interlata
• Dedicated long distance rates
• Service available in sixty-five national markets
• No minimum monthly charge
• No loop fees
• Free port charges

If you’re looking for unbeatable rates, AireSpring is the service you want. They have provided the nation with quality service for nearly thirty years, helping their clients achieve mission-critical operations without a hitch, and giving them a cost-effective edge in today’s fast-paced market lifestyle.

Additional Resources

Please contact your EasyT1.net client manager to learn more about how AireSpring can help your business!