Archive for the ‘Private Line’ Category

Top 10 Things to look for when choosing an Internet Service Provider

When it comes to choosing an Internet service provider there are a multitude of options – both for the provider you choose, as well as the type of service. Before signing up with an ISP, take a close look at what each one has to offer, in order to be sure you get the services you need at a price you can afford.

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.

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XO Private Line

Today, you have to expand your business in order to survive. XO understands this, and as a result, has come up with a unique Point-to-Point Private Line service designed to deal with the taxing requirements of an office that needs a secure and reliable communications solution. Their setup will enable fast and seamless video and audio communications, as well as facilitate large-file transfers throughout your personal network – whether your destination is on the floor below you, or a remote office, miles away.

Point-to-Point Features & Benefits

  • High-capacity bandwidth from DS-1 (1.5 Mbps) to DS-3 (45 Mbps) to OC-n
  • 100% network availability
  • SONET architecture
  • Self-healing fiber system
  • Proactive 24/7 network management and monitoring
  • Customized circuits between locations
  • Consolidated billing for voice and data
  • Flexible market and CO level pricing is available and customers can select from 12- up to 60-month contract terms
  • Web-based customer portal provides capability to pre-qualify locations, obtain price quotes and submit and track orders online
  • Backed by competitive service level agreements (SLAs)

Typically consisting of non-switched communications circuits and the required equipment to connect two or more locations, Carrier Private Line has long-haul and local circuits available in a variety of configurations. XO Carrier Private Line:

  • Lets you select from IntraLATA, InterLATA and Interstate lines available in point-to-point or multipoint configurations
  • Achieves 100% network availability with capacities from DS-1 to OC-n
  • Convenient network interconnection options including (1) customer collocation of network equipment within XO pop locations or (2) a point-to-point private line DS-3 / OC-n mux configuration
  • Offers state-of-the art, self-healing fiber system for network recovery within milliseconds
  • Uses our extensive intercity and metropolitan network that spans more than 400,000 route miles to 50 cities nationally

What you can do with an XO line

XO knows how important these intra-office transmissions are, so they make certain that you can send all your data from point-to-point without any lags in transmission. That’s because your private line is dedicated solely to your network’s traffic. It is a dedicated network serving the movement of information throughout only your access points.

That’s not all, though. Since there’s virtually no public traffic throughout your network, you won’t ever have to worry about losing integral data functions such as Voice over Internet Protocol and video conferencing.

In terms of bandwidth, the speed of your network’s lines will rely on the option you chose for your network’s framework. These vary in speed and urgency – a T1 network will be sufficient for a small operation, for example, but as your company grows in size, you will need to restructure your network in order to meet greater demands.

The best thing about XO’s private line service is that you can easily change the structure of your network when needed. XO will help you match their services with your company’s current needs, putting together a pragmatic and efficient provider-end user system rarely seen in the industry today.

And since it’s a network that’s kept within the confines of your office’s router system, the line is virtually on all day long – a wonderful solution for 24-hour offices.

The XO advantage

XO possesses a wealth of network knowledge and assets that they will put to work for your benefit. Their team will help you construct a network made of the latest digital technology, creating an infrastructure that’s first class. That’s because XO believes that helping you grow your business successfully is the best way to show they are a service provider for companies that truly mean business.

Internet T3

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Level 3 Private Line

Rapidly expanding companies need an ideal method of connecting with their components without having to worry about the security of their line or the quality of their communications network. That’s a tough set of requirements to deliver, and with the increasingly tough demand for a solution that’s capable of keeping up with the urgency most businesses have to deal with these days, you can’t just work with any service.

Level 3 isn’t just any service – they are the providers of a serious business network that can be used to create a comprehensive end-to-end network solution. But that’s just the least of what they can do for you.

What Level 3’s private line service does is give you the option of working with a network that will be more than just a service provider – the service can be developed into a powerful network partnership that will continue to help your company as it develops from a startup venture into a top-tier corporation. Thanks to its scalable service, Level 3 will help you connect to your network in a manner that’s easy to reconfigure once your needs change along the way.

A secure, facilities-based network

Level 3 owns a large network backbone. That’s a given for any communications service, but what makes Level 3 unique is that it owns the largest facilities-based network, giving them control over every aspect of their network’s performance.

What this does for you is give you the chance to customize your own network’s settings. When they build your network, they pattern it after theirs because they want all of their consumers to experience the same integral private line network they experience.

The one thing most people worry about when procuring the services of a networking giant, is that when you need to scale up or scale down the service you have, you might experience some difficulties with your current provider – or even have to switch carriers altogether.

This isn’t the case with Level 3. They are dedicated to your business, and realize that as your business grows in age and size throughout the years, you will need to adjust the level of intranet service you require.

Level 3 has adjusted their services to anticipate changes in your service requirements, to easily support your growth. If you need to change from a T1 connection to a DS3 private line, Level 3 will be able to comply with your request with very little difficulty.

Comprehensive support

Because they understand that you might not have the resources to build your own private line network, Level 3 gives you the option to let them design and build your network. On a stretch, you can even get them to manage your network for you.

If that wasn’t enough, Level 3’s customer support service is one of the best and most sophisticated in the industry. They are capable of helping you sort out intricate network problems you may experience with your private line, and provide a service guarantee that assures you are working with some of the best and most dedicated network experts the company has to offer.

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Dedicated Long Distance Service

Dedicated Long Distance and Toll Free Services

Dedicated Long Distance Service is a leased line service that provides cost-effective in-state, out-of-state, international, and toll-free calling for companies that want circuits dedicated to specifically handle high-volume, long distance traffic. Dedicated Long Distance Services use high-capacity fiber optic networks that – when connected to your premise equipment (such as PBX or hybrid key systems, digital phone systems that use a digital trunk interface card, or an analog system with a channel bank) – provide you with the highest quality transmissions at the best available price, allowing you to achieve maximum network efficiency.

Benefits of Dedicated Long Distance Services

Aside from the general benefits stated above, having a dedicated long distance service provides other benefits to the subscriber, such as:

  • Enhancements to incoming and outgoing calls through different long distance and toll free features
  • Live operator assistance for access to the National Directory
  • Long-distance expense tracking using verified and non-verified account codes
  • Over 200 countries to connect to through international calls
  • All day customer service providing operator and directory assistance
  • A lightning fast self-healing synchronous optical network (SONET) with a ring network architecture allowing speeds reaching one gigabit (OC-192)
  • Convenient billing and rates along with single invoices that can be provided through simple customized electronic formats

Toll-Free Features to enhance business management

  • Real-time Automatic Number Identification (ANI) delivery
  • Dialled Number Identification (DNIS)
  • Rerouting of call overflows
  • Disconnection Message Referral
  • Back-up rerouting services
  • Routing based on geographical location
  • Special routing services dependent on the time of the year
  • Hour-oriented routing
  • Day-oriented routing
  • Simple design of back-up routing systems
  • NPA/NXX routing
  • Automatic overflow rerouting on inbound calls
  • For call centers, a teleblocking service for the numbers that you do not wish to contact again

A variety of high-quality providers of Dedicated Long Distance Service will help you give your business the best solution available. Choose from T1 to OC12 Dedicated Long Distance Applications with the most competitive prices in the industry to get the best results needed for your business at the most cost-efficient price.

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AT&T Private Line

In order to meet the growing needs of customers, businesses today are constantly expanding, adding more staff into their roster and increasing the size of their office. Some businesses have diverse set of offices spanning multiple locations in order to meet with this growing demand.

While this is good news for businesses the world over, the problem of management and communications becomes trickier. How will you effectively connect office branches in a way that they can easily get in touch with each other? How can you easily facilitate the transfer of large documents from office to office without making it available to the public domain?

AT&T offers the solution with its Private Line service; a high-speed intra-network connection that connects your entire system of operations to each other. This lets you facilitate communication and interaction within the various departments of your office without having to resort to setting up expensive and complicated networking solutions.

Customizing your network

AT&T recognizes the fact that you need a simple solution for connecting your office throughout a singular network. They will help you set up a reliable network of communications connecting your various sites to each other in a manner that’s simple and non-intrusive. This connection is made via a series of network servers connected to a main server in your office.

This private line uses a variety of service solutions to meet the needs of your enterprise. These range from a single channel connection of 9Kbps for simpler networks, to a heavy 10G wavelength connection for a multi-network WAN. They also offer other infrastructure solutions such as an optical mesh service and Ethernet connections if you’d rather use those for your network.

Thanks to their state-of-the-art infrastructure, AT&T has made sure that any private line they install is fast, reliable, and secure. They realize that no intranet solution is perfect, and will help you set up a series of backup plans should your main network fail. This includes using Mesh network architecture in your system, as well as the option to utilize FASTAR and SONET network setups. SONET premium private line customers have the choice to set up redundancy circuits to serve as backup data routes.

If you’re worried that AT&T doesn’t cover your area, stop worrying. AT&T offers this service in up to 80 countries around the globe, and that service coverage is expanding. Just to give you an idea of how wide their coverage is – AT&T sports up to 77,000 miles of fiber optic cables connecting all of these networks to each other, so you can be secure in the knowledge that they will have no trouble setting you up as well.

Easy Management and Support

Since this service is important in the integrity and productivity of your office, AT&T makes sure that you can easily fix network discrepancies throughout the line. AT&T’s customer and technical support crew is available 24 x 7. They will be able to help you manage and, if necessary, fix your network whenever the need arises.

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