Comcast now offers you a whole new way to receive your home telecommunications services that offers real savings and at the same time is far more convenient. It’s called bundled services and if you have been waiting for the charges to drop on your phone bill you need not wait any longer. Comcast uses a new flat rate system where you pay one set reasonable fee and then use you phone as much as you like and your bill stays the same.

Your entire nationwide long distance calling is free of charge with this new system from Comcast and that’s anywhere in the U.S, including Canada and Alaska, all week long, any time, day or night. It sounds hard to believe but its true and this comes with all of their calling plans. There is more yet, because all of your common phone calling convenience features come free of charge as well and this includes voice mail, caller ID and call forwarding, just to name a few of them.

Comcast can do this, because their phone system is entirely digital now which gives them greater savings that they can pass on to you the customer. Comcast will always be a leader in TV programming and recent upgrades to their entire system ensures their leading position long into the future. They have added another on demand pay per view service, bringing their total up to two now and one of them is their standard on demand pay per view, while their new addition is called Premiums On Demand.

They also now have two-hundred and seventy-five channels of programming to offer their family of viewers and this may be a new record for the industry. The great thing about Comcast is that they are a cable service, so there is no need for fickle electronics equipment to be mounted on your residence, meaning that you can always count on the reliability of a solid cable connection for your TV programming.

Comcast now also has broadband high speed cable internet service to offer their customers and it is the latest technology in internet service. With this new speed that is one hundred times faster than standard dial up and six times faster than DSL all the waiting time that you have had to endure when using the internet is completely eliminated. The lightning fast speed means that websites pop up instantaneously with a click of your mouse. Even data rich downloads such as video and music clips happen in moments.

For the online shopper the world is your oyster with this new speed, because you can bounce from website to website quickly and easily. Because you will be going further and faster on the net, your chances of encountering viruses will increase. For this Comcast provides all of their customers with free lifetime McAfee anti virus software, with free upgrades for life. To protect your personal information they also provide Free State of the art firewall protection as well. The great thing about getting all of your services from Comcast is that they are all covered on one simple monthly bill that is full of actual savings you will begin to see immediately.

Now more than ever is a great time to take a good look at what Comcast has for its customers in the way of savings and convenience. With bundled services from Comcast you can receive all of you homes telecommunications services and have them all covered on one easy to understand bill that has only one fee that covers all of the services from Comcast.

There are no catches or gimmicks and the savings start on your first day of service. Take for instance their state of the art digital telephone service and the real savings that it offers, due to its streamlined efficiency of digital technology. All phone bill surprises are completely eliminated with Comcast’s new flat rate phone billing system, which allows you to pay one reasonable fee to use your phone as much as you like.

You get free unlimited nationwide long distance calling including Canada and Alaska and that’s any time, day or night, all week long including weekends. Charges for phone calling convenience features are eliminated also, because you get all twelve of them at no cost to you including voice mail, call waiting and call forwarding just to name a few of them. So it’s not hard to see how the real savings can start to add up with this new phone system from Comcast.

Comcast also has a new internet service as well that is a full one hundred times faster than standard dial up and six times faster than DSL. It’s called broadband high speed cable internet service and it makes the internet far more fun and expedient to use. If you are currently using a standard dial up service provider, then you are having to endure a lot of waiting time on the net and you may have even grown used to it.

There is a log on wait and then a wait for anything else that you do online but with this new high speed service there is none of that, because everything happens instantly with the click of your mouse. There isn’t even the slightest wait to log on because you are always logged on with Comcast high speed cable. Now that you will be zipping around the net at breakneck speed you run a higher risk of encountering viruses and Comcast has you covered there. They provide each and every customer with free McAfee anti virus software for life and it comes with free lifetime upgrades as well. Your personal information is also protected with state of the art firewall software which also is free of charge from Comcast.

Comcast has completely upgraded its TV programming service and they are now broadcast entirely in digital format for a crystal clear picture and sound every time you turn on your TV set. They also now have two-hundred and seventy-five channels to offer their viewers as well including a wide choice of high definition channels as well. Also because Comcast is a cable service provider there is no need for you to have any unreliable receiving equipment mounted on your home and no risk of trips to the electronics repair shop.

So, you’re in the market for a new telephone system or looking to migrate to a larger system? The choices are abundant, but how do you make a decision that is right for you, your business and your budget

Consider the following:

A. The features you like,
B. The features you need,
C. The features you don’t like,
D. Your customer/client expectations,
E. Your Business Communication plan for the future.

The need to communicate effectively and efficiently:

Every business has to communicate with its customers. A small business may only need a line or two from the local Bell Company, whereas, a large business may need a robust system that offers an Auto Attendant/Receptionist, IVR (Interactive Voice Response), a Voice Mail, CDR (Call Detail Records), or even, Call Center Technology.

To find the system that meets your needs will require that you do a bit of research and ask yourself some questions related to your current and future business model.

By answering a few questions your organization will be stirred to a Telecommunications system that meets current needs and encompasses future growth.

How many numbers* do you need? ______
How many Fax Machines will you have? ______
How many modem lines will you need? ______
How many Analog sets will you need? ______
How many Digital sets will you need? ______
Are you planning on having an Operator Console/Position? ______
Do you want Caller ID capabilities?______

* – Numbers could be a 1 to 1 relationship (Analog lines) or a DID (Direct Inward Dial) range with the use of a T1. See T1 information below.

Trunks

Trunks allow your business to communicate to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The two common Voice Grade Trunks are: Central Office Trunks (Analog telephone numbers) and T1′s (Digital Circuits). Many systems are moving into VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) while maintaing their Legacy System features.

Do you need a T1?

A T1 contains 23 B-Channels and 1 D-Channel. The B-Channels are the dedicated Voice Connections and can be broken up into Incoming and Outgoing trunks/routes, and the D-Channel carries call control and signaling information.

Consider the following criteria:

How many calls are made in a typical business day? _______
What is the average length of the calls being made? _______
Have you every received a busy when attempting to access an outside line? ______
Is receiving a busy acceptable? ______
Is your business expecting considerable growth in the near future? ______
Does your business perform outside transfers and conferences? ______
Are you planning on buying a Toll Free number? _____

Note: A T1 may make sense for your organization – as it allows for DID (Direct Inward Dial) and outgoing routes to be associated to the number of concurrent calls. Thus idle talk paths are offered to system users when they are not in use – maximizing your system resources.

Analog lines perform the same action in a hunt group. A lot of small businesses over expand the hunt groups to prevent busy signals during the busiest time of day – the line is unused most of the day. T1 cost varies – As of 4/24/05, I’ve found a number of T1 Business lines for $359.00 and up.

Example:

If your organization has 20 associates, you would most likely want each associate to have a private number (a DID). Thus, 20 analog lines @ $35.00 to $40.00 per month = $800.00.

In this case a T1 would make sense as it allows the system programmer to route DID calls in and create a separate route for calls out, ensuring maximum efficiency.

On the other hand, if your organization as 8 or fewer employees then it maybe cost effective to keep your analog service dependent upon the features needed.

What features and applications do you want? Hold and Transfer, Conference, Music On Hold, Multi-Line Phones, Associate/Employee controlled call foward, Auto Attendant/receptionist, Voice Mail, CDR (Call Detail Records), Time of Day Announcements, ACD (Automatic Call Distribution), Advanced Call Center Applications,

Hold and Conference – Can be performed by Non-KSU (Centrex), KSU, and PBX Systems.

Music on Hold – Requires a KSU or PBX.

Multi-line phones – on a Non-KSU you are limited to 2 lines. KSU’s and PBX Systems allow for multiple lines. If you would like to view every line – you’ll need to insure that the system and phones allow for Busy Lamp fields or that the phones have enough programmable keys.

Associate/Employee Controlled Call Forwards – Can be performed with Centrex Services, KSU and PBX Systems. This is an important feature as it allows the associate/employee to determine where calls will go when not answered or when he/she is busy.

Auto Attendant/Receptionist – Is usually an additional module or software enhancement to a system. This enhancement when grouped with other systems/applications (Digit collection, Voice Mail, etc.) offers a powerful solution to handling incoming callers. Some KSU’s have this feature, most PBX Systems have this feature.

Voice Mail – Voice Mail allows each associate to create personal greetings, passcodes and manage messages. Ideal for creating and maintaining CRM (Customer Response Management). Can be performed by Centrex lines, KSU and PBX Systems

Call Detail Recording – Your organization may like to collect Call Details (the number dialed, the cost of the call, Date/Time, etc.). You may want to bill back to a client, associate, or department for calls made. Some KSU’s have this feature, most PBX systems have this feature.

Time of Day Announcements – Requires a KSU or PBX.

ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) – Some KSU’s support this feature, most PBX systems support this feature.

Finding your system

When you’ve developed your Business Communication plan – take a look at some of the KSU/PBX systems on the internet or this site and find the one that matches your plan the best.

Now that you have an idea of what features you need and the feature that you like – attempt to match them to the systems in PbxInfo’s · System Comparison. The only side-by-side system comparison on the internet.

Finally, be prepared to ask the following questions when you’ve decided on a system.

• Ask the vendor, “Are you an authorized dealer?”

• Ask if it’s possible to visit the last site the vendor performed an install at. Look for well documented systems, cable labeling, housekeeping and neatness.

• Visit the vendors place of business. Many times a vendor will have a mock-up of the system that you are interested in.

• Ask about service support and maintenance contracts – including how much it costs and whether it is offered over the phone.

• Ask about the possibility of buying a refurbished or used system.

Other areas of interest:

Looking for used equipment – Vist PbxInfo’s Market Place.

Looking for a vendor – Visit PbxInfo’s RFQ Area.

Related article,  Saving Money on Your Long Distance.

Related article, ·Auditing Your Telephone Bill.

Related article, ·Bundled Services.

Related Website:  CS2 Communications

Related Website: Pbx Info

Article by Charles Carter

The Obama administration will spend billions of dollars installing new or upgrading existing wireless broadband services for public schools. These provisions are in stark contrast to Federal Communications Commission regulations, which will seize school WiMAX (2.5 GHz Educational Broadband Services) licenses where school districts do not comply with build out requirements for their licenses.

This paper will make the case for WiMAX as the most effective wireless broadband technology for educational services enabling school districts to keep their 2.5 GHz licenses. In a time of economic downturn in the private sector, industry players would be well advised to “follow the money” into major public sector initiatives related to broadband internet services in education.

Major Points in Publication:

* Educational Broadband Services licenses (2.5 GHz) will be forfeited by school districts and other license holders that do not build out networks by May 01, 2011
* School districts holding those licenses are not protected by subletting to large commercial operators (Sprint, Clear, etc)
* Understanding the education technology market (its not the same as enterprise or mobile)
* Why WiMAX is the best technology for this application
* Why WiMAX is the best complement to a one*to*one computing program
* The “3 A’s: Access, Applications and Affordability” of WiMAX in Education
* Breakthroughs in video over WiMAX: HDTV on 1 Mbps WiMAX
* “The 5% Solution”: one*to*one computing and WiMAX for 5% of a school district’s annual per*student allocation

Target Audience
WiMAX vendors: This will prove to be a very lucrative niche market for those willing to focus on it and adjust their sales and marketing strategy accordingly
Laptop vendors: They will sell many more laptops more quickly if the laptops can be networked to the school intranet or Internet via a low*cost WiMAX network.
Computer chip vendors: 45 million public school students using WiMAX*enabled laptops will sell a lot of chips.
Network devices vendors: WiMAX deployments to schools will sell a lot of routers, servers and other devices.
Carriers: new technologies such as WiMAX may disrupt their traditional business and how to “turn the retreat into a parade”
Educators: How can the instructional yield from one*to*one computing be multiplied using WiMAX?
School administrators: What is WiMAX and why is it so important to instruction?
State/Federal/School finance professionals: provides strategies in paying for multi*million dollar WiMAX deployments

Table of Contents :

WiMAX: The Educational Broadband Services Solution
Introduction: Technology to the Kid via WiMAX
Technology to the kid AND the classroom
One-to-One Computing and Federally-mandated Technology Literacy
The School Intranet: The Value Statement for Networked One-to-One Computing
Converging One-to-One Computing and School Networks
Extending the School Network via Wireless
Technology to the Kid: At school or at home
Market Drivers for the WiMAX-enabled One-to-One Laptop
Government mandates
Private vs. public networks
The 3 A’s of WiMAX-enabled One-to-One Computing
Access
Why WiMAX
Objections to WiMAX
WiMAX is not Wi-Fi
WiMAX Components
Relationship of WiMAX Range and Throughput for School Applications
Base Station and Student Density
Fixed vs. Mobile WiMAX
Why backhaul is important
Wireless Backhaul Considerations
Comparisons with Fiber
Spectrum Considerations
Access Conclusion
Affordability
WiMAX is inexpensive relative to other technologies
What does a one-to-one WiMAX-enabled laptop program cost?
Case Study: School District of Palm Beach County, Florida
Savings on Existing Expenditures
Telecom and Textbooks (or is that “flexbooks”?
Other Instruction-Related Expenses
School assets
Government mandates-can a school district afford to NOT comply?
Conclusion
Applications
Literacy
Numeracy
Writing
Who benefits
Parents
Teachers
Hall Monitors and Deans of Students
Administrators
Technical Applications
Video
Distance Learning via Video Conferencing
HD at 1 Mbps?: HD recording and streaming live anywhere, any time
Architecture
Bandwidth
Standards
Figure 21 Field-testing for WiMAX and HD camera with laptop-sized encoder
Cameras
Audio Factors
Echo Cancellation
The Audio Secret Sauce: Compression Algorithms and “wideband”
Textbooks
Voice
Selling to school districts
Gauging the market
Revenue Potential
Extrapolating by student head count
Estimates based on Cahners Report
Who should do this?
Schools “roll your own”
Carriers
Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs)
WiMAX Service Providers
How to sell to schools
Long sales cycles
Facilitate across departments
Need to compete in RFI/RFQ/RFP processes
Need to partner with other vendors
Establish marketing intelligence database
Aggregate, aggregate, aggregate
Find the money: grants, etc
Get a success story, even if you have to give it away!
Conclusion and Recommendations
Recommendations
Schools and Instructional Institutions
Network Operators and Service Providers
Equipment Suppliers and Systems Integrators

List of Figures
Figure 1 Are networked student laptops inevitable?
Figure 2 Most US schools have computer labs with desktop computers networked to the school’s intranet content and applications
Figure 3 Access to a school computer lab is limited geographically
Figure 4 School connectivity for a majority of schools. For many kids, technology ends at the school house
Figure 5 Campus-wide wireless network access with one-to-one laptop programs extends network access campus-wide
Figure 6 WiMAX extends the school intranet content and applications to the student home 10
Figure 7 A school district-wide WiMAX network connects the student to the school’s intranet content and applications
Figure 8 The 3 elements that comprise a telecommunications network: Access, switching and transport (backhaul)
Figure 9 Wi-Fi serves a coffee shop or home. WiMAX serves a city
Figure 10 WiMAX nomenclature: base station and subscriber station
Figure 11 WiMAX base station and antenna combinations
Figure 12 WiMAX access or subscriber devices
Figure 13 Line of sight offers better range and throughput than non line of sight
Figure 14 Link budget illustrated
Figure 15 On campus WiMAX delivers a throughput of multiple megabits per second
Figure 16 A WiMAX-enabled laptop can enjoy a range of one mile with throughput equal to DSL. WiMAX extends student access to the school’s intranet content and applications to the student’s home
Figure 17 Note populated areas of Palm Beach County, Florida (where the students live) are concentrated on the coast. Compare with figure below for school locations and WiMAX coverage
Figure 18 Placing a WiMAX base station ate each of Palm Beach County Schools 172 schools covers a majority of the populated area of Palm Beach County
Figure 19 Backhaul supports WiMAX base stations, which in turn support student at home internet access 32
Figure 20 Cover Palm Beach County, Florida at a cost of $7 million for 170,000 students = $41 per student in one-time CAPEX or lease for $1/month/student on a 48 month lease or 5% of school district’s per student annual allocation
Figure 21 Field-testing for WiMAX and HD camera with laptop-sized encoder
Figure 22 Satellite imagery of the US at night reveals concentration of population more easily served by WiMAX

List of Tables
Table 1 The progression to “one-to-one” computing
Table 2 Comparison of Wi-Fi and WiMAX for school district use
Table 3 Comparison of Wi-Fi and WiMAX
Table 4 Comparison fixed vs. mobile WiMAX
Table 5 Comparisons of wireless backhaul with other options
Table 6 Comparison of wireless vs. fiber optic cable as backhaul solution
Table 7 School WiMAX-related spectrum
Table 8 Comparisons of the costs for technologies for residential internet access
Table 9 Comparisons for monthly internet/intranet access accounts for public school students plus laptop lease as a percentage of annual allocation per student
Table 10 School district operations savings on telecommunications, textbooks, manpower and insurance for WiMAX network
Table 11 Cost savings related to instruction using WiMAX networks
Table 12 Assets a school district may have that a telephone company would have to buy
Table 13 Federal mandates on education where WiMAX-enabled laptops provide a solution

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