Free long distance? Maybe. - PBX Info :: Your Free PBX, PABX and Telephone Information Resource

RichardMorris · 03-26-2004, 12:46 PM

I got a call from a vendor (1st tier) whose name shall remain nameless, at least for now. This fella wanted our POTs line business. We have 35 POTs lines. At first I was very skeptical, as I’ve had problems with CLECs in the past. If the deal was simply to get a carrier to resale the lines that BellSouth is providing I wouldn’t consider it. Not worth the trouble. I’ve been blowing this dude off for weeks, but he sez something that catches my ear. “Did I mention that there is unlimited free long distance on these lines?” …. “Uh, maybe you did.” Now my brain is going at light speed, or as close to it as my brain is capable of. What if I create a trunk group of say, 16 POTs lines only for outbound LD calls? Currently have 2 T1’s for in and out. 75% of our calls are inbound, 25% outbound. I could lose one of the spans, and already have the CO Trunk cards. The cost of the new POTs lines vs current POTs lines and T1, well, the POTs lines would cost a little less. But free LD? That’s worth about $3,500 a month off my monthly LD bill. Or as I like to figure it, $42,000 a year. What could the down side be? This is either a no-brainer or too-good-to-be-true. BTW, it’s month to month, no contract.

Richard

***Lmo*** · 03-26-2004, 01:42 PM

Ask for a list of the monthly re-occuring charges. I inherited my local service (367 lines!) with the local Bell company, long distance was with another carrier. They were charging .57 a line for a PICC charge + .07/minute for long distance. Even if I made no long distance calls for a month on any of the lines, I'd still owe them .57 for each of those 367 lines. I was told by the long distance guys that it was a "mandatory charge" to recover the cost of the local loop since they didnt have my local service. They said they could waive it if I gave them my local business. After shopping around, I found that it is NOT a mandatory charge. While negotiating, they offered to waive it even if I did not give them my local service (pretty amazing since it started out as a "mandatory" charge!) ... they just didnt want me to give the LD to the local carrier, who actually came in with a very competitive offer. Another comapny whose name begins with W and ends with M had an even more spectacular offer!!!! One half of one cent per minute long distance! The pitfall was that they wanted to charge a PICC charge of 2.05/a line!!!! Tthe rep kept reminding me of that great half a cent a minute rate! I kept reminding him that PICC charge that would be 5 times what I was currently paying. Re-occuring monthly charges can be a bite! The FCC's web page says that the legal limit to be charged for PICC charges is $2.53/line. so W------m was right up there!

**Chas2002** · 03-26-2004, 06:49 PM

This does sound too good to be true.

He's gotta be making money somewhere?

1. Maybe he negotiated a great contract with a LD company or gets a kick-back for the amount of traffic.

2. Maybe as LMO stated, he compensates with "access" charges.

3. Maybe he has found a way to jump on a carrier that allows Free LD in off hours and weekends and knows your companies outdia patterns/trends.

My suggestion would be to ask "Flat Out", how do you profit from this?

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Free Phone System, Fax, Conferencing etc.. For Your Business	rixride	Technology Chat	4	08-21-2006 02:15 PM
Option 11c Less Long distance channels	Shanks	Meridian Systems	3	04-10-2006 06:32 AM
Long Distance Routing Problem	javy_rdz	BCM and Norstar	2	09-17-2004 05:35 PM
Long Distance Routing Problem	javy_rdz	Meridian Systems	3	09-16-2004 11:06 AM
Help with long distance?	glehman	Meridian Systems	4	10-03-2003 11:58 AM

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)