[Asterisk-Users] OT: PRI costs in US

[James H. Cloos Jr.]

>>>>> "Tim" == tmassey  <tmassey at obscorp.com> writes:

TIm> My first thought on the higher end was a PRI line.  However, the
TIm> cost seems *very* prohibitive.  The average cost for a PRI line
TIm> was $550/month, just for "dial tone"!  I've heard others say that
TIm> PRI becomes cost effective in the 8 line range, but the cost for
TIm> the office with 14 lines ($25/line * 14 lines) is only $350.  It
TIm> would take 22 lines before the PRI would equal the cost of
TIm> individual POTS lines!

Prices vary widely by region.  I've not priced pri vs channelized t1
vs analog business trunks in a while, but when I last did I saw prices
for the non-residential analog trunks from as little as $20 to as much
as $80.  And I didn't look at all that many cities.

The lower a state's per-minute fees, the larger their monthly fees.
And in most places business lines were substantially more than
residential.  Until you started buying in large quantities, of course.

IIRC, most of the places had chann. t1 costs that were about the same
as 24 analog lines.  PRIs were generall half that in those cases.

But there were also places where the PRIs were twice as expensive as
the chann. t1s.

I'm sure things have changed in the mean time in most places, but I
expect there are still wide variations in the relative costs.

One thing to look into, though, is CLECs.  I've seen some vary
favourable pricing advertized, especially if you contract for both
voice and ip.  You might find a deal with a CLEC that fits the budget
better than the rboc's offer.

-JimC