[Asterisk-biz] PRI Prices

[Tom Rymes]

Brent,

You should ask whoever quoted this (Verizon, I assume) if they will  
give you a kiss once the circuit is installed!! ("You're going to  
feel a little pressure...")

We use Paetec for our incoming circuit. We just upgraded to a PRI,  
and our monthly pricing is definitely under $400/Month. Also, Caller  
ID is included in that price. Lastly, DIDs are extra, bust far far  
less than you have been quoted.  Also, our intrastate/local rate is  
less than your long distance rate.

More importantly, we have been extremely happy with their customer  
service and their technical people. Calls are answered PROMPTLY, and  
their people know what they are doing. If they don't have an answer,  
they get one that is accurate and they get it quickly. I called for a  
Milliwatt test line on the local switch and the guy didn't know one,  
but rather than give me the standard Telephone Co. "Only our Techs  
are allowed to have that" answer, he asked around and found one.

It's possible that you can find someone cheaper, but I highly doubt  
that you can beat their service.

Tom

PS: keep in mind that pricing will vary by market and based on the  
minutes you will be using.

On Oct 4, 2005, at 3:43 PM, Brent Franks wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I recently begun researching PRI prices to expand the capacity into  
> our PBX (located in Northern Virginia).  I received a quote from  
> our ILEC, that seems a bit outrageous to me.
>
> Here is what was sent to me:
>
> 2 Year Contract
>
> Recurring Charges (Monthly)
> Base PRI Price: $493.73/mo
> CallerID (Name+Num) for 23 Channels: $140.00/mo
> 20 DID's: $20.25/mo with $725.00 setup fee
>
> Local Calling, .096 cents on each call (no per minute)
> Long Distance, 5.3 cents per minute (billed in 60 second increments)
>
> Total Monthly: 653.98
>
> First issue, is the fact that CallerID is extra.  I thought this  
> was one of the reasons to go with a PRI, was it was included.  I've  
> never heard of PRI's w/o CID.
>
> Second, the first quote she sent did not have the DID's.  I told  
> her that we needed to use this for incoming calls.  Are DID's  
> different then incoming numbers?  I didn't think so, but she acted  
> like it was.
>
> Does this price seem on the high side?  Northern VA seems to be a  
> realtively high competition area, hwoever I have found that a PRI  
> can only be ordered from the ILEC?
>
> Our desired setup was to have a PRI (For Inbound, with 3 or 4  
> numbers) and maintain 4 or 5 analog lines for outgoing (with  
> unlimited LD).
>
> Telco pricing is very confusing, and seems like its not very small/ 
> medium size business friendly.
>
> Thanks in advance to any pointers anyone can provide!
>
> - brent
>
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