Introducing Dedicated Long-Distance Circuits

There is one big hurdle in telecom, and after you jump this barrier you move from Junior Varsity to Varsity. That transition is the jump from regular phone lines (what the industry calls switched lines) for long-distance use to dedicated long-distance circuits.

You probably use regular switched phone lines at home every day. Many small businesses have them, and even large businesses have a handful of switched lines for backup purposes, to run security services, or to handle overflow phone calls. Switched lines are wonderful because you can do everything with them: You can call 411 or 911, dial a toll-free number, call your brother next door, or your aunt on vacation in Istanbul. What is even better is that other people can easily call you.

Getting dedicated locally

 Tip  Dedicated circuits are classified by the carrier to which they terminate. A dedicated circuit that ends at your long-distance carrier is a dedicated long-distance circuit. A dedicated circuit that ends at your local carrier is a dedicated local circuit. Local circuits can be filled with phone numbers that act just like switched lines.

Those businesses with dedicated local services have several phone numbers for each local circuit, probably 24 (one for each usable channel). The only problem you may have with dedicated local circuits is that your long-distance carrier sees the outbound calls coming from your local circuit as originating from a phone number and not a circuit. Your dedicated long-distance rates are only applied on calls that originate on a dedicated long-distance circuit. Calls originating from a local circuit appear as coming from a regular switched phone line, and as a result, your long-distance carrier rates these calls at a higher switched rate. There are instances where the benefits of a local circuit outweigh the increased per-minute cost you will see from your long-distance carrier, but you should keep the financial consequences in mind when you decide to make the leap to a dedicated local circuit.

Dedicated long-distance circuits are good only for long-distance calls, whether they are to another state or another country. However, dedicated long-distance circuits do have some downsides. Several of the features that you take for granted are not provided on them. Services that are not available on dedicated long-distance circuits are:

• Access to 911 emergency service.

• Access to 411 information service.

• Access to 611 telephone repair service.

• The ability to dial toll-free numbers.

• The ability to dial long-distance bypass codes for your calls. These are the 10-10 codes you may have heard about on TV.

• The ability to receive calls by any means other than a toll-free number.

Actually, no dedicated circuit has a phone number naturally built into it. You can receive inbound calls on your dedicated circuit, but only with a toll-free number pointed to your circuit or special Direct-Inward Dialing (DID) service from a carrier. DIDs only allow you to receive calls, and act like toll-free numbers, sending calls into your dedicated circuit, but not being listed on your caller ID when you dial out from it. DIDs are generally only available on circuits set up by your local carrier, and not for long-distance circuits.

With all these limitations on long-distance circuits, you might wonder why anyone orders them. The reasons add up quickly in per-minute cost savings. Just as you get a better deal when you buy anything in bulk, you receive a better per-minute rate on a dedicated circuit.

 Tip  If you’re pushing enough long-distance minutes through your existing phone lines, you simply have to add up the numbers to see whether jumping to a dedicated circuit will benefit your business in the short and long term.

 Tip  The leap from switched service to dedicated circuits is the only significant jump to be made in telecom. The industry recognizes two categories of pricing: one for switched phone lines and the second for service provided via dedicated circuits. Unless you elect to become a carrier and become eligible for dedicated carrier pricing, there isn’t another plateau in the industry available capable of reducing your per-minute cost by 40 percent. The moment you install additional dedicated circuits you are not guaranteed a better rate, but you do have more leverage when you renegotiate your contract. The cost justification for dedicated service is covered in detail in Chapter 2 with some real-world numbers that can guide you to see if it is right for your business.