1. Timing
“Rome wasn’t built in a day”- and neither will your phone or internet network. The #1 mistake companies make with their telecom is waiting until the last second. When switching from one carrier to another, time frames can range from 1-4 months. Yes, it’s crazy that it takes that long, but it’s a process that includes multiple parties and has to be scrubbed, processed, and delivered.
The time frame also depends on the services you’re installing or moving. If you’re just porting phone numbers from one carrier to another, you can expect to wait about 3-4 weeks for the process to be complete. That’s all fine and dandy, except the phone switch generally has to coincide with a change in internet circuit- and those take even longer.
Time frames for Internet Circuits:
- Cable- 1 month
- T1- 2 months
- Fiber- 4 months
This is assuming there are no construction costs to pull the circuit into your building which can add up to 90+ days.
2. Unrealistic expectations
Telecom is complicated. Each company’s set-up is different; like snowflakes. There are a lot of moving parts to fit together. Let ETS consult with your business to complete an assessment and show you the big picture. We make it easier to get everything right the first time.
Also, when it comes to expectations businesses tend forget this general rule: “you get what you pay for.” Now, that won’t be true 100% of the time, but if you want the cheapest solution, you may likely get the headaches that come along with that. Luckily, ETS Solutions is a wealth of knowledge on what value carriers provide. Sure, anyone can get pricing from them, but do you know what kind of service and reliability you’ll get for that price? We do. We know which carriers are good at certain things and others that aren’t. Trust us, your best interest is our best interest. All in all, if you need 99.9% up-time with solid phone system that is backed up in the cloud, it’ll be worth the difference in price from the basic solution.
3. Keeping outdated technology
Communication is the core of what makes a business run. Without reliable connectivity to support that, businesses can struggle. There’s no need to pay a hardware vendor an hourly rate to come fix your phone hardware over and over when you can get an up-to-date phone system on a lease-to-own term that includes support! Upgrading to more updated technology will help you avoid those costs in two ways:
A) up-to-date hardware will work better
B) you can find significant savings.
Liz Thomas, ETS Solutions
Carriers raise prices on outdated technology products to encourage customers to move to the newer technology. It’s happening now with traditional analog lines and PRIs.
As your technology ages (which happens every 3-4 years) you should work with ETS to assess your current set-up and pain points. Then look at upgrading your technology to save some money and make managing your telecom easier.
