Cisco vs. Polycom - Phone System
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@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
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@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Wait, are you not on VoIP? That's the issue. Can you not move to modern telephony? I can come to your town and would never even know TDS existed because I'm on VoIP and my phone lines come with me anywhere. TDS has nothing to do with my phone lines.
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@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Been there done that. Can the numbers get ported to a different provider? IE could you go pure SIP for this?
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@BBigford said:
He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Like many things in the Internet era.... what would make you even consider a local provider let alone select one? not that there aren't reasons why it wouldn't make sense, I'm not saying that. But local would be the last place I would consider. I would want the best service, flexibility and options. Local almost always means bad things - like treating customers like crap because they assume that they are valuing locality over quality or value.
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Check out Vitelity they generally have local DIDs wherever you are. http://www.vitelity.com/local_did_coverage/
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@BBigford said:
"Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers...
Dollars to donuts you put in Asterisk and they couldn't even figure it out. As to the porting, they are simply lying there. They aren't porting at all. Porting would refer to transferring you to another phone company.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Wait, are you not on VoIP? That's the issue. Can you not move to modern telephony? I can come to your town and would never even know TDS existed because I'm on VoIP and my phone lines come with me anywhere. TDS has nothing to do with my phone lines.
Right. Just received an email.. He wanted a provider (who he's migrate to) to host the phone service, but they told him that they didn't have the rights to port the numbers. He talked about possibly having to convert his POTS lines to PRI and see how many numbers he can port...
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@coliver said:
Check out Vitelity they generally have local DIDs wherever you are. http://www.vitelity.com/local_did_coverage/
As well well as voip.ms and VoicePulse.
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@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Wait, are you not on VoIP? That's the issue. Can you not move to modern telephony? I can come to your town and would never even know TDS existed because I'm on VoIP and my phone lines come with me anywhere. TDS has nothing to do with my phone lines.
Right. Just received an email.. He wanted a provider (who he's migrate to) to host the phone service, but they told him that they didn't have the rights to port the numbers. He talked about possibly having to convert his POTS lines to PRI and see how many numbers he can port...
Drop the numbers, that's your best bet. You are being held hostage and every day you leave the numbers there they have you more and more hostage. Move to new numbers immediately and slowly phase people over. Get them on your website immediately. The cost of staying with this provider is already huge and will only grow over time. You are locked into a ridiculous system and are already being extorted.
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@scottalanmiller said:
Porting would refer to transferring you to another phone company.
I guess that's what he is trying to accomplish after all. I think this thread might be a jumble of miscommunication now. Haha sorry for that. Started off as one thing and seems like it is just going in a loop.
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@BBigford said:
Right. Just received an email.. He wanted a provider (who he's migrate to) to host the phone service, but they told him that they didn't have the rights to port the numbers.
"They" always have the right to port. What they mean to tell you is they "don't have a legal requirement to port" so they won't because they have you trapped. Why would they give that up?
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@BBigford said:
He talked about possibly having to convert his POTS lines to PRI and see how many numbers he can port...
That's not porting, that's just locking in more and more.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Wait, are you not on VoIP? That's the issue. Can you not move to modern telephony? I can come to your town and would never even know TDS existed because I'm on VoIP and my phone lines come with me anywhere. TDS has nothing to do with my phone lines.
Right. Just received an email.. He wanted a provider (who he's migrate to) to host the phone service, but they told him that they didn't have the rights to port the numbers. He talked about possibly having to convert his POTS lines to PRI and see how many numbers he can port...
Drop the numbers, that's your best bet. You are being held hostage and every day you leave the numbers there they have you more and more hostage. Move to new numbers immediately and slowly phase people over. Get them on your website immediately. The cost of staying with this provider is already huge and will only grow over time. You are locked into a ridiculous system and are already being extorted.
This is probably going to be your only option. Small telcoms seem to be holding onto their local exchanges with a death grip I have no idea why other companies aren't bringing competition in.
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So.... what is trapping you with your current numbers? Is it that customers already know them? You have advertised them heavily? What makes you unable to change your phone numbers?
This is common, I'm just trying to work out your unique strategy here.
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@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Wait, are you not on VoIP? That's the issue. Can you not move to modern telephony? I can come to your town and would never even know TDS existed because I'm on VoIP and my phone lines come with me anywhere. TDS has nothing to do with my phone lines.
Right. Just received an email.. He wanted a provider (who he's migrate to) to host the phone service, but they told him that they didn't have the rights to port the numbers. He talked about possibly having to convert his POTS lines to PRI and see how many numbers he can port...
Drop the numbers, that's your best bet. You are being held hostage and every day you leave the numbers there they have you more and more hostage. Move to new numbers immediately and slowly phase people over. Get them on your website immediately. The cost of staying with this provider is already huge and will only grow over time. You are locked into a ridiculous system and are already being extorted.
This is probably going to be your only option. Small telcoms seem to be holding onto their local exchanges with a death grip I have no idea why other companies aren't bringing competition in.
Because they literally own the customers and there is no way to compete. It is actually a legal monopoly and there is no way out but to abandon the numbers.
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$0.02 - Cisco's phone system seems designed to be obtuse, obscure and exceptionally difficult for the average punter to sit down and work with. Comparing the state of the art Cisco system I had previously to the ancient and crusty Mitel system I have currently, I'd take the Mitel every day. Easy to use, easy to understand.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@BBigford said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Let's back up a little. Instead of only looking at the phones it sounds like there is an issue with a bad provider. What provider are you using and how are you limited to them? How are they achieving lock in?
It's a provider called TDS (tdstelecom I believe). When he inquired about going with an Asterisk setup, the provider said "Nope, nope. You can't use Asterisk with us. You have to use a setup like Cisco." I was told it was how they port the numbers... He's limited to them because there is literally NO other company in the area. There is one single company that services all the surrounding towns within about a 40-45 mile radius...
Wait, are you not on VoIP? That's the issue. Can you not move to modern telephony? I can come to your town and would never even know TDS existed because I'm on VoIP and my phone lines come with me anywhere. TDS has nothing to do with my phone lines.
Right. Just received an email.. He wanted a provider (who he's migrate to) to host the phone service, but they told him that they didn't have the rights to port the numbers. He talked about possibly having to convert his POTS lines to PRI and see how many numbers he can port...
Drop the numbers, that's your best bet. You are being held hostage and every day you leave the numbers there they have you more and more hostage. Move to new numbers immediately and slowly phase people over. Get them on your website immediately. The cost of staying with this provider is already huge and will only grow over time. You are locked into a ridiculous system and are already being extorted.
This is probably going to be your only option. Small telcoms seem to be holding onto their local exchanges with a death grip I have no idea why other companies aren't bringing competition in.
Because they literally own the customers and there is no way to compete. It is actually a legal monopoly and there is no way out but to abandon the numbers.
Oh, I didn't realize that I thought it was limitations on circuits...
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@scottalanmiller said:
So.... what is trapping you with your current numbers? Is it that customers already know them? You have advertised them heavily? What makes you unable to change your phone numbers?
This is common, I'm just trying to work out your unique strategy here.
Yikes. So he told me the school board will not allow phone number changes.
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First step.... reach out to voip.ms and attempt a number port. See if they can do it. The local telecom will happily lie to keep you locked in. But a federal port request is not something that they can lie about. If they are required to port the number it will be ported and the issue will be solved.
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@MattSpeller said:
$0.02 - Cisco's phone system seems designed to be obtuse, obscure and exceptionally difficult for the average punter to sit down and work with. Comparing the state of the art Cisco system I had previously to the ancient and crusty Mitel system I have currently, I'd take the Mitel every day. Easy to use, easy to understand.
Cisco relies on this back door deals with phone companies to pressure people into buying their crappy PBXs. I can't imagine anyone buying one in an open market. They offer nothing of value.
