Low T1 Prices still Available throughout the USA

Although the $299 promotion mentioned in an earlier post has left us with June, most locations in the USA are eligible for data T1 service at monthly charges ranging from $391 to $750. The rates below $400 are only available in certain metropolitan areas. Tenants in buildings that are Lit may be eligible for even lower rates. To find the rates available in any specific location, enter your info in the T1 Pricing Tool.

T1, DS3 and DSL Competition at an All Time High

T1, DS3 and DSL prices have reached an all time low. In a number of Metropolitan areas, T1 Internet Access from quality providers is available for as low as $299 per month on a limited promotion. Similarly, IP DS-3 (45 Mbps) promo port pricing is as low as $2299 per month. Residential 768 Kbps ADSL is available for as low as $17.99 per month. Some Industry watchers believe that we will not see much more of a drop in pricing for broadband Internet access. Already, some providers are beginning to stop decreasing prices and enticing customers to their product by adding extras like additional static IP addresses, antivirus protection, etc. To find out the best Internet access options for your location, just input your info at the T1, DS3 and DSL Pricing page.

Network Neutrality is at Risk

I scanned the Save The Internet site and am quite concerned. I'm sure if the large Telecom companies have their way Network Neutrality will be gone. That will affect all of us. Persimmon Telecommunications is successful because most customers find our web sites via searches on Google or one of the other popular search engines. Even though some of the services that we sell are directly from the large Telecom companies, I suspect they would not allow web sites like that of Persimmon Telecommunications to have any priority. Certainly, I expect they would not give us priority if we continue selling services from their competitors.

One great advantage of the web as it is today is that anyone with an idea or concept can discuss it on the web and, if a lot of people find the idea or concept, of interest, it will be given more attention on the web. If the large Telecom companies have their way, the ideas, concepts, products and services that you will be able to readily read about on the web will be from those who can pay the most. It'll be something like the ads that you see during the SuperBowl. Sure the products might be great products, but you are only going to hear about the products there that have huge financial backing. Of course, any product or service that is sold with a large advertising budget is sold with the price inflated to pay for that advertising budget.

I joined the coalition and plan to support it by contacting congressman, etc. What about you?

The US Treasury Department has retroactively repealed the Excise Tax on Long Distance Calls

Today, the US Treasury Department retroactively repealed the 3% Excise Tax on Long Distance calls that was established in 1898 as a "luxury" tax to finance the Spanish-American war. On 2006 tax returns due next year, consumers and businesses will be able to apply for refunds of the Long Distance Excise tax collected from them over the past three years. For more information on this tax repeal, see Treasury Department Repeals Excise Tax on Long-Distance Calls and Phone Tax Laid to Rest at Age 108. You may have to register at the New York Times site to read the latter but registration is free. This change results in a savings on Long Distance calls made from landline phones, VoIP phones and Cell Phones.

Domains With Us Domain Name Register now accepting PayPal

It's just been announced that, in addition to credit cards, the Domain Name Register, Domains With Us, now accepts payment via PayPal. Prices for an annual Domain Name registration are $9.75 per year with a discount for domain names that are moved here from another registrar. Domains With Us Domain Name Registration includes optional URL redirection, URL framing and complete DNS management.

VoIP For Dummies - How to Compare VoIP Plans

Joe Budelis, the president of Persimmon Telecommunications, is scheduled to present VoIP For Dummies - How to Choose the best VoIP Plan Saturday and Sunday the 22nd and 23rd at the Trenton Computer Festival. The TCF site has additional details.

ShopForT1 Milestone

It's great to see that ShopForT1 passed two milestones this last quarter: It delivered the 300,000th T1 Price Quote and it reported over $300,000 in new contracts. That's $300,000 per month in additional contracts.

VoIP (Voice Over IP) Demystified Presentation Tuesday, April 4, 2006

On Tuesday, April 4, 2006, I'm giving a presentation at the Princeton Public Library entitled VoIP (Voice Over IP) Demystified. This presentation will, in effect, be a discussion of my updated web page VoIP for Dummies. All are invited.

T1 and T3 Sales at a new High: Channel Partners Conference

As an Independent Agent and Consultant for ShopForT1, I'm glad to report some ShopForT1 highlights announced at the Channel Partners conference in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month. ShopForT1 received the the following awards:

* ACC Business – Platinum Partner Award (Top 1%)
* Broadwing – Most New Customers Sold 2005
* New Edge – Most Valuable Partner Council 2004, 2005
* Netifice - Top producing Master Agency - Single site data T1's 2004, 2005
* Megapath – Top 5 Agent 2005
* PowerNet Global – Top 5 Agent 2005
* Network Innovations - Top Agent 2004, 2005
* UCN – Stellar Sales Performer 2005 (Top 5 2005)
* Xspedius - Fastest Growing Agent in 2004, 2005


Having reached the $1 Million monthly recurring revenue mark within less than 3 years of beginning operations, we are looking forward to a great 2006. Visit my shopforT1 site at http://T1Guy.com.

VoIP For Dummies Small Business Development Workshop

For those near Trenton, NJ who wish to learn more practical information about Voice over IP, I'm running a VoIP For Dummies Small Business Development Workshop on March 8. Details are given at http://www.tcnj.edu/.

Free Cell Phone for Existing Cingular & AT&T Cellular Customers

We have always had great cell phone deals for those signing up for the first time with any cellular carrier. Now, we offer great cell phone deals for those who are at least 10 months into a 1-year contract or 22 months into a 2-year contract. These free or greatly discounted cell phones are currently available for Cingular and AT&T cellular customers. Go to Shop For Cell Phones, choose Cognigen Cellular, choose Cingular from the left hand list of Options, and then click in the bottom left orange box that says "Current Cingular Wireless & AT&T Wireless Customers >>Click Here". Offerings change from time to time. As I write this, our price for the RAZR on a contract extension is the same price as a new activation with Cingular. Plus we are including the bluetooth accessory. This is quite a deal.

VoIP Connections - How do you connect a VoIP Phone

I put up a new web page to help all understand how Voice over IP phone systems are hooked up. Under my VoIP for Dummies series, see How to Connect VoIP Phones. This writeup will help you understand what is involved in a VoIP setup.

More on this Spectacular VoIP Offering

I just signed up at the turn of the year when my previous 1-year VoIP contract ended. I'm excited to go to this new extremely cost effective VoIP service. My associates who already switched to it report great service. Incidentally, I neglected to mention in the earlier posting that, in addition to free calls to the USA and Canada, calls to Puerto Rico are also included in the unlimited plan.

Spectacular VoIP Service Offering

You will find on my site that compares VoIP services, a really great deal for those who pay significant toll charges for calls to the USA and Canada. For $199 per year (that's only $16.58 per month), you get unlimited calling to the USA and Canada. Included for the $16.58 per month is a $3 credit toward international calling at very low rates. For example, calls to Australia, the UK, France, Germany and Italy can be made for 3 cents per minute. Also, there is a limited time bonus of a free Uniden Cordless Phone System if you sign up today. The service gives you two phone numbers and 10 built-in calling features including voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, and 3 way calling. There are two free Directory Assistance calls each month - additional calls are just $.79 each. The price includes all related taxes and fees. Check it out today. There is a 31 day risk-free, money-back guarantee.

Great Broadband DSL Internet Access Offer

Although my specialty is T1 and DS3 line service, there are some great deals available on my web site for residential Telecommunications service. A really great one is broadband DSL Internet Access for $14.95 per month. This is less than many people are paying for dial-up Internet Access. It's available in Verizon territories but, as is always true for DSL, the wires from your home to the local phone company (LEC) Central Office have to meet distance and quality requirements. To determine what services are available for your home and to sign up for one of them, go to T1Guy.com for Broadband Internet Access Quotes and Comparisons. Click on "Residential DSL Quotes" in the middle bottom of the page and enter your info. This promotion is scheduled to end November 30. If you sign up before then, Verizon will give you a year contract at this great price.

Telecommunications Abbreviations Explained

I put up a new page Telecommunications Abbreviations Explained to help us all better understand the many Telecom abbreviations that are used nowadays. I'll be updating it as I come across additional abbreviations of interest.

VoIP Phones for Travel - China

Should you take your VoIP phone along while traveling? Here is the experience of one of my VoIP customers. He took a small $8 phone along with his VoIP dta on a China trip. In the first hotel where he stayed, he never got a dial tone. This was possibly because of IP blocking. At the second hotel, he could make and receive calls with no difficulty except that, although he could hear the person on the other end of the call loud and clear, the person on the other end reported that his voice was very weak. At the third hotel, in Beijing, he was able to make and receive calls with USA friends and relatives and the call quality was great. The lesson is that, although many of us have plugged VoIP phones into random broadband connections and found them to work, sometimes they won’t work or won’t work perfectly.

New Web Site: ShopForLD.Net

I've added a new web site to my collection: ShopForLD.Net It has a clean, fresh, modern look to it. It makes it easy for visitors to find the best buys in local and long distance phone service; dial-up and broadband internet access; T1, DS3, and OC3 voice and data line services; 800 Toll Free service; audio conferencing; cell phone service; VoIP phone services and much more. It makes it easy to obtain quotes and to compare offerings from a multitude of vendors. Right at the top of the home page is the Best Rate Calculator.

Virtual Presence in other Cities

If you receive numerous phone calls from a certain city, you may wish to have a number that is a local call for those callers. You can do that with VoIP (voice over IP) phones either by having your main VoIP number in that city or by obtaining a virtual number for that city.

For example, if you are in LA, you might have a Manhattan VoIP number that will then be a local call for your friends or business associates in New York City.

The Future in Telecom: VoIP?

Many think that the future in voice communications is VoIP or Voice over IP. To help you enter this future, I have started a new web page called VoIP for Dummies. Let me know if you find it useful or if you have any comments on it.