Telecom For Dummies

by Stephen P. Olejniczak

Overview

Find out how to manage your telecom services and save your company money!

• Worldwide telecom spending was over $4 trillion in 2004, and virtually all 12 million businesses in the U.S. buy phone and other telecom services
• Our book shows people at small and medium-sized businesses how to make sense of telecom lingo and get the best deals
• Includes an overview of the major players in the telecom industry and an easy-to-understand explanation of the existing telecom infrastructure
• Helps people pinpoint the telecom services best suited to their business needs, understand billing, and troubleshoot problems
• Covers emerging industry trends, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and how they can help businesses cut costs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471770855
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/10/2006
Series:	For Dummies Books
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Stephen Olejniczak is Director of Operations for ATI, a long distance company. As a manager and trainer, he has worked with service providers, sales forces, and corporate customers for 13 years.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: The ABCs of Telecom Service 7

Chapter 1: A Buyer’s Scoop on Telecom 9

Chapter 2: Making (And Living with) Telecom Decisions 23

Chapter 3: Getting Around the Telecom Neighborhood 43

Part II: Reviewing Telecom Products and Prices 53

Chapter 4: Understanding Dedicated Service Requirements 55

Chapter 5: Meeting Toll-Free Service, the Red-Headed Stepchild of Telecom 65

Chapter 6: Getting the Non-Accountant’s Guide to Your Phone Bill 89

Part III: Ordering and Setting Up Telecom Service 111

Chapter 7: Ordering Regular Phone Lines and New Long-Distance Service 113

Chapter 8: Ordering Dedicated Service 133

Chapter 9: Ordering Toll-Free Service 165

Chapter 10: Activating Your Dedicated Circuit and Toll-Free Numbers 193

Part IV: Taking Care of Your Telecom System 209

Chapter 11: Maintaining Your Telecom Services 211

Chapter 12: Troubleshooting Switched Network Issues 233

Chapter 13: Troubleshooting Your Dedicated Circuits 259

Part V: What’s Hot (Or Just Geeky) in the Telecom World 293

Chapter 14: Transferring Data, Not Just Voice Content 295

Chapter 15: Riding the Internet Wave: VoIP 309

Part VI: The Part of Tens 325

Chapter 16: Ten Acronyms and What They Really Mean 327

Chapter 17: Ten Troublesome Telecom Traits to Avoid 331

Chapter 18: Ten Places to Go for Hints and Help 337

Appendix: Making a Loopback Plug 343

Index 347