Re: BRI attachment for PM3`

Marty Likier (marty@livingston.com)
Fri, 20 Dec 1996 16:24:25 -0800

At 06:30 PM 12/20/96 EST, you wrote:
>I'll have to get the current cost from ameritech. You said "... with the
>equipment factored in." Unfortunately, i don't get to do that -- one time
>money (capital expenditure) is not as critical as on-going expenses. So, at
>best, i'd have to prorate the equipment cost over five or even ten years
where
>as on-going money comes immediately out of my budget. We are paying $36.02
>for a BRI line with both B channels CSD; $28.02 for BRI with CSV on both
>channels. So, a PRI line would need to cost no more than $432.24 (12x36.02);
>my qoute from a year ago was around $750 per month. I asked ameritech
whether
>there had been been any change when the PM3 started delivery and was told no.
>(the BRI costs include the federal access charge).

Food for thought on integrated PRI solutions. If support of analog modems
enter into the equation, I don't think its fair to compare PRI pricing
strickly against BRI pricing like in the above example. The reason is
simple. PRI provides both analog and ISDN service on any channel. In the
above example, there was no mention of POTs pricing. So lets say you had a
fixed configuration of 12 BRI, you would still have to install and pay a
monthly re-occuring cost for any POTs service required. Now I'm not trying
to say that the cost of POTs lines would overcome the $318 differential
detailed above, but it surely is a cost factor to consider.

Additionally, integrated PRI solutions provide somewhere between 20-30%
more WAN capacity than individual POTs or BRI circuits alone. As an
example, lets say you had 6 BRI and 12 POTs lines installed at a POP (24
total WAN channels). When the 13 modem user dialed in, or the 13th ISDN
user, they would both get a busy signal. With the integrated PRI solution,
the 13th modem or 13th ISDN caller, would get connected as long as a PRI
channel was available. In fact you could have 23 modem or 23 ISDN users
simultaneously connected (or any combination). That WAN flexibility is hard
to quantify, but is never-the-less real. And I won't mention savings in
real estate, utility bills, and administration. Off my soapbox.

--
Marty Likier
Product Marketing Mgr.
marty@livingston.com