Telecom For Dummies

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

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

Introduction 1Part I: The ABCs of Telecom Service 7Chapter 1: A Buyer's Scoop on Telecom 9Chapter 2: Making (And Living with) Telecom Decisions 23Chapter 3: Getting Around the Telecom Neighborhood 43Part II: Reviewing Telecom Products and Prices 53Chapter 4: Understanding Dedicated Service Requirements 55Chapter 5: Meeting Toll-Free Service, the Red-Headed Stepchild of Telecom 65Chapter 6: Getting the Non-Accountant's Guide to Your Phone Bill 89Part III: Ordering and Setting Up Telecom Service 111Chapter 7: Ordering Regular Phone Lines and New Long-Distance Service 113Chapter 8: Ordering Dedicated Service 133Chapter 9: Ordering Toll-Free Service 165Chapter 10: Activating Your Dedicated Circuit and Toll-Free Numbers 193Part IV: Taking Care of Your Telecom System 209Chapter 11: Maintaining Your Telecom Services 211Chapter 12: Troubleshooting Switched Network Issues 233Chapter 13: Troubleshooting Your Dedicated Circuits 259Part V: What's Hot (Or Just Geeky) in the Telecom World 293Chapter 14: Transferring Data, Not Just Voice Content 295Chapter 15: Riding the Internet Wave: VoIP 309Part VI: The Part of Tens 325Chapter 16: Ten Acronyms and What They Really Mean 327Chapter 17: Ten Troublesome Telecom Traits to Avoid 331Chapter 18: Ten Places to Go for Hints and Help 337Appendix: Making a Loopback Plug 343Index 347