ISP Information:
Fiber optic wiring that has been installed but has not been turned on yet. Often, companies that lay fiber optic cabling will lay extra cable, since the laying of miles of cable is a very costly and time consuming procedure. This dark fiber will lay dormant until the company needs extra capacity, or until it leases it to another company that needs the capacity. Then the company "lights it up" by sending optical data ove
ISP Glossary:
Dark Fiber - Mr. Townson,Working in the telecom industry this company has recently beenbrought to my attention. Here is a fairly detailed and in depthassessment from what I've read. It's rather lengthy so I hope it goesthrough, and I have a copy backed up on word. You can reach me at theabove email address, though I ask that you remove it if you post thison your digest. Anyone else wishing to contact me in regards to thiscan email me at Crane999@yahoo.com with the title "Norvergence" and Ishould catch it. Gotta love those spam filters.In response to the recent queries and various boards I've read thatdeal with the telecommunications company Norvergence I would like tosupply the following opinion. I work for a competitor of thiscompany, however I have learned to respect competitors. While I havenot come up against a deal with this company, nor have I seen any ofthe paperwork they produce I do have some points that might be ofinterest.First I must point out that these opinions are based solely onhearsay. I am taking this information from what I have read on thesebulletin boards.1. If it saves you money, it's worth looking into. It appearsthat Norvergence can, and does save companies money on their telecombills.2. If at the same time as saving you money it provides aservice that is better than what you have, or exactly what you needthen go for it.Here are some concerns I have from a business standpoint, and alsofrom what I would ask as a consumer looking into these services.1. Why am I signing a loan application and not a creditverification form?2. If you can't tell me about what kind of service youprovide, who can?3. How is your customer service?4. What is your service level agreement (what happens if/whenI lose service?)5. Why do I have to purchase the equipment, can't I just rentit?6. If I'm purchasing the equipment and it breaks, whatrecourse do I have?7. Why should I have to leave my current carrier up forredundancy?8. All the other telecom companies only offer a 3 year dealmaximum, why am I signing a 5 year deal?Some of the issues mentioned, that I want to provide some measure ofclarity on.* Reselling of services. In the case of Norvergence thereappears to be an issue with their reselling the cellular services.Each company (aside from the Incumbent carriers - Bell, Sprint,Verizon) must in some manner "resell" some measure of their business.If you have an analog line at your business and you don't have servicewith one of the Incumbents, chances are that line is resold. Samesituation, the difference is you're dealing with Cell phones whichmost companies don't do.* From what I've read, the customer service is terrible. Ok,admittedly every company has at some point or another been known forbad customer service. There are growing pains, especially ifNorvergence is growing as fast as it seems. My only statement on thissubject currently (I address this further, later on) is that they willneed to improve this area to keep customers. Any company with acontinued record of horrible customer service often gets in troublewith state agencies. I'm sure they are aware of this issue and therewas some indication from the posts I read that they had improved tosome measure.* Raising the rates of services with 30 days notice. I am notaware of any company (other than perhaps the Incumbent Carriers) thatdo not have some form of this. Your initial response even from mostof the companies will be that they do not, because you signed acontract. Your thoughts are, I signed a contract that guarantees me aprice for the specified amount of time.o Each company must file tariffs within each state they electto provide services in. These tariffs are reviewed by the UtilityCommissions or Regulatory agencies within that state. Due to thelengthy nature of these legal documents (think taxes) they are notgiven to customers but are readily available. My company has themlocated on the internet for anyone to view. Within these tariffs arethe regulations of how the company would go about raisin
|
