[BC] ISDN Long Distance

[RadEng]

Tom,

In the last 2 years I've installed 2 ISDN lines and had to work out LD
carrier for each.  Here's a summary of the two:

1.  Local small telco who provides the lines for our main studio installed
ISDN for us, and they took care of the LD part, as part of their offer to
us.  Being small, they really wanted our business, which motivated them to
offer it as part of a bundle.  I was skeptical that the LD part would
actually work.  At first, it didn't.  I made some calls to them and found
out that in the background they had a choice of two different ISDN LD
carriers (transparent to me unless I asked).  One of the two available was
Sprint.  I asked them to switch my line to Sprint, and it has worked fine
ever since.  5 cents per line per minute.  Unfortunately this level of
service seems rare.

2.  Had ISDN installed at a TX site, STL backup.  Remote site, only 1 telco
(a real biggie) available.  They could not (or would not) help with LD.  I
did some research and found the big three (ATT MCI Sprint) very
unsatisfactory for several reasons - either very expensive (32 cents per
channel per min), or astronomically high minimum monthly usage billing
levels.  Very frustrating.  So I clicked on a link called
www.isdnlongdistance.com.  $15 per month minimum, state to state $.079 per
min per channel, $.105 per min per channel instate, rates lower with higher
useage.  Apparently they buy big blocks from one of the major carriers
(Sprint I think), then split it up for little consumers like me.  Paperwork
to set this up was a bit cumbersome, but it worked out real well for us in
the end.

Good luck.  This is way more complicated to set up than it should be, but
once it is done, it just works and works.

Dave Morais
----- Original Message ----- From: "ACN" <acn at qwest.net>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:53 PM
Subject: Re: [BC] ISDN Long Distance


Hi Bill.

Our carriers are Qwest in Washington and Verizon in California and parts of
our area in Washington.

Neither offer long distance on ISDN lines.

Maybe I should check into Sprint.   Is Sprint your local phone company in
LV?

Thanks,

Tom

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Bill Croghan
  To: 'Broadcasters' Mailing List'
  Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 3:47 PM
  Subject: RE: [BC] ISDN Long Distance


  Tom,
  We've found that the most reliable ISDN service comes from the
  predominant local carrier.  Here in LV that's Sprint (now Embarq).  Since
  the other carriers are typically using the main carriers lines, that adds
  another level of switching and complexity to the system.  When I have to
  order out of town, I try to find out who the predominant carrier is going
to
  be in that area.   It's worth a few more cents occasionally to have the
  peace of mind.  I don't have access to the rates at this time.
  Bill

  Bill Croghan CPBE WB?KSW
  Chief Engineer,
  KOMP/KXPT/KENO/KBAD/KWWN
  Lotus Broadcasting
  Las Vegas, NV
  Email to loteng (at) lvradio.com
  Phone 702-315-3030
  Fax      702-876-6685






  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: broadcast-bounces at radiolists.net [mailto:broadcast-
  > bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of ACN
  > Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 3:23 PM
  > To: Broadcasters' Mailing List
  > Subject: Re: [BC] ISDN Long Distance
  >
  >
  > To the brain trust:
  >
  > Who are you using for your ISDN long distance service, what is your
  > experience, what are you being charged per minute, and who is your
  > contact?
  >
  > I understand that only AT&T, Sprint, and MCI are able to offer long
  > distance
  > on ISDN lines?
  >
  > We have been using AT&T but recently found that they changed our rate to
  > .32
  > cents without consultation.
  >
  > I am wondering what sort of rate MCI offers?
  >
  > Thanks for your help on this project.
  >
  > Tom
  > ACN Network
  >