Today's contact centers are heavy users of electronic communications and are likely to be the major telecom cost center for the company. A typical contact center may have a combination of technologies that include individual analog telephone or FAX lines, T1 or DS3 based digital telephone trunks, SIP trunking for VoIP based communications, broadband dedicated Internet service, and perhaps point to point private lines for PBX tie lines or electronic data transfer.
What contact center managers really need are voice and data services that save them money while maintaining or improving center performance and reliability. Thanks to competitive carriers and new technology introductions, it is indeed possible to get more for your telecom dollar on your next service contract.
The most basic service is the standard telephone line for local and/or long distance calling. Many companies have a need for both incoming and outgoing calls plus multiple toll free lines. In the call center, screen pops generated by CTI or Computer Telephone Integration increase staff productivity. For this you need Caller ID information as well as a voice channel.
T1 PRI or ISDN PRI is the proven telephone trunking technology that gives you multiple phone lines that can be configured as required, Caller ID data, and fast call setup & teardown to improve efficiency. A single T1 PRI offers up to 23 lines plus a signaling and data channel. A larger PBX telephone system can be configured to accept multiple T1 PRI lines. If your contact center is large enough to require hundreds of phone lines, DS3 telephone service can easily provide this cost effectively.
Alternatively, small contact centers may enjoy the cost savings of combined telephone and Internet service on a single Integrated T1 line. Integrated T1 service works well for operations that need from 6 to 12 outside lines plus broadband Internet access for a small team.
A competing technology to the traditional T1 PRI digital trunk is called SIP Trunking. SIP is Session Initiation Protocol, a popular signaling format for VoIP based telephone systems. SIP Trunking offers a single private line network connection between the contact center and service provider for converged voice and data. The service provider handles call termination with the public switched phone network, usually at very attractive rates.
Regardless of whether your contact center employs only a few people or a large staff, it is well worth a few minutes of your time to see how much you can save on your telecommunication services. Get a quick online quote now and also a free consultation by our telecom experts who can match your requirements with the most cost effective service options.
