Streamyx

If every month you dread opening up your phone or cell phone bill, it's time to take charge and cut those monthly expenses. Keep reading to learn 7 tips on how you can drastically reduce your phone bills and save money.

1. Audit your bills every month.

Go through your long distance and cellular bills every month, checking for errors and looking for call patterns. First, report and contest any mistakes so you don't wind up paying for services you didn't use.

Next, look through your bill and see where you could be saving money. For example, if the majority of your calls are made to the same two or three numbers, look into a phone plan that lets you call priority or favored numbers for less.

2. Call corporate numbers collect.

If a company doesn't offer a 1-800 number, try calling them collect. Identify yourself as a customer or a potential client and they'll often accept. If it doesn't work, simply call back direct and no harm done.

3. Pit the long distance carriers against one another.

If a long distance carrier sends you an offer that's better than what you're getting with your current phone company, call them up and tell them about it. Ask your current long distance carrier what they can do to match or beat their competitor's offer. Some have corporate flexibility to do so.

4. Stop calling directory assistance.

Instead of paying up to a dollar for expensive directory assistance charges, either use the phone book or the Internet to look up numbers. If you're on the street with your cell phone, look for a pay phone where you can use directory assistance for free.

5. Time your calls.

Whether you're using a cell phone or making a long distance call, keep your eye on the clock. Before you make the call, set a time limit for yourself and get off when your time is up.

6. Send a text message instead.

If you have a quick message to deliver, but don't want to spend your cell minutes on a long, but unnecessary message with someone, send a quick text message instead. With the right plan, text messages cost a lot less than calls.

7. Avoid getting locked in to contracts.

You'll save with a monthly plan, but try to avoid locking yourself into a two-year commitment with a particular phone company. That contract means you have less freedom to switch providers if they're not delivering good customer service and a quality product.

For information on practical money saving tips, please visit http://www.moneysavetips.com a popular site providing great insights concerning savings ideas, such as student debt help, prepaid credit cards for teenagers, and many more!

# posted by kenny-yap38176 @ 8:00 PM 1 comments

The ideal solution for high end bandwidth users where connectivity is essential for operations isn't a simple T1 or DS3 dedicated line...you need an "OC" fiber optic network. So just what is OCx, what can it do for you, and what do you need to know?

What is an OCx Circuit?

'OC' stands for Optical Carrier and is used to specify the speed of fiber optic networks conforming to the SONET standard. SONET, (Synchronous Optical Networks), includes a set of signal rate multiples for transmitting digital signals on optical fiber. The base rate (OC-1) is 51.84 Mbps. Certain multiples of the base rate are provided below with bandwidth amounts. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) makes use of some of the Optical Carrier
levels.

Optical Carrier lines provide content providers, ASP's, ISP's & large enterprises with dedicated Internet connectivity. These Optical Carrier Level circuits are an ideal solution for high end bandwidth users where connectivity is essential for operations. Some examples are large data centers, high tech research facilities, university infrastructure, airport
complexes, and casino video security and data systems.

What is an OC3?

An OC3 can be three DS3s (T3s) or one 155M pipe. The benefit in using DS3s is that each can be separated back out as individual T1s (each with 24 channels). To put it into perspective, the speed of an OC3 connection is 155Mbps. This is equivalent to 3 T3 lines or 100 T1 lines. An OC12 connection is 622Mbps, equivalent to 14 T3 lines or approx. 414 T1 lines.

What is an OC12?

An OC12 is approximately equal to 4 OC3s and runs at 622 Mbps. which makes it an excellent point-to-point IP delivery connection. The greatest benefit to an OC-12 is that bandwidth can be added to a business as it grows without any major system overhauls. An OC12 can also allow a business to have unlimited IP addresses which insures that growth is never limited...

What is an OC48?

An OC48 works as a reliable fiber optic backbone for large networks which require volume extensive voice/data/video traffic. It is a long-haul backbone fibre connection capable of transmitting data at 2.45 Gbps. To put it into perspective the speed of an OC48 is the equivalent of having 48 T3's OR 1,344 T1 lines.

The pricing for these type of connections can vary widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the exact application for which the connection is intended to be used. Due to this complexity it is suggested to use the services of a consultant such as "DS3-Bandwidth.com" to research available providers and find the best fit to meet a specific requirement.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications....including Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

# posted by kenny-yap38176 @ 10:03 AM 0 comments