Here's a practical cost management guide to the complex world of voice, data and wireless telecommunications for the non-technical business professional. Examining the complex, highly technical telecommunications industry from an insider's point of view, it sifts through all the technical jargon, offers a comprehensive education on the applications, services and procurement of telecom products, and provides a strategy to effectively manage the costs of those products and services. The book enables you to: understand telecom services; audit phone bills; reduce the cost of existing services and eliminate unnecessary ones; and efficiently negotiate new contracts and services.

This informative resource explains how providers of telecommunications services interwork and compete, focusing on pricing structures and options. Each section of this volume contains cost management advice, explains the technologies and service offerings of carriers, and illustrates complex concepts with case studies of companies in today's marketplace. Filled with cost management charts and graphics, problems to solve, and featuring an extensive reference section with terms and PIC codes, the book gives you the necessary tools to understand and reduce telecommunication costs.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Background of the telecom industry
3. The complete do-it-yourself telecom audit
4. Local service
5. Local lines
6. Local calls
7. Intralata calling
8. Long-distance calls on local bills
9. Managing tour payphones
10. Customer service records
11. Long-distance overview and sample bill
12. Long-distance pricing
13. Long-distance contract discounts
14. Dedicated service
15. Data networking essentials
16. Dedicated private lines
17. Circuit switching
18. Packet switching
19. New data networking services
20. Wireless telecommunications service
21. Mobile phone rate plans
22. Airtime
23. Paging service
24. Contract negotiation
25. The request for proposal process

Glossary
List of acronyms
Selected bibliography
About the author
Index