Telecom For Dummies

Description

Worldwide telecom spending was over $4 trillion in 2004, and virtually all 12 million businesses in the U.S. buy phone and other telecom services

Our book shows people at small and medium-sized businesses how to make sense of telecom lingo and get the best deals

Includes an overview of the major players in the telecom industry and an easy-to-understand explanation of the existing telecom infrastructure

Helps people pinpoint the telecom services best suited to their business needs, understand billing, and troubleshoot problems

Covers emerging industry trends, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and how they can help businesses cut costs

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Part I: The ABCs of Telecom Service.

Chapter 1: A Buyer’s Scoop on Telecom.

Chapter 2: Making (And Living with) Telecom Decisions.

Chapter 3: Getting Around the Telecom Neighborhood.

Part II: Reviewing Telecom Products and Prices.

Chapter 4: Understanding Dedicated Service Requirements.

Chapter 5: Meeting Toll-Free Service, the Red-Headed Stepchild of Telecom.

Chapter 6: Getting the Non-Accountant’s Guide to Your Phone Bill.

Part III: Ordering and Setting Up Telecom Service.

Chapter 7: Ordering Regular Phone Lines and New Long-Distance Service.

Chapter 8: Ordering Dedicated Service.

Chapter 9: Ordering Toll-Free Service.

Chapter 10: Activating Your Dedicated Circuit and Toll-Free Numbers.

Part IV: Taking Care of Your Telecom System.

Chapter 11: Maintaining Your Telecom Services.

Chapter 12: Troubleshooting Switched Network Issues.

Chapter 13: Troubleshooting Your Dedicated Circuits.

Part V: What’s Hot (Or Just Geeky) in the Telecom World.

Chapter 14: Transferring Data, Not Just Voice Content.

Chapter 15: Riding the Internet Wave: VoIP.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 16: Ten Acronyms and What They Really Mean.

Chapter 17: Ten Troublesome Telecom Traits to Avoid.

Chapter 18: Ten Places to Go for Hints and Help.

Appendix: Making a Loopback Plug.

Index.