In Demand

Sunrise Medical Laboratories is a lab that provides testing of blood and cultures for doctors throughout the New York metropolitan area. During the summer of 2000, the company decided to make the switch from Verizon Communications (www.verizon.com) to Broadview Networks (www.broadview.net). Sunrise, which has 250 employees, spends about $25,000 a month on local service from Broadview and long distance and inbound 800 service from AT&T Corp. (www.att.com), for its main facility in Hauppauge, N.Y., and 12 patients service centers through metropolitan New York. Eric Crugnale, Sunrise's chief information officer, tells xchange about his company's experience switching to a new local service provider.

X: How did your monthly costs for communications services change after switching to Broadview?

Crugnale: Our relative costs decreased. As we grow, we have been able to control communication costs.

X: Why did you switch from Verizon to Broadview?

Crugnale: Price was a primary factor. Also we were concerned with service and consolidated billing. We agreed to a pilot program with Broadview to ensure service would be adequate. After two months, we agreed to transfer all of our local service.

X: Could you discuss the quality, reliability and usefulness of the telecom services you're currently using?

Crugnale: We have been satisfied with Broadview. In general, there are always issues with [using] third-party phone service resellers. Coordination of service between the reseller (Broadview) and the local carrier (Verizon) is rarely seamless. This only becomes a problem with new line installs and when any repairs are required. It all gets done, but it might take a few extra days. I can accept some of the slight inconveniences associated with this for the significant reduction in costs. Broadview has performed much better than other carriers we have dealt with in the past. Their billing has been accurate and easy to understand. And we get treated like a major account, as opposed to being just another company with Verizon.

X: What type of communication equipment is Sunrise using?

Crugnale: We use an Inter-Tel PBX. Long distance and 800 services are routed over a T1 line with several switched lines carrying local traffic and overflow long distance. The switched lines also provide redundancy if the T1 goes down.

X: If there were things you could change about your current services, what would that include?

Crugnale: Telecom service agreements and billing are unncecessarily complex. I would love to simplify these. I would also like to see telecom carriers gain independence from the Bells for last mile connections. This really impacts their ability to provide service.

X: Are there any other services you'd like to have, but cannot get?

Crugnale: I would like to see pervasive broadband communications. DSL is a nightmare in many cases. It seems the demand is so great, yet no one company has been able to take advantage of it yet. Cable and fiber are promising, as is wireless. We'll get there, but it won't be soon enough for us.

If you are a telecomminication service end user and would like to be featured in this column please contact xchange's editor in chief Gail Lawyer at (240) 568-9763 or gail.lawyer@home.com