US LEC Corp. this month will introduce a T1 integrated access service with dynamic bandwidth allocation that gives priority to voice calls.
With a traditional T1, a business must choose to allocate a certain number of channels to phone lines and the Internet, and risks not having enough capacity out of the 24 channels available to handle either form of communication at any one time, according to President and CEO Aaron Cowell. Dynamic bandwidth allocation, the company says, diminishes that possibility because the capacity set aside for voice and data will fluctuate based on demand. For example, a real estate office may use more of the circuit during the day to handle phone calls, and additional capacity can be shifted to the Internet during the evening.
The telecommunications provider plans to introduce the service in Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla. later this month, and Cowell says he anticipates US LEC will make it available in seven to 10 markets by the end of the year based on demand. US LEC provides voice and data services to businesses in 15 states.
“We are still trying to work with the customer base to see what the right price point is here,” he says.
Cowell was reluctant to speculate on new features US LEC might add to the product, but he cited the ability to manage phone-key systems as a possibility. US LEC also is considering, among things, developing a feature that will allow employees at various branch offices to touch base via speed dial and chat at a lower cost.
US LEC is using technology from Cisco Systems Inc. and Broadsoft to support the new service.
