Selecting the Best Business High Speed Internet Service Provider

During the last decade, many changes have taken place in the telecommunications arena, with increasing focus on the Internet, and as data and voice services continued to blend. One obvious area of change in the industry is the ever-increasing number of mergers and acquisitions. Another is the dazzling array of new products and services being introduced on a continuous basis. What is the best way to stay up to date with all the changes? In this article, we investigate and analyze some of these changes and provide ideas that will help in selecting the best business broadband internet service providers.

In recent years, many telecommunications companies have been affected by mergers and acquisitions. A few of the biggest in the US include:

* The acquisition of US West by Qwest Communications in 1999
* AT&T Inc. taking over BellSouth in 2006
* SBC (Southwestern Bell Corporation) Communications acquired Ameritech in 1999
* The merger of MCI Communications Corporation with Worldcom in 1998
* The merger of GTE with Bell Atlantic to form Verizon in 2000
* The acquisition of AT&T by SBC in 2005
* The acquisition of MCI by Verizon in 2005

In addition, many new products and services have been offered and continuously enhanced in recent years including:

* Voice over IP services (VoIP) - Beginning in 2004, VoIP services have been available over broadband DSL or business Internet T1 service, without using common switched telephone services. Three ways to provide VoIP services are using an analog telepone adapter with an existing analog phone, using dedicated VoIP phones, and using softphone (or software) on a personal computer.
* Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) - SIP is a signaling standard approved in 2000 and now implemented in hardware or software solutions, as one method of "standard" VoIP service. Many companies provide SIP hardware and services, including both carriers and manufacturers of telephone systems such as Avaya, Shoretel, Cisco, Nortel, Polycom, and Snom.
* Skype - Skype is a proprietary system that delivers VoIP services. Skype provides one of the most accepted VoIP services using its own non-standards based approach.
* Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) - MPLS is a way to define a protocol-based private network using DSL or business Internet T1 service and without the need for hardware devices at each location. The main benefit is a reduction in the number of points in the network that require configuration and management; resulting in less overhead.

The above are just a few examples of the many changes taking place in the telecommunications industry. Choosing the best business broadband internet service providers may require some expert advice in order to make the best possible choices for MPLS, VoIP, SIP, business Internet T1 service and many more new technologies. A telecommunications broker that keeps up with the latest industry trends can advise on the ideal services obtainable from numerous industry souces to meet specific requirements.

Jim Green advises on selecting high speed internet service providers through an online telecommunications brokerage and assists his clients to choose the best business broadband internet connections according to their needs.