Actors "behind" a phone call ...

When you make a phone call using your desk phone, all that matters at that moment is "having line" (hearing the dial tone), and dialing (in any way possible), the number you want to connect to. ??

But did you know that, besides the technicalities of how phone networks work, there are telephone Service Providers and telephone Carriers?? So, what?! I'll explain.

Let's say first that even those that are familiar with service providers and carriers, most people typically use these 2 terms interchangeably; although to tell the truth, there are cases where these two "entities" are the same (wait until later). Anyway, it’s important to make a distinction between them because they have 2 very different functions.

A phone carrier is an entity that makes it?possible to happen a phone call, that connects your calls.??

A provider cannot provide you with phone service without a carrier to connect your calls.

Carriers are also known as “underlying carriers” (ULC), and you probably don't have a clue which one is your "underlying carrier" for the service in your business. That is OK!, there are no penalties because of that. As the word "carrier" may suggest, the carrier makes a phone number live and active so that the phone number actually works.

On the other hand, the phone service provider (SP) is the entity we’re all more familiar with, the one you signed a contract with, the one you send payments month after month. They are the ones who actually sell the service to clients. Basically, they’re the ones who package the product.

A simple way to illustrate these two "boys" is to think on US passenger trains. Have you traveled by train? (it's not a weird question, some may have never been on a train yet!) Whom did you pay the ticket to? Amtrak? Good. But Amtrak needs definitely the collaboration of Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National Railway, and BNSF Railway, the ones that really "operate" and "own" the railroads; the ones that "carry" the passenger trains.??

At this point, you as a business owner may be thinking "how much am I going to save from now on, knowing about these 2 entities"? Probably zero, at this point.????

But understanding first the existence of these 2 players and the difference between both. That the carrier and service provider working together is an essential relationship, and both are necessary for phone service. This understanding can help you to correspond much more effectively with your phone service provider. I'll give you an example.??

Recently, I was helping a client to port their phone number to a new service provider (Ha! you know what is that already!). The former SP was giving them?'painful' customer service, very expensive and any simple request, a nightmare. ?? We helped them with a new solution, from choosing the one service that better fits the way they operate their business, to the installation and training on their office. And last, we went to port their phone numbers. That is when you THANK to know about service providers and underlying carriers! Who says what, who did what, who is responsible when, ...

Local phone numbers are managed by a central database called the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC); it's true. The rules and regulations set by the FCC protect you, yes, it's true also.

But before to get the case to the FCC, when you want to port your phone number, the one that has been linked to your business for years, you have to deal with your current service provider, and your becoming service provider, and maybe, with each of the underlying carrier of them too.

I mentioned before that in some cases, the service provider and carrier are the same entity, and this is because the provider owns its own carrier. This is the case with the really big companies like AT&T and Comcast; everything is operated in-house because AT&T and Comcast are both the service provider and the underlying carrier. But think about how many VoIP (voice-over-Internet) service providers there are in the market? Ring Central, Vonage, Nextiva, 8X8, Ooma, etc. The vast majority of them need an underlying carrier!

In ABACUSTEL, we love our business, we love connecting businesses. That's what we do! We connect clients, managers, partners, employees, vendors, information, data.

And we do it with the right phone communication, Internet + Cloud connectivity, and Collaboration solution for each business in town.

Enjoy the ride! ??????