DC Telecom providers

February 24, 2005 12:12 PM

Any DC locals or small-business types have a preferred telecom provider (CLEC)? MCI wants an absurd amount of money and minimum 45 days to install three new lines at the startup for which I now work. I've looked at the DC Public Service Commisssion lists of carriers and contact info, but don't know who's respectable and who's dodgy.
posted by piro to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Have you considered voice over IP? I'm currently using Vonage (albeit for a home phone line) over a cable modem, and it works very well. Assuming (poorly, most likely) you have a decent internet connection, this might fit the bill temporarily.

I am a DC local that used to deal with the CLECs, if that gives my recommendation any more context.
posted by bh at 12:40 PM on February 24, 2005

The names on that list I consider reputable are AT&T, Global Crossing, Looking Glass, Qwest, SBC, Sprint, and XO. I'm not DC-local so others may be perfectly fine and I just haven't heard of them, but all of the above are companies I've done business with and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.
posted by bac at 1:04 PM on February 24, 2005

Yeah, VOIP is out, unfortunately, since we're colocated with another office and will be using the new lines as ports on their phone system... Two lines, ringing at one deskset, if that makes sense.

Thanks, bac!
posted by piro at 1:15 PM on February 24, 2005

No Verizon?
posted by stbalbach at 3:38 PM on February 24, 2005

Personally i would avoid Qwest. They had some issues with privacy loss in the past. And even though they are doing major PR-ing (at least in the Mid-west), I distrust them majorly. Dropped them as a privet carrier becasue of poor support issues. ymmv.
posted by edgeways at 6:22 PM on February 24, 2005