Let’s review briefly what competition today has done for us. We have long-distance prices that are 50 percent lower than they were 10 years ago. We have fiber-optic network, four bands of it, across the country. We have tremendous capacity for transmission of digital signals over this fiber-optic network. We have an explosion of products in computers, in telephone equipment, in faxes, in voice mail, in all of the products that just 10 years ago we as consumers couldn’t even imagine.

It is competition in breaking apart the local network from the long-distance network and allowing competition in the equipment side of the business which has caused this tremendous forward movement for consumers, lower prices, and bringing the United States to the forefront of the telecommunications revolution.

It is a fact that competition has made this country the preeminent leader in the world in telecommunications. Japan is behind us, Europe is behind us. We are exporting products, we are creating jobs, but more than that we have tremendous productivity and we have products and lower prices better than anywhere in the world. It is competition that has gotten us to this stage, and it is the antitrust decree and the modified final judgment which is responsible for that.

The time has come to move this important industry from the courts to legislation. The time is here, the time is now, and by taking the next step and opening the local loop, still monopolized by the Regional Bell Operating Companies, to competition, which only this bill can do fully and effectively and immediately, we can move into the next phase of the telecommunications revolution in this country. If we do that, if we do it wisely, if it we do it promptly, if we do it smart and with courage, we can continue to lead the world in this basic and vital industry which is now 10 percent of our gross domestic product.

The job of building the Nil the infrastructure that will permit broadband, interactive communication between all members of our society has been aptly compared to the building of the nation’s interstate highway system. Like the construction of the highway system, the construction of the Nil will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. And just as roads have enhanced this nation’s productivity and living standards, the completion of the Nil will make firms and individuals more productive. The Nil will also enliance the quality of our lives by creating new ways to educate adults and their children, improve our health care, give us better and cheaper ways of buying products and services, and entertain us at home.

There is no question that it affects the life of every American. It affects the economy of this country and it affects our competitiveness and productivity.

5LINX® is a rapidly growing telecommunications company that provides products and services across the United States and in 20 countries abroad. 5LINX® has achieved many milestones in just a few short years earning the distinction as being recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing, privately held companies in the country. 5LINX® provides customers with the latest in telecommunication products and services such as; cellular phones, unlimited long distance home and business services from all the major carriers. They also offer satellite TV service from DISH Network and DIRECTV, and the company’s own GLOBALINX™ VoIP services along with broadband internet and home security products. 5LINX® provides not only industry leading products and services such as our unique GLOBALINX™ Video Phone, but allows individuals an opportunity to start their own home business and change their lives.

The 5LINX® direct sales model has helped thousands of individuals experience the benefits of a home based business with little risk and minimal investment compared to traditional retail or franchise models. Independent sales representatives span the country which has enabled 5LINX® to grow far beyond traditional distribution models. 5LINX is built on five fundamental principles: Vision; Integrity; Opportunity; Freedom; and, Success.

5LINX® is a one-stop shop for most telecommunications products and services. Products include digital home phone service that provides unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S., Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, wireless phones and accessories, satellite television, or Broadband Internet service.

The telecommunications revolution the merging of voice, video and other data transmission and the proliferation of new telecommunications products and services has been one of America’s leading technological and economic success stories. At bottom, the key reason is that our scientists, engineers and businesses have developed and introduced telecommunications technologies at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world.

Public policies that have promoted competition have been critical to this result. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the case of telephone services, where through the efforts over two decades of the Justice Department and Judge Harold Greene, and the work of the FCC, competition has become the central organizing principle of the industry.

Until the Department sued and eventually broke up AT&T, that company had a monopoly over this nation’s telephone market. It was a regulated monopoly, to be sure. But it was also one that thwarted competition and innovation. New companies like MCI that wanted to provide long-distance service could not do so because AT&T’s local operating companies refused to provide interconnections to their local loops. Similarly, other manufacturers of telephone equipment wanted to sell equally, if not more, innovative products but were frustrated by AT&T from doing so because of the telephone company’s incentives and ability, through its monopoly control of the local loop, to buy such equipment only from its wholly owned subsidiary. Western Electric.

These practices were ended when the Department of Justice, led by my antitrust law professor in law school, William Baxter, obtained a consent decree in 1982. A Modification of Final Judgment (MFJ) has since been administered with remarkable energy and wisdom by Judge Greene, to whom this nation owes enormous gratitude.

By unleashing competition in various segments of the telephone industry, the MFJ has delivered the benefits that competition in other markets routinely guarantees: innovation, better products and services, greater efficiency, and lower prices. Consider that since the MFJ:

Interstate long-distance prices for the average residential customer in real terms (adjusted for inflation) have fallen by more than 50 percent without compromising universal service;

There has been a virtual explosion in the types of telephones and services that consumers can choose from;

Competition has stimulated the development of hundreds of innovative voice and data services (such as call waiting and voice mail);

Spurred by smaller carriers and MCI and Sprint, the three largest long-distance providers (including AT&T) now have laid fiber optic cable throughout much of the country and thus have already built significant portions of the backbone for the Nil; and

Competition in the telephone equipment market has opened whole new markets and spawned the development and sale of new products.

In short, the MFJ has enabled the United States to maintain its technological leadership in telecommunications. Nations that have stuck to the old monopoly model of telephone services have fallen behind. That is why many are now trying to emulate us, rather than the other way around.

Small telecommunications businesses face many hurdles in trying to compete in the marketplace with the big telecom giants. While your small telecom company can offer your local customers better and more personalized services than the big telecom companies can, there are many barriers to getting your message out there and growing your market share. Just as the old adage about getting a job without experience goes, it is hard to grow your business when you need all of your working capital just to run your business day to day. While the telecom giants can call up their banker and get a loan, it isn’t as easy for your small business to do.
For hundreds of years companies have been utilizing the value of their assets as collateral for borrowing money. Your distant relative who owned a small grocery store may have used his inventory and property value as collateral for borrowing money to add onto his building or replace his antiquated refrigerators. As a small telecommunications business you may want to take a similar action in order to grow your business and service offerings.
As you may have experienced, most of the major financing companies out there just plain do not understand how telecommunications businesses work. Unless you are AT&T, or another large telecommunications company, with a monthly billings total of over 5 million dollars, most typical business finance resources are not that interested in talking to you. It isn’t that they are not interested in your business and its success; they just simply do not understand how telecom billings work.
As a small business owner, a potential lender may ask you to make a personal guarantee or sign a recourse agreement in order to obtain funding. This can be a scary proposition and place you personally at a risk level you may not be comfortable with. If you come to this point with a lender then it is time to move on and look for a better alternative.
One alternative available in telecom financing is factoring. Factoring is the process whereby your company can borrow money against its receivables. Traditional factor rates however can be high, because lenders balk at the way telecommunication company’s bill, and the relatively small amounts of each individual billing. If you are able to locate a lender who will give you a discount, because they understand the uniqueness of telecom financing, factoring can be a good option to explore.
Another alternative you might consider for your telecom funding needs is an asset based solution. By securing your funding with your contracts, equipment or other assets, you can borrow against them and use the additional capital to expand your business. Asset based solutions can be a bit easier to find, and cheaper than trying to do a receivables factor.
A third alternative to explore is the idea of an investment capital cash infusion. If you are open to using investment capital this can be a wonderful way to grow your business.
While telecom funding can be hard to find, there are options open to small telecom businesses. By considering all of your options and selecting the one which fits your business the best, you can be well on your way to growing and expanding your business.

When someone mentions the word telecommunications equipment, the first image that springs into the mind of a layperson is a telephone. While this is somewhat accurate in most parts, it is the process of transmitting data over a distance using signals for the purpose of communication or exchanging data information. A telephone is one method of transmitting this information, though this is the most common way of communicating with someone else by vocally exchanging information.
Telecommunications equipment comes in various different forms and not just as a telephone handset. The following are a form of telecommunications equipment, radio, television, internet, computer networks and mobile telephones. These provide data and information in very different ways from each other. Some are designed for visual information, such as the television or computer devices. Televisions are common in practically every home, making it the main form of quick entertainment and fast communicator for vital pieces of information.
Everyone are familiar with a computer and are aware of how this is a more accurate way of receiving messages, obtaining important information and communicating with people over longer distances. Often this can be a more reliable source for trying to reach people, whereby a telephone may not receive and transfer signals well. In the past, making long distance phone calls required much more time to connect, as well as more concentration on trying to listen to each other speak.
The internet is a great source for providing effective communication using voice over internet protocols, such as Skype, MSN Messenger, Vonage, BT and PlusTalk. These are just some of the biggest internet telephony providers, which allow users to connect to and contact other internet telephony users provided they have an account set up and have exchanged profile information with the other party. The difference is there is not always a telephone provided for most of the software (Skype had introduced Skype Phones for users wanting to call landlines) and the connection is via a broadband internet connection.
Telecommunications equipment have taken a step further into allowing people who are deaf or hard of hearing to contact other people using video telephoning, which most telephone company providers offer with their prices. This is ideal especially for people looking to make social calls and can use their sign language skill for effective communication. These come at no further charge and calls are at the same price as normal landline calls.
Some telephones have a specific operating system, which allows you to text, or communicate with an operator through typing. These are ideal for those who cannot afford video telephoning. Text messages on mobile phones and using the internet is another useful tool for people with hearing disabilities to communicate with other people. Instead of perceiving them as expensive objects, they are now an important of our daily living, which means they need to be quicker at transmitting information and accessible to everyone.
These kinds of telecommunication equipment have seen changes from improved audio quality to clear picture quality that allows people to see each other in real time. This is a far cry from the days of sending smoke signals and sending hand-written letters.