InformationWeek

WinPricer's frame relay pricing capabilities were by far the best of the bunch. They let us create whatever type of network we desired. We specifically designed a network that was not a generic hub-and-spoke model to test the pricing tools and their flexibility. WinPricer was the only pricing tool that did not assume a hub-and-spoke network.

Pricing a frame relay network is very easy. Simply input the network locations by NPANXX number, then define the end points of whatever permanent virtual circuits your business needs between those locations. Once the entire network has been defined, click on "Price," and WinPricer will create a pricing report from its database.

Unlike the point-to-point connections, however, there isn't an option to price all listed carriers at once. Because there are 24 listings for frame relay providers, this may be a good thing: A report would be very long, and you may want prices from only two or three carriers. You can compare multiple carriers by selecting a different carrier in the pop-up box, querying the database again, and saving each price to your hard drive.

If you're interested in last-mile pricing, Salestar/NAC has you covered as well. If you enter the exact street address, WinPricer will detail last-mile pricing for your interexchange carrier of choice.

WinPricer tells you not only the distance to your local central office, but also the distance from the central office to the carrier's point of presence. Available as an option, this tool has to be purchased on a state-by-state basis or in packages of states. The price of the state databases can range from $450 to $3,500 per state, depending on how many are purchased at one time.

Pricing information is modified by specifying the length of the contract (monthly or from one to seven years) and whether you want the closest or least-expensive point of presence. This gives you a few options for comparison, because the closest point of presence may not be the cheapest. Salestar/NAC is the only service to offer such a feature.

Installation costs for all services are also included in the reports. The amount of available information is impressive. With ATM pricing to come later this year, the only feature we missed is a Web interface for pricing information so WinPricer could be accessed from any computer with a browser. Unlike its competitors, Salestar/NAC doesn't offer line provisioning.

WinPricer (whose name will be changed to NetPricer later this year) comes on several CDs, along with a floppy disk that unlocks the particular portions that are authorized for use. Customers can download updates directly from Salestar/NAC's Web site, and the company also sends an updated CD to customers every quarter. A single-user PC version is priced at $5,000, and a 10-simultaneous-user version is $12,500.

Digital Line Pricing Tool
Telco Exchange approaches pricing from a different direction; its service is available on the Web free of charge to its customers. Telco Exchange will also order circuits, provision, and manage the installation of lines from start to finish for its customers. It provides provisioning for 30 carriers and local exchange carriers, and has been doing so for five years. For those who want to use the pricing tool without Telco Exchange's other services, a license to access the Web site is available for $5,000 to $20,000 per year, depending on features accessed.

Pricing information is specified for a wide range of services, including ISDN, BRI, PRI, DS-1, DS-3 and OC-3. Digital subscriber line (DSL) pricing and provisioning is also available; those capabilities are missing from WinPricer and are less extensive in LDCircuit. You can price services such as frame relay, local loop, virtual private network (VPN), and Internet access; asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) pricing is scheduled for later this year.

In our testing, we found one slight problem with the way Telco Exchange handles frame relay connections. By default, the Web site assumes you are creating a hub-and-spoke network. But because our network was a combination of meshed and hub and spoke, Telco Exchange's pricing was inaccurate, as its Web site was not designed to handle the type of request we made.

There is no way for the Web site to handle a meshed network. You have to contact Telco Exchange directly via phone or E-mail to obtain more-accurate pricing. When we talked to representatives at Telco Exchange, they said a large portion of their customers don't create meshed networks, so they typically don't encounter this problem. While this is probably true for a small business, it may not be for a midsize or large company, in which operations are spread around the country and offices need to send data to each other more than they do to their corporate offices.

The Web site is set up in a very straightforward manner, with tabs to select the type of service you want priced. A customer is provided with a user name and password to log on. Tabs for digital services and frame relay take you to that area and allow you to begin entering the node information.