Lining Up Telecom Online

 

What you should know: Not only can you buy phone and Internet services at the site, but it also offers electricity, natural-gas, propane, and heating-oil services.

The bottom line
TelecomSmart won kudos from our panelists on the grounds that it offered the widest variety of service options and carriers. Demandline and Essential ranked high in accessibility. Telezoo received high marks for its user-friendly format, too, but lost points for inattention to small-business needs. TeleBright scored well in usability but got mostly fair marks in other categories. Simplexity rated low, in part because of its limited selection in certain areas.

Sarah Fister Gale is a freelance writer based in Minneapolis.

The savvy entrepreneur's guide to buying telecom services on the Web

Comments
Would our CEOs go back? What is the site good for? Biggest weaknesses
www.telebright.com "No" Getting an idea about the range of rates No criteria for sorting what you are learning
www.simplexity.com "No" General information on services available The whole thing
www.telezoo.com "No, but I would have my MIS person look at it" People who are tech savvy Not good for small businesses
www.demandline.com "Yes. It offers an easy way to shop" The nuts and bolts of telecommunications shopping Lacking in sophistication
www.telecomsmart.com "Yes, it was helpful" Side-by-side comparisons Long service questionnaire
www.essential.com "No" Wireless-plan shopping Unwieldy comparison button
Grades
Ease of navigation Ease of use Variety of services Flexibility Help options Ease of comparison Pricing Security Overall grade
www.telebright.com B- B B- D B C+ C C- C+
www.simplexity.com B- C D- F B C- C F C-
www.telezoo.com B B+ B C- C B+ C B B-
www.demandline.com B+ A- C+ D B B+ B B B-
www.telecomsmart.com B C+ A- B+ B A B B+ B
www.essential.com A- B C C+ B+ C C C B-

Our panelists

Michael W. Allen, chairman and CEO, Allen Interactions Inc.
Jennifer Alstad, president, B-Swing Inc.
Bill Belgard, chairman and CEO, Light-Speed Learning Inc.
John Biancini, president and CEO, CIO Partners
Christopher Butler, president, the Performance Engineering Group Inc.
Kevin Daum, CEO, BYDH Inc.
Leslie M. Fox, president and CEO, Fox & Associates Inc.
Alisa Lippincott, owner and president, Brew Ha Ha Inc.
Stu Tanquist, president, Express Learning Inc.
Ron Zemke, president, Performance Research Associates

Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

 PREV  1 | 2 | 3 

Read more:

  • 9 Most Common Start-up Mistakes
  • Accelerator vs. Incubator: What's the Difference?
  • How Pinterest Really Makes Money

    • Sign-up for our Technology Newsletter