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Committee backs switch to AirSpring to cut rising voice service costs
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Summary
Marshfield IT director recommended replacing the city’s aging T1-based voice service with a fiber-based solution brokered by AirSpring; the committee voted to recommend council approval after hearing projected cost savings and technical justification using the city’s existing 10-gig WISNET connection.
Marshfield’s Finance, Budget and Personnel Committee on May 20 voted to recommend that the Common Council approve replacing the city’s current voice-over-IP carrier with a proposal presented by AirSpring.
Andrew, the city’s IT director, told the committee the T1 line used for voice had seen repeated price increases, saying it “went from $4.25 to $5.85… and then it increased again from $5.85 to $8.65.” He said those line-rate increases, combined with an ongoing phaseout of TDM service, led staff to seek alternatives. Andrew described a procurement consultant SpyGlass’s prior review that identified about $20,000 in potential telecom savings and produced roughly $12,000 in realized savings after implementation.
Andrew said AirSpring’s brokered solution quoted “about one third of our cost now” by routing voice over the city’s existing WISNET 10-gig Internet connection rather than maintaining a separate dedicated Internet access (DIA) copper line. He noted the vendor’s technical assessment that the city’s ten-gig pipe could carry the city’s roughly 35 voice channels (he stated the utilization would be “only 93 k” for those who track bits and bytes). Committee members moved, seconded and approved the recommendation to proceed with AirSpring; the committee will forward the item to the Common Council for final authorization.
