What to know when buying Adtran TA600 & TA900 Series IAD’s

Buyer Beware!

Adtran TA600 & TA900 Series IAD's

Buyer Beware!

Two years ago we were all scrambling trying to find TA600 Series IAD's on the refurb or as some may call the "gray market". Everyone wants to save money! In this day and age typing in "600 Series IAD" in Google and you will find around 100 different suppliers. The market is pretty cut and dry as vendors are basically giving away Adtran 608, 616's and 624's. There is a catch...Many of us are being burned and receiving incomplete units, missing brackets or power cords, scratched up so badly you can't even read the part # and even suppliers that are not warranting their equipment. If the price seems "to good to be true".  Well, trust your instinct! I keep a check list when buying or being offered these refurb/gray market Adtran IAD's.

1. Make sure all necessary hardware, power cords and mounting brackets are included
2. What kind of condition are these in? Physical condition? I sometimes will even request a picture if I am still skeptical
3. Are the units tested prior to shipping?
4. Does the supplier offer at least a 2 year warranty or more? 
5. What is the replacement policy - hassle free?
6. Is this a credible supplier?

There is nothing worse then purchasing something from someone only to find out the unit doesn't work and the supplier is no longer in business!

Does anyone have any helpful hints on buying or overall maintenance on the TA600 or TA900 Series IAD's?

 

Lot's of changes Max...Changes in the Telecom Industry

One of my favorite quotes is from the movie "Dirty Dancing", "Lots of changes though Max, lots of changes". Nowhere is that more true than in the Telecom industry. Telecom has gone through some amazing changes in the last 24 years. My career started in 1982 with a telecommunications distributor in North Carolina. A couple of years later the government "experiment" in dealing with a monopoly caused the great AT&T breakup. From where I'm sitting, that 1984 court-ordered breakup has been coming apart for years and with the wonderful advantage of hindsight, the competitive industry imposed by the enforced breakup can be seen as pretty much a failure. 

Then along comes the Telecommunications Act of 1996 where the regional Bell companies had to share their networks with competitors at discounted prices. This was an attempt to encourage more competition among telecom carriers. Then the FCC decided that the network-sharing rules weren't fair to the Bell companies because it discouraged them from investing in new technologies and discouraged competitors from investing in their own facilities.

Don't get me wrong; I think the 90's were the most prosperous of times in telecom, especially if you were in manufacturing or distribution, but as most of you know this "competition" lead to the onslaught of so many new networks across the country that the great telecom depression of 2001 was inevitable. 
But things are a little better, don't you think? With all the mergers and acquisitions going on we're pretty much right back where we started from in 1984. Everything eventually comes around full circle...especially in telecom. 
"Lots of changes though Max, lots of changes"