Wednesday August 06, 2008,
05:50 am ET
Willamette, Oregon, Aug. 06 /Don Romburgh/ --
Business broadband, its price, and who can afford it, are changing. Every day an increasing number
of business are finding the new broadband services made available to them by the "new" telecommunications
companies that are emerging from the latest round of mergers and acquisitions. Overlapping networks
are being consolidated into bigger and leaner footprints, lowering the cost of dynamic integrated
digital signal 1 (DS1) service to the price range of about five regular phone lines. Small to medium
size business can now afford services once reserved for the Fortune 1000 companies.
The two basic Integrated T1 line configurations, as they exist in today's
market, are analog and digital. Commonly referred to as "trunks", these 24-channel
bundles transmit TDM signals directly to the service provider's network via a
local loop. Unlike analog trunks, whose configuration can not change once the
channels have been allocated, digital "dynamic" lines can change reconfigure
themselves from data, to voice, and back again. This ability to reclaim voice
channels for data broadband access when not in use gives the user the performance
of two T1's in one.
There are two basic "integrated" DS-1 configurations, analog and digital. The 24-line
bundle in which they come is termed a "trunk". The main difference between analog and
digital trunks is their flexibility. With digital trunks, voice lines not in use
can be dynamically reconfigured to carry data traffic, so they don't sit idle.
Analog trunks on the other hand can not change their function once configured
by the service provider. Data channels remain data channels and the same for
voice channels, even if there is no voice traffic.
"Even though we have been witnessing the re-consolidation of AT&T, we will never go
back to the dark ages of telecom where customers were stuck with bad customer service
and high prices" commented Troy Karlson, telecom analyst for e-STAR. "The competitive
local exchange carriers (CLECs), all whom own their own networks and compete directly
with the Bells, have created products such as dynamic T1 service that enables its
customers to connect to the Internet at 1.5 MBPS and have up to 24 regular voice lines,
packed with a feature-rich suite of add-ons, all for under what it costs to have
6 regular phone lines from Qwest/AT&T/Verizon.
The Oregon area is one place in particular where the analog to digital
revolution is gaining traction. One business owner we interviewed about
his recent decision to become a digital convert, Peter Anderson, explained
that "my biggest hindrance was my ignorance. Had I known that there was
a solution that would allow me to increase the number of voice lines,
get a full T1 (1.5 MB) of high-speed Internet, all for less than I was paying
for my POTS/DSL configuration, I would have made the move a long time ago."
Many others like Mr. Anderson are coming to the same conclusion.
Is the era of the analog trunk, or bundle of 24 DS-0 (64 kbps) channels,
officially over? Possibly, thanks to the two-for-the-price-of-one features
of a dynamic integrated T1, which can function exactly like a pure 1.5 mbps
data T1 when no one is one the phone, and allocate required bandwidth
for voice traffic when a user initiates a phone call. Likewise, as soon
as the client terminates the voice session, the 64 KB is re-assigned back
to the digital universe. This switch-hitting capability provides all
of the feel and function of a data T1 and voice T1, for a fraction of the price.
Until deregulation allowed smaller, hungrier telecommunications companies the
ability to compete, the United States was stuck with technologies that were quickly
becoming out of date. Now that the Bells actually have to innovate to keep up with
the smaller CLECs, customer everywhere are reaping the benefits. CLECs are continuing to find new and loyal customers in the small business space, but
for how long will this trend continue? Will the RBOCs ever be able to give them a fight
on a level playing field? Only the FCC knows that answer to that question - all we can
do is be thankful for the past 12 years of progress and hope we never return to the
pre-1996 era of Telecommunications.
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Courtesy of ShopforT1.com
Definition 1. -
A type of high speed Internet connection that provides a great deal of bandwidth. Many businesses lease T1 lines to connect to the Internet, but because they are expensive and offer more bandwidth than most small businesses and homes need, they are not realistic solutions for small and low-demand Internet users.
Definition 2. -
The T-carrier system, introduced by the Bell system in the US in the 1960's, was the first successful system that supported digitalised voice transmission. The original transmission rate (1.544 Mbps) in the Willamette T1 line is in common use today in ISP (Internet Service Provider) connections to the Internet
Definition 3. -
A high-speed digital connection capable of transmitting data at a rate of approximately 1.5 million bits per second. A T1 line is typically used by small and medium-sized companies with heavy network traffic. It is large enough to send and receive very large text files, graphics, sounds, and databases instantaneously, and is the fastest speed commonly used to connect networks to the Internet. Sometimes referred to as a leased line, a T1 is basically too large and too expensive for individual home use.
Definition 4. -
The T1 (or T-1) carrier is the most commonly used digital line in the United States, Canada, and Japan. In these countries, it carries 24 pulse code modulation (PCM) signals using time-division multiplexing (TDM) at an overall rate of 1.544 million bits per second (Mbps). T1 lines use copper wire and span distances within and between major metropolitan areas. A T1 Outstate System has been developed for longer distances between cities.
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