T1 - Is it Right for You?
Is it time to upgrade to a T1? There are several factors to consider when examining you current DSL connection and the possiblity of replacing it. For many people the biggest factor is reliability and if reliability is critical to the applications you run over your connection you should seriously consider replacing your DSL connection with a T1. DSL is a quick and cost effective method of acquiring high speed bandwidth however it is not intended to support commercial applications or large numbers of users as is a T1 connections.

How to Tell You Need T1 Service
Reliability becomes critical when customers or employees depend on your connection for immediate responses. If your customers use your connection to access your databases or your server or the internet then reliability of your connection is critical. If your employees depend on your connections because you host the e-mail server in house or host web servers or ASP type products, your connections is considered critical. A critical connection can be viewed much like a lifeline, without which your business would be negatively impacted. Your monthly savings of having a sub-par connections will not make up for the loss in productivity of your employees or loss of customers when your DSL connections gets bogged down or cut off. To reiterate, ciritcal connections should be supported with a T1.

DS3 Price Trends
A final reason for the reduction in DS3 pricing is the fact that equipement costs and the cost of supplying the bandwidth have decreased. This means that companies can supply the bandwidth at a lower cost. As bandwidth usage continues to increase as a result of bandwidth hungry applications like video on demand and graphic heavy applications the price of bandwidth will coninue to drop. The only factor that seems tlikely to inhibit prices from falling much further is the "last mile" or the connection from the users premise to the service providers' POP (Point of Presence), but we'll save this issue for another article. Until then, enjoy those affordable DS3's and good luck finding a price that's right for you!

T1 Internet Access for Dummies
The T1 internet service has been around for over 40 years but never have there been so many "flavors" available. The number of providers has jumped since deregulation in 1996 from a few dozen to several thousand. As the telecom shakedown that began in 2001 continues many of these comapnies are trying to stay afloat by capturing as many customers as possible with inexpensive products they claim to be T1. Don't be fooled!

T1 Internet - Life in the Fast Lane
A T1 internet connection is ideal because of it's reliability. Not only is it not oversubscribed, it also has low latency which mean fewer delays. Latency becomes critical in applicaions like video on demand, webconferencing, and gaming. While the latter may not seem so important, gamers require some of the best internet connections and are a good source for information on the top internet products available.

T3 Line Vendor Review
The fourth plan we found and highly recommend is Telarus. Telarus is a reseller for Global Crossing, Qwest, and Wiltel. While you will get the value of the underlying provider you will not pay the price you would going in the front door. Telarus buys in bulk from these networks and transfers on the cost savings to its customers. Telarus is a virtual provider so you will not have extra hops to the network. You jump right on from your local CO and don't have to worry about extra latency! The final plan we suggest in our top 5 is Savvis. Savis offers Tier 1 service and highly reliable customer service. While they have a limited footprint, once you're on the network you'll have one of the best services around.

OC3 Service Experts
An OC3 line is an ultra high-speed connection capable of transmitting data at rates up to 155 Mbps. Some ISP's, large corporations and universities with high-volume network traffic will require an OC3 if they have an extremely high volume of traffic that can't be handled by a DS3. An OC3 is so large that some ISP's use this as the backbone to their network. If you believe you're in the market for OC3 Service we recomend getting ahold of an expert.

Don't Pay For Your T1 Router!
Service providers have tried many different methods of attracting customers and simplifying the start-up process. Credit checks have been simplified, application paperwork been reduced in size, and there are increasingly discounts available for new customers. The free router when from a special promotion offered to increase month end sales to becoming a standard part of the product offering. It is now the exception to the norm to find providers that do not offer a router with their service.

Finding the Right T1 Provider
Remeber that the T1 provider you select will be your partner for quite some time so take caution in your decision. The worst part of being with a bad provider is the fact that it will affect your business. Dropped calls or an internet connection that goes down can be disastrous to a business. We found that the larger companies like AT&T and Sprint will release companies from long term contracts it if is shown that the voice or data T1 service was faulty on a regular basis, however the release from such a contract will not help recoup the damages of the lost calls and e-mails from the poor service. When shopping for a T1 provider we suggest using a broker and asking for referals from current customers to give you an indication of what you can expect.

ATT T1 Network = Reliability
As mentioned in previous articles in the publication reliability is critical when setting up lines that will be the lifeline of your company. AT&T is among the world's premier voice, video and data communications companies, serving consumers, businesses and government. In 2000, AT&T had annual revenues of nearly $66 billion. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company runs the world's largest, most sophisticated communications network, and is the largest cable operator in the U.S. The company is a leading supplier of data and Internet services for businesses and offers outsourcing, consulting and networking-integration to large businesses.

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