T1 Internet Service: What to Consider

Please ask the competing companies the following questions:

• Is this a resell line? If so are you re-selling Covad's TeleXtend T1? (Frame over DSL FRoDSL)
• Is the line you are selling a Clear Channel T1 or Frame over DSL?
• If you say you are Tier 1 what does that mean? What is it that makes you a Tier 1 Carrier like ATT, Sprint, Netifice, etc.?

By blending DSL, ATM, and frame relay technology, providers can considerably lower the cost of your multi-site connections. FRoDSL service is perfect for companies who currently use frame relay services, but would like to explore lower cost network options.

T1 connection is capable of delivering 1.5Mbps. DSL connections are also capable of delivering this speed however they are not nearly as reliable as a T1 connections and should not be considered as a business connections unless it's SDSL and even then you will likely have some downtime. See: Which Connection is Better T1 or DSL? If you have critical information being hosted or have a large number of users accessing the internet on a regular basis, consider getting a T1 connection. Full Data T1 will support 50 workstations.

See Telecom Glossary for additional terms and definitions. DSL Terms explained.

Frame Relay - Frame relay is a networking protocol, which means that unlike a point-to-point private line, there's a network switch in-between your location and to whoever you're connecting. Actually, you get a private line to a node on the frame relay network, and the remote location gets a private line to a near-by frame relay node. When you send traffic over your line, the network gets it to the remote location by routing it through the frame relay network. Then the data is passed to the remote location's line. In the U.S., Frame Relay is quite popular because it is relatively inexpensive. However, it is being replaced in some areas by faster technologies, such as ATM.

ATM - Short for Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a network technology based on transferring data in cells or packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively small compared to units used with older technologies. The small, constant cell size allows ATM equipment to transmit video, audio, and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data hogs the line.

When purchasing ATM service, you generally have a choice of four different types of service:

T1 - T-1 is a member of the T-carrier system. T-carrier is a communications system used for carrying voice, data or integrated voice & data transmissions in a digital format. T-1 meets the needs of businesses having multiple users on a system requiring fast speed and broad bandwidth. For a fixed monthly rate, businesses with 6 or more users can communicate via both voice and data. A Full Voice T1 can accommodate as many as 24 users working at 64 Kbps.

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