T1 In The Business World

By: Steve Cancel

A T1 line is a T-carrier signaling method originally invented by Bell Labs in 1957, but was not implemented into use until the 1960s. Back then, it was used for intercity phone systems. Now it is often the perfect solution when a high speed, dependable and low latency connection is required to support a small to medium size business. Speeds are normally consistent at supporting an up and down link of 1.544 Mbits per second. T1s are often referred to as digital signal 1 or DS-1 lines. This technology is widely used throughout North America and Japan.

Before the high demand of bandwidth we currently see in the world today, T1 lines were only used in massive phone company offices to transfer voice calls from one location to another. Today, they are still used by wireless carriers to transfer calls and data traffic from towers to central switches. More commonly, they are found as a reasonably priced alternative to growing businesses requiring a stable, high speed connection.

The name T1 was originally assigned by AT&T.

The T was the next letter available in their carrier types and the 1 means that it is a level 1 connection. Also commonly used, DS1 or digital signal 1 names were given to the same equipment as it carries 24 digital voice channels. These names are used interchangeable within the telecommunications industry. As your business grows, an increase in bandwidth may be required. Unfortunately, the monthly rate will also increase with the demand. Below is a list of all high speed business connections.

• T1 - 1.544 Mbits per second

• T3 - 43.232 Mbits per second

• OC3 - 155 Mbits per second

• OC12 - 622 Mbits per second

• OC48 - 2.5 Gbits per second

• OC192 - 9.6 Gbits per second

Many times people try to compare T1 connections to cable modems or DSL lines. T1s are much faster than the highest speed DSL connection, and cable connections only come near the same speed when they are peaking, which is not common. Cable modems are generally much slower because the bandwidth limits are shared with your local community. So if five of your neighbors are actively using the webArticle Submission, it will not provide you with the full throughput a cable modem is capable of. DSL lines have more consistent speeds but are also consistently slower.

T1s can offer the following benefits over their slower competition:

• Constantly faster downlink and much faster uplink

• Can offer guaranteed Uptime

• Server supported

• Dedicated Line

• Faster repairs if necessary

What I am trying to make clear is that T1 lines are business class. Cable modems and DSL lines should be strictly residential. In a business setting you need the most reliable and suitable data lines for your work. Your business depends on it.

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