T1 Service Options: High Speed T1 Data Lines and T1 Phone Service

Phone Service - T1 Voice Service
If your long distance usage is over about $700 per month, you can probably save by using a T1 voice line. T1 voice lines give you reliable dedicated service with low rates for incoming toll free and outgoing phone calls.

With an integrated T1, you can use part of the T1 for phone lines and the rest for data or internet access. In some cases, the savings in phone costs means you effectively obtain T1 Internet Access free.

Below are definitions and discussions to help you understand T1 line service and how it can be of value to you.

DS-0 (Digital Signal Level 0) - A non-switched dedicated service that can be provisioned as a private line point-to-point and multi-point service. DS-0 service allows full duplex transmission of voice, analog data and digital signals at speeds of 56 to 64 Kbps. The circuit is BI-directional and moves information simultaneously in both directions.
A home telephone line is normally a DS-0 line. You can get 56 KBPS of data or voice through a regular phone line. The DS-0 is the "building block" of dedicated products.

DS-1 (Digital Signal Level 1) - The terms "DS-1" or "DS1" and "T1" or "T-1" are often used interchangeably. Strictly speaking, T1 means the physical components used in DS1 service: wires, repeaters, plugs and jacks, etc. DS1 is the electrical signal carried on a T1 circuit. A T1 is simply 24 DS-O circuits all bundled together into one circuit.
DS-1 service provides a dedicated connection from your premises to a local or long distance switch, providing you with a single high-capacity digital circuit for voice or data applications. With a DS-1, there is a choice of allocating all of the DS-0 channels for data, for voice, or for any combination of the two. A carrier's implementation may limit this choice.

T1 Internet Service
For super high-speed Internet Access, you can allocate ALL 24 channels to data, giving a two-way connection to the Internet at 1.544 Mbps. (Typical DSL accounts run between 128Kbps and 3 Mbps.) DS-1 Internet connections typically range from $300 to $1000 per month, depending on the geographical distance between the customer and the long distance switch.
Customers who will benefit from T1 data connections are typically businesses who need very reliable high speed internet connections to transact business, communicate electronically with other offices, and who either do not qualify for DSL service or need more reliability and/or more speed than DSL can offer at their location.

T1 Voice Service
Businesses with 12-24 phone lines typically rely heavily on DS-1 voice service. With 24 DS-O circuits on one T-1 circuit, you can have 24 phone lines connected to the local or long distance carrier at the same time. Any number of the total 24 channels (circuits) can be set up as:

• Outbound only - for 1+ dialing
• 800-inbound only - for incoming toll free calls
• BI-directional - for both incoming and outcoming calls

T1 Voice, however, has two costs associated with it: 1. The Local Loop, and 2. Long Distance Usage (LDU). The Local Loop is the flat fee for your connection to the telephone switch. There usually is an installation charge and a Monthly Recurring Charge (MRC). Typically the MRC is in the $250 to $500 range - the actual value is a function of geographic location relative to the carrier's T1 switch. The Long Distance Usage (LDU) is a separate charge in addition to the local loop. LDU rates for dedicated accounts are usually 10-40% less than regular switched long distance rates. Interstate rates have recently been in the 2 to 3 cent per minute range.

T1 PRI Voice Service
reliablelans.comThe last DS-0 channel is sometimes used to handle other applications, such as a connection with the local telephone network or routing to a hold queue until 1 of the 23 channels opens up. Call Centers are the most frequent users of PRI Voice Service. T1 PRI service leaves 23 channels available for voice calls.

Integrated T1 (Voice and Internet) Service
Integrated T1 service is just what the name implies: both voice and data traffic on the same T1. Since you have 24 channels (23 with PRI) to work with, you can divide up the load according to the business need. For example, a firm may allocate 8 DS-0 lines for Voice, and 16 DS-0 lines for Internet Access. In this example, the firm could handle 8 simultaneous calls while surfing the web at a speed of 1024 KBPS. Each supplier has specific numbers of channels that they can supply for voice on each T1.

Point-to-Point T1 Service
If your organization requires constant connectivity to another office location, you should consider Point-to-Point T1 service. This is the same as regular T1 service, except now you have a Local Loop on 2 ends instead of just 1. This increases the cost of the monthly recurring local loop charge, but calls (or data transfer) between these two points is unlimited, with full T1 duplex speed(1.5 MBPS).

Frame Relay Service
Frame Relay is for businesses requiring constant connectivity between 2 or more locations. Unlike Point-to-Point, you can select sub-T1 speeds between each satellite location and the main office (or Host). This reduces cost and allows for future upgrades in speed on an as-needed basis.

DS-3 Service
DS-3 (or T-3) service consists of 28 T1s giving a total bandwidth of 44.736 Mbps or a total of 672 voice channels. The monthly cost of a DS-3 Internet Access line typically ranges between $2,600 to $13,000 depending on your location.Click here to obtain Real-Time T3 Service Quotes.

Fractional T1 Service and Fractional T3 Service
Fractional T1 service is dedicated service using a fraction of the full T1 capacity, for example, 512 Kbps. 768 Kbps, 1024 Kbps, etc.; Fractional DS3 service is service using a fraction of the full DS3 capacity, for example, 5 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 10 Mbps, etc.

Bonded T1 Service
Dedicated service using two or more T1s tied together to effectively give a higher capacity line. For example, a Dual/Bonded T1 has 3 Mb x 3 Mb of capacity. That notation means 3 Mb up the line and 3 Mb down the line. Normally, the bonded lines will come into a router specially configured to connect to the multiple T1s and to treat them as though they are one pipe.

Burstable T1 and Burstable T3 Service
"Burstable DS1" and "Burstable DS3" works much like Fractional and Full T1, but the bandwidth is not dedicated; it is provided "on demand" or dynamically and may be a little cheaper. Although Burstable DS3 service can be cost effective, currently, we find that the typical pricing for Burstable T1 overage is so high that it usually makes more sense to purchase service at the next higher Fixed, Fractional, Full or Bonded T1 bandwidth.

OC-3 (Optical Carrier 3)
OC3 service consists of fiber optic cable giving a total bandwidth of 155.52 Mbps, where typically 5.184 Mbps of this capacity is overhead.

More Info on Dedicated Service
If you would like more info on dedicated services, read the featured articles on the various state pages that are linked at the bottom of the following:

    DSL - http://ShopforDSL.com/site_map.cfm?cogid=jjb
T-1 - http://T1Guy.com
T3 - http://ShopforT3.com/site_map.cfm?cogid=jjb
DS3 - http://ShopforDS3.com/site_map.cfm?cogid=jjb
OC3 - http://ShopforOC3.com/site_map.cfm?cogid=jjb