The cost of a T1 and how to get one?
We have talked a lot about what a T1 is and that the benefits are the increased available bandwidth that it gives your business over say, a buiness class DSL service. But where does it fit in on the bandwidth scale for different bandwidth offerings and how much does a T1 circuit typically cost. Well first of all, here is a brief summary of various bandwidth options available:
33.6 K (Modem) 33,600 bps
56 K (Modem) 56,000 bps
64 K (DS-0) 64,000 bps
128 K (ISDN) 128,000 bps
256 K (DSL) 256,000 bps
640 K (DSL/Cable) 640,000 bps
768 K (DSL/Cable) 768,000 bps
T1, DS-1 1.544 Mbps
T3, DS-3 44.736 Mbps
OC-1 51.840 Mbps
OC-3 155.520 Mbps
OC-12 622.080 Mbps
OC-48 2.488 Gbps
OC-192 10 Gbps
As you can see, the T1 is the next step up from DSL and they are available as both full and franctional services.
So how do you get a T1? Well unfortunately the process is not quite as simple as getting your DSL going. The first thing you should do is get one or two quotes from service providers. To help you with this, WhichVoIP has partnered with some of the best providers in the business to provide you with competitive quotes. We have them squaring of against each other for your business 
Just go to our Business Solutions section and fill out a short request. Simple eh!
But then how long does it take? Well after you are happy with the deal you are getting it will take around 25 to 50 days to actually get your install completed. So plan ahead. This is mainly gated by the local exchange carrier who needs to coordinate the installation.
How much should I pay? Typical costs for a T1 circuit range from around $350 to as high as $650 per month. The reason for the discrepency is that the last mile from the Central Office to your premise has a high weighting in this calculation. So if you are close to the Exchanges Central Office, you could be in luck. However, the best way to make sure you are getting the best deal, is the good old method of getting more than one quote. This is where we hope we can help.
What if I still have questions? Then send us an email at customerservice@whichvoip.com and we will try to assist you.
In summary, small to medium sized businesses should never need anything more than a T1 or multiple T1’s. Some businesses prefer to get 2 T1’s for load-balancing and redundancy, especially if it is running VoIP on its network.
Cheers
Tony
October 16th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
This is very helpful info-thanks!
December 1st, 2006 at 12:17 am
[…] In an earlier blog Tony talked about the different costs for T1 lines. The important point of that blog was to ensure that you get more than one quote. The cost of T1 lines are completely dependant on the distance to the central office. A T1 cost in say Seattle can vary from $350-$600 depending on whether you contact Speakeasy or say Bandwidth.com. Don’t do this work yourself let the experts help. […]