Types of T1 lines
Over the past few weeks we have gone into some depth as to what T1 lines are in terms of voice T1, sampling rates, frame width, data T1 lines, IP packets, voice compression, packet delay, etc. But what do you need for your business?
Over the coming weeks I’ll outline a few different T1 Lines from fractional T1 lines to full rate T1 lines to primary rate T1 lines to data T1 lines and why they are important for you to know about.
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.
Fractional T1 lines
Fractional T1 lines are as their name implies portions of a T1 line. You only get a fraction of the possible 1.544Mbits per second bandwidth. Common fractions are 765KBits per second, 384 Kbits per second and 128Kbits per second. Why would you get a fractional T1? Well in the past, before the year 2000, it would have been cost - Not much of a problem though in the dot com boom years 
The less bandwidth you want the less you pay. However since the boom years of the late 1990’s there is a lot of infrastructure in place that is not being used and hence not making companies any money. A glut of bandwidth is good for you. The differential in cost from a fractional T1 to a full T1 is probably no more than about 15%. So for 15% more money you get twice the bandwidth. For this reason Fractional T1’s are not that common these days.
However if you have lots of small offices dotted around the country then this 15% saving could add up. But again don’t do that work yourself let the experts find you the best price.
Whichvoip Team
February 18th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Great article and you do have a point that sometimes 15% off might be worth it.
T1 Connections
March 11th, 2007 at 11:47 am
I agree the average business owner should let the experts decide which T1 Lines they need. By allowing experts to anayze the most effective internet connection, business owners may save a bountiful amount of money that could have been wasted on unnecessary bandwidth.
Jim