T1 vs DSL for Business Broadband
T1 lines set up as T1 Dedicated Internet connections give business
users guaranteed bandwidth of 1.5 Mbps both upload and download,
plus a SLA service level agreement to assure line reliability.
DSL is a "best effort" Internet service that is offered
without any service guarantee on a shared connection. Bandwidth
varies depending on how heavily other businesses are using the
connection.
Bonding T1 Lines for Higher
Bandwidth
While a standard T1 line provides 1.5 Mbps upload and download
bandwidth, lines can be bonded to create total bandwidths of 3
Mbps, 4.5 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 7.5 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 10.5 Mbps and 12 Mbps.
An advantage T1 lines have over fiber optic connections is that
they are available nearly everywhere without special construction.
What Are Pseudowires?
A pseudowire is a virtual "circuit" that emulates a
traditional digital telecom service but on a packet switched network.
MPLS networks are especially suitable for pseudowires. By using
a pseudowire circuit, you can get the point to point connectivity
you desire without having to re-engineer your facilities to accommodate
a different protocol network.
T1 Lines are Full Duplex
T1 lines are bidirectional or full duplex. That means that you
can independently upload and download data at up to the full line
rate of 1.5 Mbps simultaneously. LANs that use switched Ethernet
are also full duplex, but LANs that use hubs operate at half-duplex.
A half-duplex network cannot transmit and receive at the same
time, cutting effective bandwidth by up to half.
T-Carriers Offer Digital Telephony
T-Carriers, which include both T1 and T3 lines, offer digital
telephone trunking with multiple phone calls on a single physical
circuit. T1 lines can support up to 24 simultaneous phone calls.
T3 lines have 28 times the bandwidth of T1 lines and can offer
up to 672 simultaneous phone calls for large enterprise or call
center applications.