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How Do Integrated T1 Services Stack Up?

It’s understandable when companies want to stay with the services they’re familiar with such as POTS for voice and DSL for Internet. However, T1 is not a recent fad that will simply fade away as soon as another telecommunications service appears. T1 has been used effectively by businesses of all sizes for over 20 years.

The following is an overview of the most common voice and data services on the market. It should give you a better idea of the benefits and shortcomings of each, so you can determine if integrated T1 services offer you the best bet for your money.

Voice Services

POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service): The classic analog telephone service continues to be an incredibly reliable voice option for business. POTS has stood the test of time and it has survived countless challenges from other telecommunications technologies. However, it’s no longer affordable for many companies. When you use POTS you pay for each individual line you have in the office, and paying a monthly rate on even five or six lines can quickly add up. Phone companies are also growing fonder of hidden fees that take your “$30 per/mo” plan and quickly turn it into a $50 phone bill.

Data Services

Dial up: Many view dialup as the Internet version of POTS. While the technology is the same, the quality of the two business telecommunications services is worlds apart. Dial up Internet access is generally too slow and unreliable for even the smallest company’s needs. 

DSL: DSL provides you with high speed at an affordable price. However, DSL performance is directly related to your location. As you move farther away from the service provider’s central office, your connection speed and overall performance can start to suffer. You’ll also find that DSL works faster for receiving data than it does for sending data, with transfer rates of close to 1.5 Mbps down but of only 64–640 Kbps up.

Cable: Cable options offer enough bandwidth to prove effective for most small business operations. While it doesn’t suffer from distance issues like DSL, cable connections can slow to a grinding halt during hours of high traffic. Performance is so closely linked to the number of users, that the standard transfer rates of 1.5 Mbps down and 400-600 Kbps up can actually flip during the busiest times of day.

Integrated Voice and Data Services

T1 (DS1): A T1 line provides the equivalent of 24 POTS lines, and it offers Internet reliability that transcends that of DSL and cable. T1 is a dedicated service, which means that your line is your own. It helps to think of cable like the highway; sometimes it’s clear sailing and other times you’re staring at the same bumper sticker for over an hour while you sit in rush-hour traffic. A T1 line, on the other hand, is like having a lane all to yourself at all times. T1 is also synchronous (as opposed to cable and DSL which are asynchronous). This allows a T1 line to operate at consistent transfer rates (approximately 1.5 Mbps) both up and down regardless of the amount of traffic. If you're interested in T1 services strictly for your Interent needs click here to recieve up to four free quotes. T1 has been in use for over two decades, and it continues to support businesses where voice and/or data are mission critical. You can choose to have dedicated T1 lines for voice and data, or you can use integrated T1 services that combine both operations on a single line. If you're jst interested in T1 for your voice and long distance needs click here for up to four free quotes.

T1 contracts generally require a commitment of up to at least one-year, so if you’re office is on the move, T1 might not be the right business telecommunications choice for you until you’ve settled on a long-term location.  Click here for up to four free Integrated T1 Quotes.

DS3: A single DS3 line offers a capacity equal to that of 28 T1 lines (672 POTS lines). Its transfer rate of up to 45 Mbps far exceeds that of other available services, so DS3 is the right choice for your company if standard T1, DSL, or cable services no longer provide you with the speed you need for video, data, or voice transfers. If you’re using more than six T1 lines, you can get far more power at a comparable price with a DS3 line. Like T1, DS3 contracts come with time commitments, so take that into account before making your decision. Click here for up to four free DS3 Quotes.

Voice Over Data Services

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): One week VoIP is the darling of the industry; the next week it’s an idea that will never take off. As insiders debate the future of VoIP, the truth remains that currently it has only proven effective for large companies that employ full-time IT staffs. However, many believe that VoIP will become more adaptable down the line, so it can be beneficial to purchase the bandwidth necessary to carry VoIP while it’s still affordable. Click here for up to four free Bandwidth Quotes.

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