Understanding T1 connections

With the Internet such a vital part of everyday business, more and more companies are choosing always-on broadband connections, and T1 lines are one of the most popular. T1 Internet access lets your employees consistently communicate and exchange data with co-workers, customers, and vendors at speeds much faster than standard dial-up.

T1 is symmetrical connection, allowing for downloads and uploads of up to 1.5 Mbps – 30 times as fast as 56k dial-up. A single T1 connection can support dozens to hundreds of users, but speed and efficiency drops as more people use it simultaneously.

Levels of T1 service
There are multiple flavors of T1 lines. At its most basic, a T1 line can be used to handle either your voice or data needs.

• Integrated T1. Provides voice and data on the same digital circuit. You can decide how many of the T1 connection’s 24 channels will be reserved for voice calls, and what’s left is used for data.
• Fractional T1. Uses only a portion of the total bandwidth for a percentage of a full T1 rate.
• Burstable T1. A "pay as you go" service, burstable T1 provides a set amount of bandwidth at all times, but also offers the ability to tap into much greater bandwidth during high traffic spikes.
• Bonded T1. Offers the full bandwidth of multiple T1s at once for better speed and performance. Combining individual T1s into a single pipeline allows for more bandwidth than two separate T1 lines.

Downside of T1
The most obvious drawback of a T1 connection is the cost. T1 provides a very reliable connection, but you’ll pay for that guaranteed uptime. For businesses that rely heavily on employee and customer access to data and applications, T1 is worth the investment.

Service Level Agreements
Reliability is probably the most important factor in choosing an ISP. While it’s impossible to maintain 100% availability, most T1 providers aim for the lofty standard of “four nines” – 99.99% uptime over the course of a year. With service level agreements (SLAs), access providers pay penalties to customers for downtime exceeding specified totals.

Contracts
The contract you sign for T1 access should be comprehensive, with no unwanted surprises or hidden fees – detailing all costs, length of service, and the SLA.

The standard contract length for T1 Internet access is three years and may include all setup fees, installation costs, and equipment rental. If you break a contract early, expect to fork up several hundred dollars up to the balance left on the contract.

Getting set up
After you sign a contract, a telecommunications contractor will come to your office to set up and test the necessary circuits. Then the T1 provider or Internet access broker installs routers, connects your LAN, configures IP addresses and firewall security, and sets up any other equipment noted on the contract.

It usually takes 30 to 45 days from the contract signing to set up your office for access. Plan accordingly.

Internet access pricing
Monthly T1 prices range from $250 to $1,000 – with a similar cost for the initial setup. Fractional T1s run about $100-$200 per month. Bonded T1s are typically priced at a multiple of a regular T1 line, so three bonded T1 lines equal around $750 to $3,000 per month. Standard T1 Internet prices include the phone company’s local loop charge – typically $150 and up.

Most vendors will either provide the equipment – routers, T1 pipes, Ethernet cables – for free, or tie them into the monthly pricing. Certain setup fees may also be waived based on the length of a contract.