Integrated T1
Integrated T1 Line is one of the most popular T1
solution for small businesses because it provides local telephone service,
long distance, and bandwidth all on a single connection and a single bill.
The combination of these services with one company is more convenient and
more cost effective than purchasing them from separate providers. A Fractional
T1 line only turns on a portion of a T1 Line for Internet access, special
equipment allows some of the T1 channels to be used for telephone lines,
while others are used for data transmission and Internet access.
A Full Integrated T1 line can be split
in half by using special equipment, thus providing 12 high quality telephone
lines and using the other 12 channels for 768k of bandwidth. A typical offer
might include 6 phone lines, 512k (8 channels), and 600 minutes of free
LD each month (100 per telephone line). This entire circuit could have a
total cost as low as $400 to $500 per month, which is a tremendous "all
inclusive" bargain for small businesses. This is a perfect total solution
for literally thousands, if not millions, of small companies across the
nation. One thing to keep in mind is that not all providers can offer Integrated
T1 Lines, so the ones that do typically focus a great deal of their sales
efforts on this service.
Another option is Fractional Integrated T1 lines. Nevertheless, the majority
of companies have minimum levels such as 4 phone lines and 512k of Internet
access, which only uses 12 channels combined. Many offers even include blocks
of free long distance, usually based on the number of telephone lines installed.
T1 Lines have been the primary
source of mission critical bandwidth for companies of all sizes for nearly
20 years. With so much history, a basic understanding of the T1 line should
be common knowledge among business
owners who are looking for reliable bandwidth for Internet access, data
communications, or multiple telephone lines.
However, it was not until the late 1990s that the market for T1 lines became
very competitive and prices began falling to more reasonable levels, thus
causing the demand to rise sharply among small and medium sized businesses.
Even today most small business owners and managers still do not know how
a standard T1 line works or what it is capable of.
In addition, a Full T1 Line is a term used to describe a circuit that provides
1.5 megabits per second of high-speed Internet access, which is the most
common type of T1. A Full T1 can also be used
to carry telephone lines and/or VoIP calls, both of which are covered within
the Voice, “PRI" and Voice Over IP sections here. There are many choices
to fulfill this need for Internet access, including Dial-up connections,
ISDN, DSL, Cable, Wireless applications, a T1 Line, or something larger
like a DS3 or OC-3. Nearly all office-based and modern retail businesses
require some type of Internet access in order to perform their daily operations,
and many have mission critical Internet needs that allow them to continue
business operations at all.
