Q: What is the cost advantage of EoC versus other line servicesA: EoC generally offers a significant cost savings compared to what you are used to paying for business bandwidth services. For instance, a 3 Mbps Ethernet connection is often priced the same as a 1.5 Mbps T1 line. The cost savings are even more pronounced at higher bandwidth levels.
Q: What determines Ethernet over Copper availability?
A: The two major elements are local availability of service and distance from the central office that connects your copper pair cabling. T1, DS3 and OC3 have been around much longer that Ethernet over Copper and are more readily available. Not all offices have the necessary terminal equipment to support EoC. The bandwidth available from Ethernet over Copper technology is much higher close to the central office than farther away. While nearly all business locations can get lower bandwidths if available, the higher bandwidth services may be available over short distances only.
Q: Why is dedicated bandwidth important?
A: Dedicated means that you have exclusive use of the available bandwidth on your line. Consumer oriented line services, such as DSL and Cable are shared bandwidth arrangements where the speed of your connection varies with the activity level of other residential and business users. Dedicated bandwidth ensures that your connection won’t get bogged down just when you need it to be productive.
Q: What is EoDS1 and what is its application?
A: EoDS1 is a hybrid between EoC and T1. It essentially uses T1 lines to transport Ethernet service. This increases the geographical area where Ethernet is available and is generally lower in cost than multiple bonded T1 lines to achieve the same bandwidth.
Q: What is Carrier Ethernet?
A: Carrier Ethernet is the same Ethernet protocol that runs on your company LAN but extended for operation over metropolitan and wide area distances. The standards for this technology have been established by an industry association called the Metro Ethernet Forum or MEF. Carrier Ethernet includes Ethernet over Copper and Ethernet over Fiber.
Q: What special network services are available over Carrier Ethernet?
A: There are 3 services you may find interesting. Ethernet Line service or E-Line is a point to point connection, similar to what you get with T1 and other telecom services. Because the protocol is Ethernet on both the LAN and WAN, you can bridge LANs at two business locations to create one larger business network. E-LAN or Ethernet LAN service is a meshed network arrangement that interconnects 3 or more business locations. E-Tree or Ethernet Tree service is a one to many connection suitable for content distribution.
Q: Is EoC suitable for Internet service?
A: Internet connectivity is one of the more popular ways that EoC is used for business. A dedicated Ethernet Internet connection gives you a highly reliable link from your location to the Internet. EoC bandwidth is symmetrical (the same in both upload and download directions) to support voice, video and cloud services as well as Web browsing and email.
Could Ethernet service be the right answer to your business connectivity needs? See what Ethernet over Copper bandwidths and pricing are available for your business location.
You may also be interested in reading Ethernet over Copper FAQ (Part 1) and Ethernet over Copper FAQ (Part 3).
