The most basic bandwidth service that most companies should consider is T1 voice and/or data services. T1 lines are highly reliable, usually come with a service level agreement, and have dropped in price by half to two-thirds this decade. Businesses that signed a lease years ago and simply renew without a competitive review of their options could be astounded by how much less they could be paying. Those pressed by additional bandwidth demand may find that they can get 3 Mbps, 6 Mbps or higher symmetrical bandwidth for what they are currently charged for 1.5 Mbps T1 service.
T1 telephone and T1 dedicated Internet access are the two traditional service classes. But companies with heavy telephone use, such as sales organizations or call centers, can benefit from the higher telephone system performance offered by ISDN PRI service delivered over T1 lines. Another lesser known service is T1 Integrated. The integration involves a using a single T1 line to deliver both telephone and Internet service. You can get up to 12 outside phone lines plus broadband Internet service with T1 Integrated lines. Dynamic bandwidth is often available so that all bandwidth not in use for telephony is automatically assigned to the Internet connection.
Many medium size companies or smaller operations with high bandwidth needs are moving to DS3 service at 45 Mbps. This service level, usually delivered via fiber optic connection, has also seen dramatic price reductions. So much so that companies that used to consider T1 services as the best they could afford are now moving up to DS3 bandwidth. A money saving option for those businesses that experience occasional high usage peaks but a lower average level of activity is burstable DS3. The basic line charge is lower than a full DS3 but with the ability to accommodate surges automatically.
An exciting new service unheard of a few years ago is Ethernet. Metro Ethernet offers the ease of network management with bandwidth options of 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps to better match LAN speeds. Remote data center access and disaster recovery are two popular applications. Ethernet can now be extended beyond the metro area by competitive carriers with nationwide fiber optic networks and POPs ( Points of Presence) of their own. Where available, Ethernet solutions, can be the lowest priced high bandwidth solutions by a factor of two or more.
Could your clients benefit from lower cost and more diverse WAN bandwidth options for voice and data? If so, our team of bandwidth experts stands ready to assist you in being the hero.
