Actually, you have heard of DS1 in its more popular name: T1. That's right. DS1 and T1 refer to the same thing. They are a digital telecommunications line standard that replaces analog phone service. They are also widely popular for point to point data links and dedicated connections to the Internet. But why the two names?
There is a hair of difference between DS1 and T1. DS1 stands for Digital Signal 1. It's the format of the bit pattern that is used in TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) digital trunk lines. T-1 refers to the physical line itself, a 4-wire connection made up of two copper twisted pairs. T-1 or T1 carries the DS-1 or DS1 signal that actually conveys the information. These standards can be written with or without the dashes in-between the letter and the number.
Let's take a closer look at what DS1 can be used for. As a telephone service, DS1 offers 24 independent phone lines in a single digital trunk. Each of those phone lines is carried in a channel, also known as a DS0. The DS0 channel is 8 bits wide sampled at 8 KHz for a data rate of 64 Kbps. That's enough to provide "toll quality" telephone calls for local or long distance service.
Toll quality is the gold standard by which other services, such as VoIP or cellular phone, can be judged. The voice quality of cell phone calls doesn't really come close. VoIP can sound nearly indistinguishable from TDM toll quality if properly engineered. But on many consumer grade Internet connections, VoIP voice quality can easily degrade if the broadband service is highly congested.
The voice quality of DS1 service is locked-in by careful synchronization of the DS1 channels on the line. Unless the line is cut or something in the phone system fails, every call should sound as good as every other call as far as the line is concerned. That's one reason why DS1 (T1) service is so popular for business. You know it will be reliable day after day and is unaffected by anything going on with the Internet.
So how does DS1 save businesses money? Remember that the purpose of the digital trunking standards is to consolidate up to 24 separate analog phone lines on a single digital line. There is an efficiency to this, an economy of scale if you will, that makes T1 lines with DS1 service less expensive once you have more than 8 to 12 outgoing lines installed. At that point you no doubt have a PBX telephone system managing your lines. By plugging a T1 line into an interface card in your PBX instead of a dozen separate analog lines, you can get the same level of telephone service but with a lower monthly phone bill.
Is your business in a position to save considerable money on your telecommunications expenses? Find out how much DS1 telephone service can lower your telephone bill.
