DS3 or Data Service level 3 is a standard digital telecommunications service first developed for telephone trunking applications. It is standardized as part of the T-Carrier system, and works seemlessly with SONET fiber optic carriers. DS3 is nominally a 45 Mbps line service. Once provisioned on coaxial copper cable, most DS3 connections now come in on fiber optic cables. A single DS3 uses only a fraction of the capability of the fiber, but it can be multiplexed with other DS3s and transported cross country with ease.
What does one use DS3 for? Larger companies will use a DS3 dedicated Internet connection to serve dozens or even hundreds of employees. Configured as a digital telephone trunk, a single DS3 connection will support up to 672 simultaneous telephone calls. Who makes that many? A large corporation or a major call center can easily make good use of DS3 telephone service.
How much does a DS3 connection cost? You'll see nominal quotes of $5,000 a month. But you may well pay half that, depending on your location and lease length. The more densely populated your business location, the more likely it is that DS3 service will be available and the more competitive the pricing among multiple providers. You can get a DS3 quote in less than a minute online for business addresses.
What if a fiber optic drop is not really cost effective for your location? There is another service available, called EoC or Ethernet over Copper that is becoming very popular in metropolitan areas. Bandwidth varies with distance from the carrier's POP or Point of Presence, but can range up to DS3 levels of 45 Mbps. Get a quote on Ethernet over Copper bandwidth. If available, this service is generally cheaper than DS3 on a Mbps basis.
Finally, if your business is out in the boonies where fiber has not dared to tread, there are still voice and data connections available to you. Bonded T1 lines can deliver 10 Mbps or more using multiple pair of ordinary telephone cable. Since you can select the number of lines to bond, you can control the cost of your service to match your needs and budget and upgrade as demand grows. Get a quote on bonded T1 service for your location and see how affordable it really is.
