Tips on Buying Fractional T1
If you can not afford a full T1 line, you need to consider a fractional T1 line instead. Why not get all the extra benefits of T1 even if you’re not in a market for a complete T1? A significant number of customers consider the biggest factor in their choice is reliability. You must think about it too if reliability is critical to the applications you run over your network connection. If you are currently using DSL for your internet connection, you must think about replacing it with fractional T1. DSL is a quick and cost effective method of acquiring high speed bandwidth in Tompkins, however it is not intended to handle mission-critical applications or high volumes of traffic as are T1 connections.
A disadvantage with fractional T1 service is the cost. Despite the fact that you don’t have a full T1, you will be paying quite a bit more than you otherwise would for your DSL connection. This is due to the fee schedule of T1 pricing. A T1 connection is established by installing a "loop" or cable from the user's building to the CO where the service provider has equipment. Part of the cost of a T1 is the "loop charge" or the monthly rental fee for the cable that is provided by the local phone company. Once the connection reaches the CO it can tie into the carrier’s network and communicate with any destination. This loop is paid in full whether you use a fraction of the available bandwidth or the full 1.5Mbps and therefore your cost for a 768Kbps fractional T1 connection will never be half the price of a 1.5mbps full T1 connection.
Although the price reduction is not what you might wish it to be, this may still put a fractional T1 within your budget and be a great way to get dedicated service into your office. Once you have fractional service, upgrading to full service is easy. Fractional service usually comes in 256Kbps increments from 256Kbps up to a full T1 at 1.5Mbps. Find the service that's right for you, but if you are supporting critical services, think about reliability. Reliability becomes significant when customers or employees depend on your connection for immediate responses. If your customers use your connection to access your databases or your server or the Internet, then reliability of your network is critical. If your employees depend on your connections because you host the e-mail server in house or host web servers or ASP type products, your connections are considered critical. An important connection can be thought of like a lifeline, without which your business would be in trouble.
