Tips on Buying Fractional T1
If a full T1 isn't in your budget, you need to consider a partial T1 line instead. Why not get all the extra benefits of T1 even if you’re not looking for a complete T1? A significant number of customers consider the largest factor in their choice is reliability. You should consider it too if reliability is vital to the applications you run over your network connection. If you are now using DSL for your internet connection, you must think about replacing it with fractional T1. DSL is a quick and inexpensive method of acquiring high speed bandwidth in Laverne, however it is not intended to handle mission-critical applications or high volumes of traffic as are T1 connections.
A drawback with fractional T1 service is the cost. Even though you won't have a full T1, you will be paying quite a bit more than you did for your DSL connection. This is because of the structure of T1 pricing. A T1 line is established by installing a "loop" or wire from the user's premises to the CO where the carrier 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 line gets to the CO it can access the carrier’s network and communicate with any destination. This loop is charged in full whether you use a part of the available capacity or the full 1.5Mbps and therefore your price for a 768Kbps fractional T1 connection will never be half the price of a 1.5mbps full T1 connection.
Although the price decrease is not what you might wish it to be, this may still put a fractional T1 within your budget and be the best way to get dedicated service into your office. Once you have fractional service, migrating to full service is easy. Fractional service typically comes in 256Kbps increments from 256Kbps up to a full T1 at 1.5Mbps. Find the service that's best 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 clients use your connection to query your databases or your server or the Internet, then reliability of your connection 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 communication lines are considered critical. An important connection can be viewed much like a lifeline, without which your company would be negatively impacted.
