DS3 Price Trends
Like nearly all telecommunications services in Llano, DS3 prices (commonly known as a T3 line) have been declining for the last not so many years. This is due to a number of factors. Competition has been heating up since deregulation in 1996. The number of companies offering service has exploded. With more competition in the marketplace, service providers have to reduce their prices to catch the attention of customers and keep them from going to competitors. Service providers are desperate to keep margins but even more anxious to add customers. This competitive situation has created a buyers market for DS3 lines and pricing is as favorable as it has ever been!
The soft economy and crash of the stock market has also contributed to the fall in DS3 prices. Since the peak of the market in 1999 many companies have gone bankrupt and no longer require service. This means there's a smaller pie available and there are plenty of telecom providers trying to get their share. Once again, the buyer is in control and can shop until he or she finds the price that is right for them.
A final reason for the reduction in DS3 pricing is the reality that equipment costs and the cost of supplying the bandwidth have declined. This means that companies can supply the bandwidth at a lower cost. As bandwidth usage continue to increase as a result of bandwidth hungry applications like video on demand and graphic intensive applications the price of bandwidth will continue to go down. The only factor that seems likely to inhibit prices from dropping much further is the "last mile" or the connection from the users premise to the service providers' POP (Point of Presence), but we'll save this issue for another article. Until then, enjoy those inexpensive DS3 lines and good luck finding a price that's right for you!
