Tips on Buying Fractional T1
If you can not afford a full T1 line, you need to consider a partial T1 line instead. Why not get all the extra benefits of T1 even if you’re not in a market for a full T1? For many people the largest factor in their decision making is reliability. You should think about it too if reliability is vital to the applications you run over your network line. If you are currently using DSL for your internet connection, you should seriously consider replacing it with fractional T1. DSL is a quick and cost effective method of acquiring high speed bandwidth in Powhatan, however it is not intended to support commercial applications or large numbers of users as are T1 connections.
One disadvantage with fractional T1 connections 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 due to the fee schedule of T1 pricing. A T1 line is established by providing a "loop" or cable 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 wire that is rented from the local phone company. Once the line gets to the CO it can tie into the carrier’s network and reach any destination. This loop is paid in full whether you use a fraction of the available capacity or the full 1.5Mbps and therefore your price for a 768Kbps fractional T1 connection will never be fifty percent of the cost 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 the best way to get dedicated service into your office. Once you have fractional service, migrating to full service is simple. Fractional service usually comes in 256Kbps increments from 256Kbps all the way 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 critical 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 vital. 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 viewed much like a lifeline, without which your company would be in trouble.
