In your search for just the right bandwidth for your business
application(s) there will be much to consider. Budget and reliability
being the two primary decision factors. With these in mind you need to
consider a fractional t1 line. Why not get all the advantages of T1
even if you are not able to pay for a full T1?
For many people the biggest factors in their decision is reliability
and if reliability is critical to the applications you run over your
connection you should seriously consider replacing your DSL connection
with a fractional T1. DSL is a quick and cost effective method of
acquiring high speed bandwidth however it is not intended to support
commercial applications or large numbers of users as are T1
connections.
One drawback to fractional T1 service is the price. 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 structure of T1 pricing. A
T1 connection is established by providing a "loop" or wire from the
user’s premises 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 wire that is rented from the local phone company. Once the
connection reaches the CO it can access the carriers network and reach
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 price
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 expect it to be,
this may put a T1 in your budget and be a great way to get dedicated
service into your building. Once you have fractional service upgrading
to full service whenever you wish is easy. Fractional service typically
comes in 256Kbps increments from 256Kbps all the way to a full T1 at
1.5Mbps. Find the service that's right for you, but if you are
supporting critical services think 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
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 connections is considered critical. A critical
connection can be viewed much like a lifeline, without which your
business would be negatively impacted.
The message is clear. You can indeed upgrade from a business DSL and
get the reliability and functionality of a T1 line without the price.
This decision can be done smartly...and cost effectively....via choice
of a fractional T1.