Tucson Arizona - Contrary to popular beliefe a T1 is NOT the most reliable, most secure, most scalable, highest bandwidth capacity, or lowest cost Dat a nd voice solution for business that need a connection for their mission critical applications. T1's are convenient because they are copper wires and copper wires can be found just about anywhere.But that is about the only advantage. A lot of Tucson businesses are on a "legacy" copper wire T1 solution provided by one of the large telecommunication companies like Qwest or one of it's resellers like Time Warner Telecom or Integra Telecom T1's are a 24 channel circuit which provides a broadband internet connection straight from the provider backbone. As such, a T1 line is a stable and reliable broadband connection.
Even though a T1 is stable it still has an inherent weakness. "A single point of failure." A T1 is still a physical pair of copper wires that can be inadvertently cut. Depending on your exact physical street address and T1 provider proximity, a full T1 connection will normally cost between $375 and $1,000 monthly.
The reason for the vast difference in price is partly due to something called a "mileage charge" A mileage charge is basically a charge for how much copper wire it takes to physically deliver you a T1 to your location. The further away you are from telecommunication companies "central office" or "termination point" the more of a mileage charge you are going to have because it will take more copper wire and "hops" to get to your location. A T1 is limited in total symmetrical bandwidth (bandwidth effects the speed of your connectivity) of 1.544 Mbps. If you ever need more bandwidth you will need to get another T1 and yes this does mean an additional $375 to $1000 per month.
Yuck! A T1 is really an outdated mode of business class internet delivery. Did you realize that a T1 data delivery method is a technology first developed in the late 1950's and widely used by telecom companies for their own backbones by the early 1960's? Yes a T1 is a technology that is almost 50 years old. Would you rely on a telephone from the late 1950's to support your business needs? I assume not. So why would you rely on a copper wire technology from the late 1950's? A lot of local Tucson business owners get a T1 for their data and voice needs because they are convinced it is the most reliable means of data transmission for their mission critical business applications. They are convinced of this usually by the following methods: 1. They have an outsourced IT person that either gets a kickback for every T1 they resell or T1's is all they know because it's all they used or ever recommended.
2. A slick salesman for one of the major Telcos sold them on the idea that a T1 is the pinnacle of voice and data technology 3. Their business neighbor is on a T1 so they naturally want to "keep up with the Jones's" or they think that they must be on the same connection.
I am here to tell you there is a better solution than a T1. For the sake of simplicity there are services that are - Faster - More reliable - More scalable - Lower cost than a T1 There are services that have - No single point of failure - Lower latency - More "symmetrical" bandwidth capacity Don't settle for an inferior, overpriced T1 deployment. You have alternatives. Investigate other competing services for yourself.Google "T1 Alternatives". You should not have to settle for an outdated overpriced data and voice solution when there are far superior services on the market that are not based on technology that is 50 years old such as legacy copper wire T1 solutions.
Keith is a Consultant and trusted advisor to all Southern AZ business who are looking for a scalable solution to theri voice and data needs. Keith can be reached at 520-867-7600 or http://www.TucsonBusinessBradband.com
