Getting From Point to Point
Best ways to interconnect businesses
with multiple locations needing high speed digital line services.
Businesses with multiple locations need
a way to network their far flung operations. Within a corporate
campus or industrial park, you can often use copper pairs, fiber
optic cable, wireless or free space optical transmission. But
if your corporate office is in one city and you have dozens,
hundreds or thousands of retail locations across the country
or around the world, you need a long haul infrastructure.
A popular connection is the dedicated T1
point to point line service. It's called dedicated because it
is 100% dedicated to your communications. No one else uses the
line, which helps keep your information secure. It's also always
available. You lease the line facilities with a monthly charge
on a 1, 2 or 3 year contract and it's your private connection.
What can you use your T1 point to point
service for? Just about anything that can be digitized and will
fit within the bandwidth of the circuit. T1 is bi-directional
with 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth in each direction. That makes it suitable
for carrying traditional PBX based telephone calls, VoIP telephone,
broadcast quality stereo audio, surveillance video, video conferencing,
medical imaging and telemedicine, remote instruction, sales and
accounting data, computer aided drawings and manufacturing instructions.
If you need additional bandwidth you can
"bond" T1 lines together to get two times, four times,
up to six times the bandwidth or 9 Mbps. Above that, it makes
sense to move up to the next higher grade of service which is
T3, also known as DS3 line service. That runs at 45 Mbps and
is capable of carrying broadcast quality video with some compression.
If you need reliable connections between
locations but not on a full time basis, frame relay service may
be more cost effective. Each of your locations connects to the
frame relay network, which sets up virtual connections from point
to point. Other people also use the network, so you buy a committed
information rate or CIR which guarantees your packets reliable
transport when you need it.
The least expensive option is to use DSL
or T1 connections from each location to the public Internet.
You can set up a VPN or virtual private network using encryption
software to protect the privacy of your data. It's possible to
get connected to the Internet from just about anywhere and you
can add locations at will. You are only subject to the vagaries
of the Internet, which is a "best effort" service rather
than guaranteed performance.
Trying to decide how best to interconnect
your business locations? Talk it over with one of our technical
experts, who will recommend the best options for your particular
needs. Our team can find multiple options from a dozen or more
top tier vendors and help you select the most appropriate for
your needs.
Contact us anytime, even after traditional
business hours, by calling 1-866-436-7868. Our expert
consultant will ask for Reference Code: 1265 for this
complimentary service. Or, simply use this handy inquiry form:
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Read more about digital private
lines, networks and other high speed voice and data technologies
at T1 Rex's Business Telecom
Explainer.