Sharing Business Broadband
Costs
Even smaller businesses can have high performance dedicated Internet
access by splitting the cost of a T1 line with other businesses
in their building or business park.
Channelized and Unchannelized
T1 Lines
A T1 line may be configured as a single large pipe offering 1.5
Mbps data transport or as 24 individual channels of 64 Kbps each,
ideal for use as individual outside telephone lines to support
Key or PBX business telephone systems.
Channelized T1 vs ISDN PRI
T1 lines can support two protocols of switched circuit telephony.
Channelized T1 lines offer 24 phone lines using in-band signaling.
ISDN PRI, or Primary Rate Interface, offers 23 phone lines and
common channel signaling that can include data such as ANI Automatic
Number Identification or Caller ID.
T1 Digital Cross Connect Systems
A digital cross connect system, often abbreviated DCS or DCAS,
allows you to switch traffic among your T1 lines. It will even
reach into the line to connect individual channels or timeslots
rather than the entire circuit. A manual device that cross connects
T1 lines is called a DCX or patch panel.
Bandwidth to Support Convergence
Convergence means combining or converging voice, data and video
onto a single network. Enterprises usually need to expand their
LAN bandwidth and set up a QoS or Quality of Service priority
system to give priority to real-time streams such as telephone
calls or video conference feeds, which are more sensitive to network
delays than data transfers. Most often, the common protocol for
convergence is IP.