T1 PRI For PBX Telephony
A T1 PRI, also called an ISDN PRI, is a "Primary Rate Interface"
providing 23 individual digitized telephone lines plus data such
as Caller ID on a single digital telephone trunk line. A PRI line
is usually much less expensive than a dozen or more analog business
phone lines.
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 and T3 Lines for Wireless
Backhaul
A WISP or Wireless Internet Service Provider needs a way to connect
the Internet to the tower radios. T1 lines and bonded T1 lines
are widely used for this purpose, as well as cellular tower backhaul,
because of their almost universal availability. T3 lines offer
28x the bandwidth of T1 lines but are typically more available
in larger metropolitan areas.
How do T1 and DS1 differ?
In general conversation, T1 and DS1 refer to the same thing. But
strictly speaking, T1 refers to a physical line circuit consisting
of 2 pair of copper wires with strict line signal specifications.
DS1 stands for Digital Signal level 1. DS1 is the service level
you get on a T1 line. However, DS1 also is part of the digital
signal hierarchy used in T3 lines and SONET fiber optic carriers.