T1 internet connection

T1 internet

All of us have wondered at some point in time what the whole deal is with T1. Perhaps if we spent a little time understanding Internet T1, it wouldn’t seem like the rocket science it is made out to be.

Back in the year, our very own Bell Labs, named after and founded by the inventor of the telephone Graham Bell, devised the DS1 or T1 as a signaling platform for its operations. The earlier signaling platform was the T-Carrier - also called the DS0 or T0, which had a bandwidth of 64 kilobits per second (Kbps), and was used to transmit a single voice circuit.

The DS-1 however was a much more powerful carrier, comprising 24 of the earlier DS0 channels, that gives it a total bandwidth of approximately 1.54 Megabits per second, using time division multiplexing (TDMA) to switch between the channels while sending and receiving. Time division multiplexing is not unlike code division Multiplexing (CDMA) which is used in cellular phone networks, but differs on the basis of switching between channels. In TDMA, the transfer protocol switches from one channel to another by allocating a certain time frame for each channel in the circuit, rather than the code of the circuit in the channel.

Now that we have picked our brains on how T1 works, let’s address the following

  • What does Internet T1 offer?
  • Why is it better than the other options
  • Why is Internet T1 significant to businesses




 

 
 
 

What does Internet T1 offer?

Well, by definition, Internet T1 offers users 24 channels, each of these with a dedicated 64 Kbps symmetric carrying capacity, meaning each channel can simultaneously upload and download at a speed of 64 Kbps. Given there are 24 channels of 64 Kbps each, the total bandwidth offered by internet T1 is 1.54 Mbps of symmetric carriage capacity.

Internet T1 has two variants, Inband Internet T1 and PRI T1. While Inband Internet T1 is what you normally get as a T1 internet connection, PRI, or Primary Rate Interface is an Internet T1 designed to suit the requirements of call centers.

In PRI T1 internet, there are 23 voice telephone lines available which are called B-Channels, but in addition to that, there is a 24th channel called a D or Delta channel that carries information regarding the signals carried by the B-Channels. The information that is carried by the Delta Channel include

  • Caller ID (CID)
  • Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
  • Call Handle information
  • DNIS information
  • A response request for the line being connected to

Inband Internet T1 is also capable of carrying the information mentioned above but given the unique needs, PRI tends to be able to handle this with a level of efficiency Inband T1 lines can never match up to.

Typically, for businesses, connectivity is normally not the issue, speed, and availability are . . . and of course, reliability. So when you are going about transacting business, perhaps holding a web conference with your prospects or existing clients, the question really is, what would make you feel reassured? Would it be that you have a DSL or any other internet connection that your ISP merely says is reliable? Or would it be an Internet T1 connection with a provision for 10% of the monthly fee as credit for down-times greater than 4 hours and a “greater than 95% availability” Service Level Agreement?

What makes more business sense?