Point-to-Point and Integrated Lines
If you or your business is using a T3 or DS3 line, it is important to research what kind of lines are available. There are Fractional DS3 and T3 lines, and partial T3 and DS3 line. In addition, there are integrated and point-to point lines to be discovered. An Integrated T1 Line is one of the most popular T1 solutions for small businesses because it provides local telephone service, long distance, and bandwidth all on a single connection and a single bill. The consolidation of these services with one company is more convenient and more cost effective than purchasing them from separate providers. Just as a Fractional T1 line only turns on a portion of a T1 Line for Internet access, special equipment allows some of the T1 channels to be allocated for telephone lines, while others are used for data transmission and Internet access.
Integrated T1 lines can be divided in half using special equipment, providing 12 high quality telephone lines and using the other 12 channels for 768k of bandwidth. Fractional Integrated T1 lines are also available, but most companies have minimum levels such as 4 phone lines and 512k of Internet access, which only uses 12 channels combined. Many offers even include "blocks" of free long distance, usually based on the number of telephone lines being installed.
A common line includes 6 phone lines, 512k, and 600 minutes of free LD each month (100 per telephone line). This entire circuit could have a total cost as low as $400 to $500 per month, which is a tremendous "all inclusive" bargain for small businesses. This is a perfect total solution for literally thousands, if not millions, of small companies across the nation.
Point to point T1 lines are a different kind of connection that does not provide T1 Internet access or telephone lines, but act as a “transport” for either or both. A point-to-point T1, often referred to as a "P2P", provides a very secure and reliable connection, usually from a corporate office to any number of satellite offices. Although a P2P does not actually provide Internet access or phone lines, corporations use P2P T1s to share these services.
The variables are endless because there are no restrictions on how a point to point T1 is used, assuming you have the right equipment and a source at one end of the P2P. This can be a great way to save money, because a satellite or branch office might have to pay huge prices to have telephone and bandwidth services installed directly, whereas the home office can get better rates because of bulk buying and location. Although it can be used to save money, a P2P network is usually not very cost efficient compared to other options. Frame Relay and Virtual Private Networks are other options to consider depending on a company's needs and business applications.
