T1 Internet Connection

T1 (also known as Digital signal 1, DS1, or "DS-1") is a widely used standard in telecommunications in North America and Japan to transmit voice and data between devices. E1 is used in place of T1 outside of North America and Japan.

A T1 circuit is made up of twenty-four 8-bit channels, each channel being a 64 kbit/s. A T1 is also a full-duplex circuit, meaning, in theory, the circuit can send 1.544 Mbit/s and receive 1.544 Mbit/s concurrently.

Originally, T1 meant "Transmission - Level 1", and had to do with the media that the signal was passed over. DS1 meant "Digital Service - Level 1", and had to do with the service to be sent (originally 24 digitized voice channels over the T1). The terms T1 and DS1 have become synonymous and include a plethora of different services from voice to data to clear-channel pipes. The line speed is always consistent at 1.544 Mbit/s, but the payload can vary greatly.

Before the jump in Internet traffic in the mid 1990s, T1 were found almost exclusively in telephone company central offices as a means to transport voice traffic between locations. T1 have been and still are the primary way cellular phone carriers connect their central office switches (MSCs) to the cell sites deployed throughout a city.

Today, companies often use an entire T1 for Internet connection, providing 1.544 Mbps of connectivity (allowing for 1.536 Mbit/s of usable traffic, and 8 Kbit/s of framing overhead). However, T1 can be ordered as a channeled circuit, and any number of channels can be reserved for non-data (for example, voice) traffic.

Get real-time T1 quotes from major T1 connection providers such as AT&T, Qwest, Time Warner Telecom, and many more.

We list T1 providers here.

What Are The Advantages Of T1 Over DSL?

T1 is more reliable. For a T1 line the SLA (Service Level Agreement) and QoS (Quality of Service) are likely to be better, which means if your connections goes down, you will get a solution is hours, not days.

T1 is more dedicated. A provider could have hundreds of subscribers from a DSL line, while a T1 line is only yours.