At what point should you improve your Internet connection speed to a faster and more reliable T1 line? When looking at possibly replacing your current DSL connection, you have to consider several different factors. Financial loss occurring during the event of connectivity loss and reliability are the largest factors to be considered in the case of both small and large business operations. High-speed Internet is essential for many companies to conduct business via e-mail, video conferencing, and voice-over-Internet telephone applications. Should an outage occur, your business could be affected on all levels.
Normally, a T1 line will deliver a reliable bi-directional speed of 1.5 Mbps. On the other hand, the speed with which a DSL line can operate is entirely determined by the distance from the DSLAM, which is the physical equipment box located in your neighborhood by the telephone company. DSL's maximum range is 18,000 feet. After that, the copper line's signal is too weak to reliably transmit data.
Customer service is another aspect that differs between a T1 and DSL line. There's a technical support team supporting a T1 line. This assures a 99.99% quality of service warranty, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because the system is checked continuously. At the first sign of an outage, the technicians immediately get to work to determine the cause of the problem and fix it. On the other hand, DSL service requires you to take action by calling customer service and then waiting on hold until a customer service representative is available to answer your call and hopefully be of assistance.
Cost is the final difference between a T1 and DSL line. Depending on the type of plan you have, the cost of DSL service can be anywhere from $ 19 and $ 79 a month. As recently as five years ago a T1 line cost an average of around $ 1,000 per month. This was beyond the budgets of many businesses. Since then the cost of a T1 connection now ranges from the high $ 400's to the $ low 700's per month, which makes it an option that small businesses and even gamers are more likely to consider. A T1 line is more expensive than DSL, but what is the real cost to your business if your Internet connection goes down? If your business absolutely requires that your employees, phone calls, and emails are always kept active, it is necessary that you ditch DSL and hold a "productivity insurance" policy known as $ 500 T1 line.