The Positives and Negatives of a Dedicated Internet T-1 Circuit

I am now entering my 10^th year as an inside sales person for a small Wisconsin telecommunications company. In the time since my hire date, technology has changed drastically. And, with high speed internet becoming more of a priority, I have spent a great deal of time working out solutions for my business customers.

As part of this, I have discovered dedicated internet T-1 circuits are starting to gain renewed interest. This is especially true about my business customers in rural areas (and there are a lot of those in Wisconsin). Since it is a service that typically is more expensive than other internet options, my customers naturally have questions about it and whether or not it is worth the money.

My response to them is it really depends on what they are looking for. Internet T-1 circuits have some benefits but, as with all technologies, there are also some negatives that need to be considered and weighed against the customer's individual needs.

As far as the positives go, this type of service has two major selling points. The first is the guaranteed upload and download speed. Unlike other services (DSL, cable, etc.), the speed doesn't fluctuate throughout the day and is not affected by your location. This is especially beneficial to companies that have a phone system that uses their internet connection to make calls or perform internal functions or to rural business customers with very few high speed options.

Another feature this type of service has that other internet options don't usually have is quality of service. This feature benefits companies that make their phone calls via the internet because it allows them to give their phone calls priority over their normal internet usage, improving the overall call quality.

The one major disadvantage to this type of circuit (other than the higher price) is, even though the bandwidth is guaranteed, the overall maximum bandwidth is considerably less than the bandwidth that can be offered by other types of services for a fraction of the cost. As a result of this, customers with multiple internet users often find they are better off with a regular DSL or cable connection.

So, is this service right for your business? Again, it really depends on your needs. If you are a business in a rural area or make calls using your internet connection, the guaranteed speed and quality of service make this option worth considering. However, for the majority of customers at least, the more affordable options are usually going to be the better way to go.