Why are T1 lines so expensive?

[airdata]

I'm dropping my directv service and bundling Verizon Fios TV w\ my existing Fios internet ( 10Mbps / 2Mbps ).

My new package to my surprise also means that my internet speed will be bumpbed to a nice 25Mbps / 25Mbps and w\ the tv, my bill is going to be around $100 per month.

So.... Why are leased lines, T1's mainly so expensive? My company is getting shafted by a third party sort of ISP. We're stuck in a contract w\ them which includes a voice bundle. We had to move our phones off of their network a couple years ago though because their router kept dropping calls between our phone system.

So, we're stuck in this contract that includes 3Mbps / 3Mbps for $895 per month + taxes and fees and you're talking $1050+ per month.

I live maybe 2 miles from the office and I can get 25Mbps / 25Mbps internet for $basically $50 per month if you take out the TV portion of the bill.

Why has the pricing for T1's not adjusted w\ the times? These prices were acceptable back in the day when people could only get dial up... but it makes no sense why their prices are still sky high.

/ranting

 

[stlcardinals]

The big prices are supposed to pay for a high uptime SLA and support.

 

[aE0n]

The main reason is you are leasing the full bandwidth of the line. With your home service, you are sharing your connection. Basically, you can do whatever you want with a T1 because you are paying the full price for the full connection, whereas Fios you are sharing and will have many restrictions.

 

[azev]

Not if you get the business service + static ip address.

 

[Crusty]

Not if you get the business service + static ip address.

Two cable connections in this office and neither of them have anything other than a uptime SLA of 99.9%. No bandwidth or latency guarantees whatsoever, other than 'acceptable'.

It's going to vary from ISP to ISP obviously, you get what you pay for.

 

[drebo]

Three 9's is almost 10 hours of downtime in a year. That may not be acceptable to some businesses.

 

[Crusty]

Three 9's is almost 10 hours of downtime in a year. That may not be acceptable to some businesses.

That's what I'm saying. There's a big difference between the SLA you can get with a T-1 vs your 'typically business class cable' which is why price is so different. Having a static IP vs DHCP doesn't change that.

 

[drebo]

Indeed, I may have misinterpreted what you meant.

 

[alkemyst]

MPLS is a much better deal now. Very few will have a need for a dedicated leased line.

 

[drebo]

MPLS is a much better deal now. Very few will have a need for a dedicated leased line.

Except for in large metro areas where Metro Ethernet is available, most MPLS providers operate over T1 lines. Some few operate over DSL, and some also offer IPSec onramps, though those still suffer the SLA and latency issues of consumer broadband.

MPLS isn't a magical technology that makes the Internet faster and more reliable. It operates above layer 2, which means it's still reliant on current physical and logical transport mediums (DSL, Cable, T1, etc). It's superior to IPSec VPNs, sure, but as a network architecture for a single small business, it doesn't really accomplish anything.

 

[cmetz]

airdata, T1s (DS1s) are a highly regulated circuit. They are also dual-use for data and for voice. The equipment that services T1s is expensive, because it's only used for T1s, which are expensive. They're an expensive service, so the telcos make lots of profit servicing them, and a major price cut would take a lot of regulatory effort just to destroy a cash cow - which no telco is going to be the first to do.

There are definitely cheaper ways to do things. But if you need a T1, you have to pay T1 pricing.

 

[airdata]

I got a quote from a provider here that does 'wimax'. The pricing and speeds on paper is excellent @ 5Mbps/5Mbps for $500 but we're on the outer edge of their coverage area and I don't have alot of confidence in wireless technologies for anything related to a business network...

Also got a quote this morning for Metro Ethernet @ 6Mbps/6Mbps for $799 / month...which could work out for us... twice the speed and a little cheaper than our current service.

BUT... at the end of the day I'm about to have 25Mbps/25Mbps @ my house for $50 a month... and regardless of sharing with others, my speeds will likely always be close to the maximum.

 

[imagoon]

As a business you have to decide what you really need. I have T1's and wireless point to points. The T1's sink the critical business systems like email and the VPN's while the wireless is the bulk internet traffic. Yes, I have people here not understand why email is up and working while the internet was down...

 

[airdata]

Ended up getting a deal from Time Warner : Business. They're going to run fiber to our building and we're going to be getting 5Mbps/5Mbps for $500/month. So, 66% increase in speed and 50% decrease in cost

 

[spidey07]

Ended up getting a deal from Time Warner : Business. They're going to run fiber to our building and we're going to be getting 5Mbps/5Mbps for $500/month. So, 66% increase in speed and 50% decrease in cost

What kind of service? SONET? PON? Metro Ethernet?

 

[anishannayya]

Because businesses can be easily gouged for speeds that they will never use or need.

 

[spidey07]

Because businesses can be easily gouged for speeds that they will never use or need.

Wow. That couldn't be further from the truth. Most businesses are constantly fighting to get more bandwidth and always pit providers against each other for the best service vs. price.

 

[imagoon]

Wow. That couldn't be further from the truth. Most businesses are constantly fighting to get more bandwidth and always pit providers against each other for the best service vs. price.

Agreed. Most consumers are willing to dick around with their cable modem 2-3 times a week, business has much better things to be doing. Service quality > "speed"

 

[Cable God]

I got a quote from a provider here that does 'wimax'. The pricing and speeds on paper is excellent @ 5Mbps/5Mbps for $500 but we're on the outer edge of their coverage area and I don't have alot of confidence in wireless technologies for anything related to a business network...

Also got a quote this morning for Metro Ethernet @ 6Mbps/6Mbps for $799 / month...which could work out for us... twice the speed and a little cheaper than our current service.

BUT... at the end of the day I'm about to have 25Mbps/25Mbps @ my house for $50 a month... and regardless of sharing with others, my speeds will likely always be close to the maximum.

Over $100 a meg? Jeebus. You are in DALLAS dude. MetroE's should be ~$10 a meg in most metro markets, even if you are not in a "lit" building. If it's on-net, you can get it as low as 60 cents per meg. I know for a fact that Hurricane Electric is priced at 60 cents a meg with a 5 gig commit on a 10gig circuit. Cogent is a dollar a meg on a full Gig commit, $6/meg on a 100meg commit. For 10mbps, you should be in the $500/month range at MOST in a 2nd tier of 3rd tier city. Hell, even Afee&Fee is $600/month on a 10mbps MetroE here. I live about 2 hours SW of Atlanta, and I pay ~$20 a meg including loop fees from one carrier, ~$15/meg for another carrier, and $14/meg for a third carrier. Atlanta is less than half of most of that pricing. You need to really shop around and pit them against each other.

 

[Cable God]

Wow. That couldn't be further from the truth. Most businesses are constantly fighting to get more bandwidth and always pit providers against each other for the best service vs. price.

The man is right. I will take all of the cheap bandwidth I can get. We can ALWAYS use more. Multiple carriers in a BGP mix is the best route to take if you can afford it.

 

[Emulex]

ds1,ds3,oc3 all have 5 nine's uptime ; bgp4 and your own ip's if you can afford it - i never have to think about the dual bonded t-1's (you route thru separate carriers). they just are up.

all the other services are good luck getting a problem fixed for good. reactive versus proactive. comcast business is slick - 100 meg down 10-20 up - but man if its down for a week oh well. business sla

 

[theevilsharpie]

ds1,ds3,oc3 all have an SLA guaranteeing 5 nine's uptime

FTFY

Just because those circuits have SLAs guaranteeing 5 nines, doesn't mean the circuit will actually achieve that level of reliability. In my area, T1's are generally reliable, but outages aren't unheard of, and when they do occur, they often last for hours.

Most of my customers are moving away from T1's for data connections because they are much slower than DSL, FiOS, or Metro Ethernet, more expensive, and haven't really proven to be any more reliable.

 

[spidey07]

See what kind of response you get if a DS3 or an OC3/12 goes down vs the other technologies. You'll have somebody with any parts needed onsite within 30 minutes.

 

[imagoon]

See what kind of response you get if a DS3 or an OC3/12 goes down vs the other technologies. You'll have somebody with any parts needed onsite within 30 minutes.

Most of those SLA's have significant dollar penalties also. Some have as little as 1 hour down = entire month credited. There support companies have a lot of motivation to get you back up and running fast.