A T1 line is a physical wire that can be used to transmit a digital signal between a business or home and the Internet. A T1 line is similar to a modern phone line in many ways with the exception that it can provide a purely digital signal. T1 lines are dedicated carriers. This means that the owner of the line has exclusive access to the bandwidth, speed and signal of the line. A standard T1 line is able to transmit data at a rate of 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) in both the incoming and outgoing directions simultaneously. A single line is also able to carry 24 individual digital phone channels.
A Bonded T1
A bonded T1 line is formed by taking two single T1 lines and then combining them in a specific way. More than two lines can be bonded together. There comes a point around eight bonded lines where the benefits of other more industrial types of access make more sense. The bonding of the lines can provide speeds that are between 3 Mbps and 12 Mbps or greater. The number of voice channels that are available also increases. Boned lines can only be formed if each T1 originates at the same provider. Multiple T1 lines will not combine to increase speeds otherwise.
The Reliability Of A Bonded T1
One of the reasons that a large percentage of businesses use T1 and bonded T1 lines is because of the increase in reliability that is provided in comparison to other access solutions. A dedicated bonded T1 has a very consistent transfer rate between the business and the Internet backbone. Speeds are not affected by any other businesses in the area because the line belongs solely to the owner. This is one reason why a bonded T1 can be used to connect servers to the Internet.
Cable And Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL)
Both cable and DSL access do not provide the same reliability and security as a bonded T1. This is primarily because the lines that are used by DSL and cable modems are shared with everyone else in a single area. Businesses that rely on one of these methods of access can experience inconsistent transmission speeds based on how much bandwidth is being consumed by other users in the region. Additionally, cable and DSL is asynchronous so that upload speeds are usually only a fraction of the download speeds.
Security
A bonded T1 can actually help to increase the security of a business. This is partially because there is no way to intercept a signal between the access point in a business and the Internet backbone. This is basically a private, dedicated route. Another reason that a bonded T1 is secure is because there are many hardware-based firewall solutions developed by major telecommunications companies. These hardware firewalls can provide a barrier that is more secure than most software-based solutions, and that will work exclusively with the unique configuration of a T1 line.
A bonded T1 has become the business standard for many reasons. It removes all of the inconsistencies and minor idiosyncrasies that are familiar in residential Internet access. It provides a truly reliable, fast and secure form of access that can be used securely by any business.