If you are interested in having a fast T1 connection, it is important to know that there are several different kinds of connections.  One of the best to consider is a you Point-to-Point T1 service. This is the same as regular T1 service, except now you have a Local Loop on 2 ends instead of just 1. This increases the cost of the monthly recurring local loop charge, but calls between these two points is unlimited, with full duplex speed of T1. A T-1 Internet connection is comprised of two parts, the local loop charge, the phone circuit that connects your location to the Internet point of presence (POP) and the actual Internet bandwidth access port charge.

DS-O is a non-switched dedicated service that can be provisioned as a private line point-to-point and multi-point service. Your home telephone line is a DS-0 line. You can get 56 KBPS of data or voice through your regular phone line. The DS-0 is the "building block" of dedicated products. The terms DS-1 and T1 mean the same thing! Most industry experts are phasing out the use of the term T1 and calling it DS-1. A DS-1 is simply 24 DS-O circuits all bundled together on one T-1 circuit.

It is good o know that a DS-1 service provides a dedicated connection from your premises to a long distance switch, providing the user with a single high-capacity digital circuit for voice or data applications. With a DS-1, you have the choice of allocating all of the DS-0 channels for data, voice, or any combination of the two.

Keep in mind that customers who use T1 data connections are typically businesses who need very high speed internet connections to transact business, communicate electronically with other offices, and who either don't qualify for DSL service or need more speed and increased reliability than DSL can offer.

T1 PRI Voice Service is exactly the same as T1 "regular" service, with 1 exception: only 23 channels are dedicated to voice or data. The last DS-0 channel is taken off to handle other applications, such as a connection with the local telephone network or routing to a hold queue until 1 of the 23 channels opens up. Call Centers are the most frequent users of PRI Voice Service.

Remember that for high-speed Internet, you can allocate ALL 24 channels to data, giving them a two-way connection to the Internet at 1.544 MBPS! (Typical DSL accounts run between 128KBPS and 728KBPS.) DS-1 Internet connections typically range from $300 to $1000, depending on the geographical distance between your location and the long distance switch.

Also, T1 Voice has two costs associated with it. 1. The Local Loop, and 2. The Local Loop is the flat fee that it costs to connect you to the long distance switch. This is a pass-through fee to the local phone company. The Long Distance Usage (LDU) is a separate charge in addition to the local loop