Originally posted by SubEtha
A T-1 is a digital line that has a data capacity of 1.544 million bits per second. (mbps)
Cable and DSL's are usually hooked into T-1's (or t-2,3,4) at your provider.
T-1 lines have been popular for business for a long time and have better up time than cable or dsl technologies because T-1's have been around for longer, and telco's are well versed in fixing/maintaining them. When they do go down, they are usually up very quickly.
Cable sometimes has higher bandwidth, but a T-1's ping time is always better (more responsive) than cable or dsl.
Be carefully with inexpensive T1 vendors. Usually you get what you pay for:
"Cheap" T1 vendors may also hook you T1 line onto a shared internet connection like DSL and CABLE companies do. There are two sides to a T1 internet connection:
1. The data transport, hopefully running at the full 1.544mbps.
2. The connection to the internet. Frankly, who knows where and what you are getting here. Best ask your provider!
Example, I could sell you a T1 connection to my house (1,544mbps), but then only give you 384K of internet bandwidth.


