T1 Line - Why is it so fast

[Sniffer2112]

I know this may sound silly but why is a T1 so fast and cost so much when it's only 1.544 Mbps?

I'm doing my CCNA studies and I just confused when they talk about WAN connections being 500Kbps+, or even the T1 line at 1.544 Mbps as being fast. My home internet connection is 10Mbps download and costs a fraction of the T1.

Could someone explain why a T1 line is considered fast and costs so much for it? I'm sure there is more to it than just a comparison of numbers (speed).

Thank you to those that respond. I appreciate the knowledge you all provide here.

 

[CiscoGuy33]

Sniffer2112,

First, you might want to take your questions that come up in CCNA study to the Cisco Certification forum here at Tech Tips!!

As far as the cost for T1 being high for 1.54 mgs - it is the service agreement you are normally paying for - they normally have 4-5 "9"s of service/uptime - 99.99 or 99.999 which is very important for a business connection.

Cable, DSL, FIOs etc might be faster but you do not get the same agreement of 99.99% or 99.999% uptime that a business is paying for !!!!!

Hope this helps!


E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[Sniffer2112]

Thanks CiscoGuy. I thought about putting in the Cisco Cert. forums but wasn't sure if it should go there.

That does clarify the reason for having a T1. Not having any real world experience, it always confused me as to why a T1 was so great when it had lower bandwidth than home internet.

 

[egodette]

The bandwidth is not necessarly lower. Your 10meg home connection is shared by all your neighbors and can only receive or send. (2 wire or cable).

A T1 is 4 wire and not shared. You get 1.5 in both directions at the same time. There is no one to share the costs so you get the entire bill.

 

[Sniffer2112]

So when I am paying for my 10Mbps internet speed and see a 200 - 600 kbps download speed, it's because it's shared. Now if I had a T1 and was downloading, it would be the full 1.544Mbps. Plus it would be that speed uploading as well.

Thanks for all of your input on this. Does make sense now.