Bonded T1 or DS3?

Written by: Dennis Green - Jan 9, 2009

Bonded T1 consists of two or more T1 circuits, combined together to provide more bandwidth than a single T1 (1.54 megabits per second (MBPS)), but less than T3 (DS3). DS3 transfers data at 45 MBPS and provides a bandwidth that is the equivalent of 28 T1s. Bonded T1 provides many advantages over T3, if a customer happens to need 12 MBPS or less. When compared to DS3, bonded T1 costs far less. Bonded T1 can often be installed for free, and because it is provided over telephone lines, it is available virtually anywhere in the U.S. By contrast, T3 cannot be efficiently delivered through phone lines. For this reason, to reach most locations, to accommodate the delivery of a DS3 circuit, special lines or fiber must be installed. The common term for this is build-out. Build-out cost is extremely important to be aware of when considering DS3. Build-out is routinely not itemized or discussed by providers as DS3 quotes are being prepared. The major reason for this is that build-out costs cannot be accurately determined without an extensive survey of facilities. The cost of this survey prohibits providers from doing them routinely, without the commitment of a signed application from the customer. Depending on location of the customer, build-out costs can be in the tens of thousands of dollars, and at times more than $100,000. Again, because T1 and bonded T1 can be delivered over phone lines, there is almost never a build-out cost involved with installation. Another major advantage of bonded T1 over DS3, is that for lower bandwidths, the cost per megabit of bandwidth is considerably lower than for DS3. To provide lower bandwidths with DS3, the only option is fractional DS3. To provide fractional T3 (DS3), the same facilities must be used as would be needed for full DS3. Because the same physical facilities are needed, the cost per megabit of fractional DS3 is not proportional to the cost of full DS3. As an example, 5 MBPS of fractional DS3 can cost about $3000 per month. To obtain 6 MBPS of bonded T1, for most locations, would cost about $1800 per month. Another major advantage for bonded T1 is that when compared to DS3, or Fractional DS3, the cost of a managed router is extremely reasonable. For bonded T1, a managed router is often provided at zero installation cost. The installation cost for a managed router for fractional or full DS3 is about $5,000. The major limitation of bonded T1 is that only eight T1 circuits can be bonded. This means that the maximum amount of bandwidth that can be provided by bonded T1 is 12 MBPS. If more than 12 MBPS is needed, DS3 is commonly the best choice. Traditionally, bonded T1 was provided as individual circuits through the use of load balancing. Now, with the recent advent of MLPPP technology, bonded bandwidth can be utilized as one large pipe. This becomes extremely important when convergence is needed. For example, if one 12 MBPS circuit is going to be used for several applications, such as VOIP, Video Conferencing, routine data file transfer, etc, then class of service is needed to insure application prioritization. MLPPP facilitates successful class of service over bonded T1. To obtain real-time pricing for bonded T1 or DS3, please use the pricing tool at the top of this page, or on our home page. It’s free, easy to use, and there is no obligation. (Click here to return to top of page)