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Every company, every home and every smart device is in need of fast and reliable internet service. This demand continues to drive new internet options for the consumer. EXEControl Global Solutions works closely with our customers in the selection of internet service for their businesses. EXEControl Global Solutions has found that most customers have one dominate provider yet a careful review of available ISP service providers will reveal that the customer has choices of carries and options within each carrier.
The three most common ISP communication vehicles recommended by ISP providers are: Fiber, Cable and T1. To help our customers understand the differences in these three communication methods, EXEControl Global Solutions asked Michele Stamas from OneConnect, a strategic partner of EXEControl Global Solutions, in her opinion, what are the major differences in these services. Here is what we found:
Cable/coax: Cable internet generally is one of your lowest cost solutions for internet service, however, you get what you pay for. Cable carries will boast of mega bandwidth but you cannot compare a coax/cable solution bandwidth with T1 and Fiber. Cable is a shared service and is not symmetrical, which means that it must use half duplex communication. Cable cannot send and receive data at the same time. You can think of it as; Upload and download communications must pass between your company and the cloud using a single lane road with traffic lights on both ends of this single lane road. The other major weakness of cable service is that they usually are sold with no SLA (Service Level Agreement). SLA’s guarantee uptime, performance and throughput. Why would someone purchase cable service? Simply answered; Cost. Cable service typically is three to ten times less expensive than Fiber and/or T1. For standard internet web browsing, this type of service is all that a company really needs.
T1: T1 internet uses a 1.5MB communication line. For increased bandwidth, there is the ‘banding’ of communication lines together. T1 communications is attractive because it is a dedicate communication line between your company and the cloud. It is symmetrical using full duplex communications. You can think of it as a two way street allowing data to be sent and received at that same time between your office and the cloud. The bandwidth is ‘unlimited’ meaning you get the entire communication line for your communication. T1 internet also comes with an SLA (Service Level Agreement) guaranteeing uptime, performance and throughput. T1 will advertise much smaller bandwidth than cable but it is considered a ‘commercial grade’ communication. These circuits tend to have the reputation of being more robust, efficient and very reliable. If you have applications that require real time data traffic such as VOIP (Voice Over IP Phone), this type of full duplex communication will usually give much better results.
Fiber: Fiber internet is similar to T1 in that it is a symmetrical full duplex communication and comes with an SLA (Service Level Agreement). The advantage of Fiber over T1 is that it is scalable. You can easily increase bandwidth. It is also more reliable with less points of failure. Fiber connects directly to the carrier’s network. With a T1 you have a last mile provider. The circuit is provisioned to the nearest central office and handed off to the carrier at the central office. Fiber tends to be the most expensive, however, do not let that totally fool you. Often your service rate will go down at renewal since the initial build to your facility will have already been paid for. If you have applications that required real time data traffic and lots of data such as video conferencing, VPN’s and heavy file transfers, this type of scalable full duplex communications will usually give best results.
EXEControl Global Solutions provides free review of IPS contracts at time of renewal. EXEControl Global Solutions partners with OneConnect for the actual analysis and service option research. Even though this process requires investment time on our part, the service is provided free of fees and there is no markup of ISP service. Our clients pay the same amount regardless if the customer purchases direct from the ISP provider or through EXEControl Global Solutions. EXEControl Global Solutions and OneConnect receive a commission as independent ISP agents from the carriers. Should you have any questions regarding your current ISP service, please do not hesitate to contact EXEControl Global Solutions at sales@execontrol.com. One of our friendly service representatives will work with you to find the best possible solution for your business.
The content of this white paper has been posted with permission from OneConnect.