New Carrier Broadband Technology
At the time when our company (who processes a lot of large medical images) was growing fast, it became evident that we needed additional bandwidth.Our T1 line just wasnt cutting it anymore (T1 bandwidth is only 1.5 mb). We had to upgrade.
Since I was the IT guy, I had to start renegotiating our current contract. Our 2 year term was almost over, so I was in the position to shop around for different options.
The most obvious choice was to change from a single t1 to a bonded T1. However with our current growth rate, it would not take long before that also would not be enough.
My sales rep at our current carrier (who will remain nameless here) of course was glad to recommend a bigger and far more high-priced solution: a DS3 (T3 line) with a capacity of 45 mb. Obviously that would be bandwidth enough taking our envisioned growth into consideration, it was perhaps even way too much. And monthly recurring cost was in the higher 4 digit figures, something my boss wasnt too happy with of course.
With due diligence I did some more research until I found something that sounded too good to be true. A new technology (or at least new to me) that can deliver internet access via an Ethernet port over plain old telephone lines, Ethernet over Copper. The pricing was super; we were able to get a 10 meg port for less than a bonded t-1!
Another major benefit of carrier ethernet bandwidth is the scalability. It is possible to add bandwidth by simply ordering more, in small incremental steps of a few megabit, even all the way up to a gigabit Ethernet circuit.
Be sure to shop around with several carriers and make sure you are aware of new technologies (or use a telecom consultant that is).
