T1/DS1 broadband in Washington uses two pairs of copper wire for transmission over telephone lines. An ordinary telephone line uses the DS0 transmission protocol, which carries 64 Kbit per second. A T1 line uses the DS1 protocol to combine the equivalent of 24 telephone lines for a total bandwidth of 1.536 Mbit per second.

T1 Internet providers in Washington usually sell T1 lines to private customers in DS0 fractions. However, a small business will typically use a full T1 line to connect to the Internet and larger business may use multiple T1 lines bundled together.

There are three primary factors to consider when you compare broadband services in Washington:

1. Prices for T1 in Washington vary in part according to your distance from the carrier’s Point of Presence. The further you are from the carrier’s POP, the more your T1/DS1 line will cost.

2. Major carriers usually own and operate their own networks, generally resulting in the best actual transmission speeds.

3. A channel bank is necessary to separate the DS1 data stream back into the 24 DS0 data packets. This device is relatively expensive to purchase or lease and represents a substantial investment for a small business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Locate Washington T1 Internet providers that sell full T1 service

Use dedicated T1 in Washington to provide high-speed Internet access for a group of employees. These services frequently include multiple static IP addresses and email addresses under your domain name.

I recommend: Comcast offers businesses connection speeds much faster than DSL with downloads up to 16 Mbps and uploads up to 2 Mbps. Corecomm offers dedicated T1 service for businesses of all sizes and guarantees uptime of 99.5 percent.

Find dedicated T1 providers in Washington that specialize in business packages

Get T1 access in Washington from a provider that can meet your needs now and scale your requirements as your business grows.

I recommend: AT&T offers single and bundled T1 service to its OC-48 and OC-192 backbone and uptime of 99.95 percent. Corecomm offers dedicated T1 service for businesses of all sizes and guarantees uptime of 99.5 percent.

Check out local provider packages for T1 service providers in Washington

The local T1 internet provider in Washington connects your business to the carrier's POP. This connection is known as the local loop and represents a substantial component of a T1 line's cost.

I recommend: CSS Integration and Communications provides businesses with a range of dedicated connections in the T1 to OC3 range for businesses in the Puget Sound area. OneEighty Networks in Spokane offers full and fractional commercial-grade T1 lines to businesses in Washington.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  T1/DS1 broadband in Washington also is available as a channeled circuit to allow voice traffic on a portion of the channels. These voice channels may be plain T1 or Primary Rate Interface channels. Call centers frequently use PRI lines because they also carry signaling data such as Caller ID and Automatic Number Identification data.