Copper First, Then Fiber Bandwidth Solution

What do you do when you really need to get your business connected, but fiber optic service installation just isn’t going to happen soon enough? One option is to adopt a two-stage process that gets you going now and then steps up to the bandwidth you really need when it's available. The key is utilizing two different technologies to take advantage of their strengths.

Fiber optic bandwidth, either SONET or Ethernet, will get you the bandwidth you need for any conceivable application. The low end starts around 50 or 100 Mbps and goes up to at least 1 Gbps, with many locations eligible for 10 Gbps Ethernet (10 GigE) or OC-192 SONET (10 Gbps).

Copper bandwidth, either T-Carrier or Ethernet, will get you the bandwidth you need much faster. That bandwidth, though, is going to be a lot slower than what you can get with fiber. T1 lines are reasonably priced, available almost anywhere, and can be installed in a matter of weeks. The base bandwidth is 1.5 Mbps. Not enough to even consider? Then multiply that bandwidth by bonding additional T1 lines. You can get 12 Mbps over T1 by bonding 8 T1 lines together to act as one big bandwidth pipe.

An alternative is Ethernet over Copper. This service uses the same twisted pair copper telco lines as T1, but has a more efficient modulation scheme. You can easily get 10, 20 or 30 Mbps using 8 copper pair. EoC technology trades off bandwidth and distance, unlike T1 which is 1.5 Mbps no matter how far you are from the central office. If you are within a mile from the CO and the office is properly equipped, you may be able to get 50 to 100 Mbps Ethernet over Copper. Those speeds are starting to get competitive with OC-3 (155 Mbps) and Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps).

If fiber is what you really want, you could be looking at months to complete the installation. That’s especially true if the metro fiber is running down one side of the highway and you are on the other side. Or, if the nearest fiber connection is blocks away in the city. It’s much faster if your building is already “lit” for fiber optic service, even if you are not a subscriber. Adding customers to an already existing fiber installation is relatively easy. It’s also reasonably fast and easy if there is a fiber lit building next door.

You’ve got the idea that fiber installations aren’t a given for any particular business location. Not yet, anyway. Some estimates are that less than 25% of all business buildings are lit for fiber optic service. On the other hand, nearly 100% of all business buildings are already being served with copper telco lines. Most often these are multi-pair bundles installed for multiple line telephone service. Unused pairs can be quickly pressed into service for Ethernet over Copper or T1 line service. After all, they are already hooked up at both ends of the cable run.

With that in mind, here’s a two step solution that I’ve seen work when a business needs both high bandwidth and fast installation. What you do is work with a carrier that has both copper and fiber technologies available. That’s fairly common now. Have them install bonded T1 or Ethernet over Copper at the highest bandwidth they can quickly install. At the same time, place an order for fiber optic service at the bandwidth you really need. The trick is to get an agreement that you can drop the copper service without penalty once your fiber service is turned up.

By working out this type of arrangement, you may get as much as half the bandwidth you need on a fairly quick schedule. By the time you get used to doing business on the copper lines, your fiber will be cut-in and it will seem like someone opened the bandwidth floodgates. You’ll only have to pay for one service at a time, although you might think about it and keep the copper connection as a backup for your fiber if the budget permits.

Do you have a situation that needs special consideration for connectivity? There may be more options than you think. Get consultation and bandwidth option prices and provisioning times now.

Pricing Slashed For Michigan 100 Mbps Business Internet

Businesses in Michigan, like businesses everywhere, are hurting for bandwidth. Between the increased use of video, business automation, and everything moving to the cloud, those aging T1 lines are starting to grind to a halt under the load. Bonded T1 will only take you so far. After that, it’s time to face an order of magnitude price jump to get into fiber optic services. Well, that’s how it was. Now there’s another option that offers fiber bandwidth at T1 prices. Is this for real?

Comcast Business Class 100 Mbps / 10 Mbps service is definitely for real and the answer to a profit squeezed company’s prayers. All of a sudden, that big constriction at the LAN/WAN interface is gone. Files move fast. Web pages pop before your eyes. Email? You could drown in all the email that can flood in at 100 Mbps.

So, how do you get OC-3 or Fast Ethernet bandwidth levels without the high cost of fiber? What you tap into is HFC or Hybrid Fiber Coax. That’s the technical name for the finely tuned network that Comcast has deployed in their vast service area. There are two types of transport technologies that are welded together in HFC. Hence, the hybrid designation. The core of the network is a robust fiber optic backbone that is worthy of any major carrier. The access connections are coaxial copper cable. You know it as TV cable. What you may not realize is just how much bandwidth that coax connection supports.

Cable TV companies started using coaxial cable back when they were little more than enormous master antennas. The same coax that connects from your outdoor TV antenna to the back of your TV set can also bring in a much larger set of channels from your Cable company. Decades ago, it was all analog on Cable and over the air. Now it’s all digital. The RF spectrum on the cable is still channelized, with one digital TV station per slot. There are a lot of TV channels to choose from, but they don’t use all the possible channels that the cable can support. Some of those channels have been set aside for broadband or telephone services.

Besides the analog to digital transition, the other thing that’s changed with Cable operations is deployment of a fiber optic backbone to interconnect the multiple systems that the Cable operator owns and bring all the programming content into the neighborhood. This fiber network has far greater capacity than the old style large diameter coaxial distribution cable.

If fiber is so great, then why not run it directly to homes and businesses? Someday, that’s what will probably happen. Right now, the economics say no. Fiber termination equipment is expensive. Trenching a roll of plastic coated copper coax and connecting it to a wall outlet is cheap. With the ability to deliver television, broadband Internet access and telephone on that inexpensive little line, who wants to pony up for fiber?

You don’t or you’d already have installed SONET OC-3, OC-12, OC-48 or Ethernet over Fiber service for your business. Either the construction cost is a show stopper or the monthly lease fees are more than your budget can handle. Now you have another choice with Comcast’s 100 Mbps business broadband. It’s inexpensive and it can be installed quickly for any business that the Cable infrastructure passes.

What makes this service so affordable? For one thing, the cost of the network is spread over thousands of television and broadband customers. For another, this is not a true telecom service like SONET or Ethernet. Those services are symmetrical in that they have the same upload and download speeds. If you need 100 Mbps in both directions, Comcast’s offering won’t work for you. It’s specified at up to 100 Mbps download and up to 10 Mbps upload. That configuration is exactly what you need for general Internet access, where uploads are few and small but downloads are frequent and massive.

Also note that Cable is shared and not dedicated bandwidth. An OC-3 fiber connection gives you 155 Mbps all to yourself. Whatever you don’t use sits idle until you need it. You are sharing the Cable bandwidth availability with other users so that the network is always in use. This sharing also means that your bandwidth will vary throughout the day depending on what everyone is doing online. Does it matter? It may or may not, depending on how important it is to you to have that 100 Mbps at your disposal at all times.

Finally, there are no service level agreements like you have with T1 lines and the like. This is a “best effort” information service that is offered as-is. Even so, Comcast takes its network seriously and works to keep it as reliable as possible. If you’ve used home Cable broadband and been happy with the way it performed, then you’ll probably be happy with the bigger, faster Business Class service that gives all your employees a similar level of service while accessing the Internet on their desktop computers.

Are you a Michigan business owner or IT manager who’s anxious for high speed Internet access at a very affordable price? Check into prices and availability for 100 Mbps Internet options at your location. Note that Comcast and other fast Internet services are also available for locations other than Michigan.



Note: Photo of Detroit skyline courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Copper Ethernet Line Prices Instantly!

You’re no doubt aware that Ethernet over Copper is making a strong challenge to be the bandwidth service of choice for businesses. How much of a challenge? The bandwidth increases and cost reductions are making it hard to choose anything else if EoC is available. Just how much can you get and for what price reduction? Why not check Ethernet over Copper prices instantly!



Through the magic of the Telarus GeoQuote automated pricing system, it’s now possible to get Ethernet quotes immediately any time you want. Simply use the handy input form you’ll find at CopperEthernet.com and you’ll be automatically set up to get Ethernet over Copper pricing.

How accurate are these prices? They could be considered budgetary pricing, although they are quite accurate. GeoQuote mimics the same procedures that carriers use to make service price quotes. If you go directly to a carrier, however, you’ll probably have to wait a few days or more to get the results back. You’ll also be limited to one provider's offers. Why settle for one quote when you can get several or more to compare?

Telarus is an award winning telecom and network services broker that has agreements with dozens of service providers. You get the same or better pricing through the GeoQuote system as you could by spending hours on the phone calling around for competitive quotes.

It is well worth your while to talk to a Telarus bandwidth consultant, as there are often short term special deals available that don’t show up in the automated results. Your consultant can let you know what’s on “sale” so you can make the best buying decision. At the end of the quote process, you’ll have the option to call Telarus toll free for further discussion or just click a link and a consultant will call you promptly.

You should also know that Ethernet over Copper isn’t the only service that’s available for instant price quotes. If you wish, you can explore options for T1 and bonded T1 lines, business Cable broadband, fixed wireless broadband, Satellite bandwidth, fractional and full DS3 services and Ethernet over Fiber. Yes, quotes are available for fiber optic services from 10 to 1000 Mbps using the same instant pricing process.

Are you anxious to see how much you could be saving over your current telecom services contract? Take just a minute from your busy day and get Copper Ethernet line prices instantly. After you see the results, you’ll probably want to take a few more minutes and call in an order.

Broadband Access Wireless Internet Providers

When we think of wireless Internet, the first thing that comes to mind is WiFi hotspots or 3G & 4G cellular broadband. It’s a mobile Internet technology, right? It is, but did you know that there are also wireless Internet services that are appropriate for fixed business locations like offices and retail stores?

One of the lowest cost wireless broadband services uses the same towers and resources that deliver broadband to your cell phone. Only this wireless service offered by Accel Networks is designed for fixed locations. What Accel has done is contract with major wireless carriers to use their bandwidth. By combining the coverage maps of several carriers, Accel can deliver 3G data rates to most locations that need it. You get similar bandwidth to a T1 line for about half the price. Installation is a matter of days, not weeks or months. Service reliability is 99.9% per the service level agreement.

Who is this service right for? It’s perfect for convenience stores, gas stations and other retail locations that need PCI compliant connection to process credit cards. Traditionally, these stores have ordered DSL, Cable broadband or satellite. When you are not on the path for wireline connections this wireless service can give you the bandwidth you need. You can even order it for temporary holiday locations, conventions and conferences, and construction sites.

Cellular broadband isn’t appropriate for applications where you need large amounts of continuous uploading and downloading. But there are fixed wireless services that are designed for just that. These are dedicated connections using directional antennas on special licensed frequencies for this service. The provider installs a small equipment and antenna box on the outside of your building and runs an Ethernet connection inside for your router. Dedicated fixed wireless can give you DS3 levels of bandwidth (45 Mbps) and replace bonded T1 lines and even lower speed fiber optic connections. The one kicker is that you need to be located near the carriers transmitting location, which is almost always downtown in a major metropolitan area.

Satellite is a two-way wireless service that has been popular with businesses that don’t need high bandwidth levels but do need connectivity in locations that have little to no wireline service and perhaps even no cellular service. These satellites are in geosynchronous orbit, just like the ones that deliver satellite TV service. The difference is that they are providing business broadband service. Satellite has the advantage that you can get service just about anywhere in the US where you have clear view of the southern sky and some way to provide electrical power. It doesn’t even have to be from the grid. Solar and batteries will work just fine.

Satellite and 3G cellular services are bandwidth limited and tend to have caps on the amount of data you can upload or download in a given period of time. They tend to have higher latency than wireline services. Geosynchronous satellites, especially, are unsuitable for such applications as VoIP telephony. But many businesses don’t need a broadband telephone service or video conferencing. What they do need is access to the Internet for email, credit card verification, viewing Web sites, using search engines, reporting inventory and ordering supplies, etc. These activities don’t require massive amounts of capacity or very high speeds.

If you have a business application that needs broadband access to the Internet but haven’t been able to find reasonably priced wireline services that meet your need, get prices and availability on broadband access wireless Internet providers that serve your business location.

Ethernet over Copper Solutions

Low to moderate business bandwidth solutions have long been served by T1 lines and bonded T1 lines. Now Ethernet over Copper solutions are taking over this space by offering more bandwidth for less money.

The services we’re talking about range from 1 to 20 Mbps and may be either a private line from point to point or a dedicated connection to the Internet. Ethernet standards also make possible a private LAN service to interconnect multiple business locations.

The basic T1 line runs at 1.5 Mbps. It was originally developed by the telephone industry to transport multiple telephone calls between switching centers. A service called T1 PRI or ISDN PRI is still popular for providing up to 23 digital phone lines to a business PBX system using only a single T1 line.

As a digital line, T1 can transport voice, video or data packets. This has led to T1 lines being used to interconnect two company locations with a private line. Some companies expand this by building a network out of T1 lines linking each branch office back to headquarters.

T1 lines have had the advantage of being both affordable and available. Average prices have dropped from over $600 a month just a few years ago to under $300 a month today. T1 lines are provisioned over ordinary twisted pair copper using the same copper bundles that bring in multi-line phone service. As such, T1 service is available just about everywhere you can get a telephone line.

Ethernet over Copper (EoC) is a direct competitor to T1 for a couple of reasons. First of all, EoC uses the very same twisted pair copper wires that are already installed into nearly every business location. The cost for basic Ethernet over Copper service is very similar to T1 lines, except that you get 2 or 3 Mbps rather than 1.5 Mbps for that price. This gives EoC a cost advantage for companies that could use a boost in bandwidth but don’t have extra money in the budget.

Both T1 and EoC can increase the bandwidth they deliver by employing more copper pairs to transport the signal. T1 uses a process called bonding to make two or more T1 lines behave as one larger data pipe. Ethernet over Copper is designed to be easily scalable from 1 to 20 Mbps. Some of the most popular bandwidths are 3 Mbps, 5 Mbps, 10 Mbps, 15 Mbps and 20 Mbps.

Both technologies have limitations. Bonded T1 lines start to become impractical above about 12 Mbps. The technology to go higher isn’t widely deployed and the cost goes up linearly with bandwidth. Ethernet tends to get cheaper per Mbps the more bandwidth you order and can easily support 15 and 20 Mbps levels, in some cases higher. Unlike T1, Ethernet over Copper is distance limited so that you can generally only get service in metropolitan areas. The closer to the nearest telco central office you are, the more bandwidth you can get.

Are you in a quandary over how to maximize your telecom budget dollar? If so or if you’re just curious about getting more Mbps for your money, compare Ethernet over Copper with T1 line service prices and see which makes the most sense for your business applications.

5x5 Mbps Ethernet over Copper Saves Money

Many companies wish they had more bandwidth, less telecom expense or both. There’s a new service called 5x5 Ethernet than may be just what you are looking for.

Ethernet services are fairly new on the scene. Prior to Ethernet becoming fairly common, your best bandwidth options were T1 lines and fractional DS3 bandwidth. Occasionally, fixed location wireless service has been available for locations with a nearby line of sight path to their service provider.

How do Ethernet services change the options mix? You can often get more bandwidth for less cost with Ethernet, including low bandwidth services over copper.

You’ll hear Ethernet services described as Metro Ethernet, Carrier Ethernet or by their bandwidth level. For instance, 5x5 Mbps Ethernet means a dedicated speed of 5 Mbps in both the upload and download directions. That symmetry is similar to what you get with other telecom services, but much different than the consumer oriented information services such as DSL and Cable broadband.

Symmetrical bandwidth is important if you expect to do file transfers between locations or backup your data to the cloud or a remote data center. Asymmetrical services with low upload speeds were designed for Web browsing. When you are requesting Web pages, there is a lot more data coming down than the few commands you are sending up to the server. That’s also true for video streaming, but not for video conferencing. In general, any two-way activity benefits from symmetrical bandwidth.

If you are currently using a T1 line or a few of T1 lines bonded together, sometimes called fractional DS3 bandwidth, you may well find that EoC or Ethernet over Copper is much more cost effective. You’ll get the same high quality of service that you expect from T1 or other telecom services. You’ll just pay less.

How much less? Let’s say that you want 5 Mbps symmetrical bandwidth to meet your need for file transfers, video conferencing, or dedicated Internet access. You could get close by bonding 3 T1 lines together to get 4.5 Mbps or 4 T1 lines for 6 Mbps. With T-carrier service, you need to move up in 1.5 Mbps increments.

The problem is that there is no economy of scale with T1 lines. Two lines cost twice as much as one line. Three lines, the number needed for 4.5 Mbps bandwidth, will cost you 3x the T1 line price. You also have to have new lines installed any time you want to increase bandwidth. There’s no cost savings in having extra capacity available.

Ethernet pricing is more than competitive with T1. You can often get 2 Mbps Ethernet for the same or less cost than a T1 line. Sometimes you can even get 3 Mbps for that price. Your 5x5 Mbps Ethernet will likely cost somewhere around twice the cost of T1 service but give you over 3 times the bandwidth. You might even do better. The reason these cost figures are vague is that pricing for both T1 and Ethernet is highly dependent on what services and competition are available for any particular business location.

Another thing you should know is that Ethernet over Copper uses the same twisted pair telco wiring that brings in T1 service. The technology uses multiple pair to increase bandwidth. That technology is also much more scalable than T-carrier services. What you want to do is install an Ethernet port capable of the bandwidth you expect to need for the foreseeable future. Then order the bandwidth you need right now. You should be able to quickly and easily increase your bandwidth at any time by simply contacting your service provider. No additional installation or construction delays should be necessary.

Are you ready to get some real numbers comparing Ethernet to T1 and DS3 services? Get pricing and availability for 5x5 Mbps Ethernet over Copper and other bandwidth services now.