The advantages and limitations of bonded T1

Written by: Dennis Green - Jan 9, 2009

Bonded T1 is an excellent option for companies which need more bandwidth than a one T1 (1.5 Mbps) circuit can provide, but are not yet ready for the jump to fractional or full T3 45Mbps). Up to eight T1 circuits can be bonded, for up 12 megabits per second (Mbps). A DS3 (also referred to as T3) circuit is the equivalent of 28 T1s. Bonded T1s allow incremental growth (the addition of one T1 at a time, as needed), more efficient budgeting (the jump from a T1 to a T3 increases monthly costs by thousands of dollars), the elimination of months of waiting while a T3 line is installed to your premises, and the thousands of dollars it would cost to install the special wiring that is needed for a T3 circuit if your building is not already “lit” (wired for DS3). Bonded T1 is provided through pairs of twisted copper “telephone” wires. For this reason, bonded T1 is available to virtually any business in the US. Bonded T1 is often installed for free, and can be provided as managed (with router), or unmanaged (without router). Often managed bonded circuits will only cost a few dollars more than unmanaged. If your bandwidth needs exceed 12 Mbps, then fractional T3, burstable T3, or full T3 could be more efficient options, depending on your bandwidth usage patterns. To check the availability and pricing of any of the above mentioned services for location of your business, please use the pricing tool at the top of this page. It’s free and there is no obligation. (Click here to return to top of page)