DS3 and T3 Cost Reduction Opportunities

Latest News and Information about DS3 bandwidth services.

April 16, 2024
10:54 PM

DS3 and T3 Cost Reduction Opportunities
Learn the subtle differences between DS3 and T3 telecom services and competing products.
You currently have or are considering 45 Mbps service using T3 or DS3. Before you re-sign or initiate a new contract, take a look at how you might save considerable expense in the process.

T3 and DS3 are Similar, Not Identical
T3 and DS3 are often considered to be identical. They’re not, but they are very close technically. T3 refers to a specific T-carrier system created by Bell Labs. It can transport 45 Mbps of data in both directions (full duplex) or 672 telephone conversations. Do you have a T1 line now? It is part of the same T-carrier system. A T3 line can carry 28 T1 lines, to give you an idea about how much bandwidth 45 Mbps represents.

What is DS3?
DS3 is the digital signal that rides on a T3 line. It is the specification that describes how you get all those telephone calls or T1 lines worth of data into that particular format of data stream. In other words, a physical T3 line transports a DS3 formatted digital signal. Sounds almost redundant until you learn that there are other ways to transport that DS3 signal. Most important is using a compatible fiber optic SONET connection. OC3, the lowest level of SONET fiber service generally available, runs at 156 Mbps and can transport three independent DS3 signals. A service provider might drop off one at your locations and another down the block. Or you might order an OC3 and break out the 3 streams yourself if you need that much bandwidth.

How is DS3 Delivered?
How, exactly, you get DS3 service to your PBX phone system or network router depends on what service providers in your area are offering. In dense metropolitan locations you may be able to get DS3 service via fixed wireless microwave connection, as well as fiber optic cable and perhaps coaxial copper wire. You’ll connect from the carrier’s termination to your DS3 router using a pair of copper coaxial jumper cables.

Cost Reduction Opportunity
The fact that there are different delivery mechanisms for DS3 is one key to being able to reduce your telecom line expense. Not too long ago, the local telephone company was the only one offering this service. Now there are competitive carriers, each with their own fiber or wireless networks, who aggressively pursue high bandwidth customers. That has tended to drop the cost of DS3 service dramatically in recent years.

Also Consider Ethernet Services
If you don’t specifically need DS3, but only the bandwidth level that DS3 can provide, there is another option you should seriously consider. That is Metro or Carrier Ethernet. At the 45 Mbps level, Ethernet may be delivered to your location by either fiber optic line or bundled copper pair. The copper solution only works within a short distance of the carrier’s nearest point of presence. But not everyone needs the full 45 Mbps. If your requirement is, say, 20 Mbps, then you may be able to get EoC or Ethernet over Copper over a wider area than is available for 45 Mbps service. You’ll also pay less, since Ethernet is priced per Mbps.

Bandwidth Available to 10 Gbps
Ethernet is also a good choice for companies that have an immediate and anticipated need for more than 45 Mbps. It is a scalable service, so you can get 50 Mbps now and upgrade to 100 or 200 Mbps later without a major effort. Ethernet at these levels is delivered by fiber optic cabling. Fiber support an almost unlimited bandwidth capacity. Ethernet services are readily available at 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet and 10 GigE.

Discover Your Bandwidth Upgrade Options Now
Find legacy 45 Mbps DS3 bandwidth over fiber / coaxial copper, DOCSIS 3.1 Business Cable Broadband and 50 - 10,000 Mbps Carrier Ethernet over Fiber solutions, including Managed SDN Software Defined Networking and SD-WAN, for commercial and organizational business applications. Cloud services & colocation bandwidth are also available. Find out in seconds what network services and pricing are available now for your location anywhere in the U.S. Simply use this handy form...

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