July 01, 2004T1 LineI've dreamed about getting my own T1 line ever since my first net job, in the pre go-go days. At that time, a T1 line was an exotic thing. Very few companies had made the investment in a T1 line back in the mid-90s. These days, big fat connections are everywhere. How cool would it be to have a T1 run to the house, in order to set up a real network neighborhood? A T1 Internet connection to a house? It's not folly, not whatsoever. If you're serious about running a business online, whether it's out of your home or a more formal business location, a T1 hookup is the real deal. (Back in the heyday, I wrote an article about a guy with four T-1 lines running into his home!) There's no question that T1 lines cost a whole lot more than other connections. To those that have the big pipe, it's worth it. But how much more? It all depends on what they're selling ... You'll see companies advertising T1 Internet connections for as low as $299 bucks per month. After my experience, I've learned that the low-priced offers may not be what they appear to be. The ultimate cost of a T1 hookup depends on a number of factors, most importantly the type of connection and cost of the local loop. (There seems to be a good bit of action in the fractional and integrated T1 areas.) Bottom line: you've got to look around. I started researching T1s a few years back (before I got my dish--which I've just dumped). I called MCI (don't laugh), Sprint (as they're our local phoneco), and one or two other firms. After checking around, the best quote I got was $800 per month. (Which was, and still is, way out of my league.) I mentioned the quote to my buddies and they thought the price was high ... but it all came down to geography and the cost of the local loop. Now here's where we get to the odd part of the story ... No sooner do I get off the line with one of the T1 providers when, lo and behold, an unmarked white van pulls up to the curb in front of my house. I didn't think that much of this when it happened. It just looked like a sub-contractor for the phoneco, tv, or electric company. The guy fiddled around by the underground utility boxes for a while and sped off. Later that day, I walked up to the bus stop to get the kids off the school bus. When I looked down at the street in front of my house, I saw some new cryptic markings on the asphalt. Much to my amazement, "T-1" was spray-painted on the street, with an arrow pointing towards ranchero indebto. When I initially wrote this up, I had hoped to shoot a digital photo of the marking, to post with this article. But when I walked out to the curb that day, I found that the marking has faded away with time. While I didn't end up with a T1 line, that doesn't mean I stopped dreaming about the increased level of customer support that I would have received. My local provider wouldn't be very happy with me if I shared my current connection. But if I put in a real T1 line, I could network the neighborhood with pringles cans ... Posted by geekbooks at July 1, 2004 09:54 PM |
