The question of whether DS3 bandwidth is the right choice for today’s business networks is still a valid question. Even in this age of Ethernet frenzy.
The common T1 bandwidth line was … and still is to a degree …. the circuit of choice for most businesses. Particularly small to medium size business with Google gsuite manageable voice and data transmission requirements. However, with the explosion of multi-media an
d other bandwidth intensive applications in the business world (both voice and data) … the standard T1 circuit is not always the best choice.
As a business’s bandwidth requirements increase, the next step up is DS3, which is 672 times faster than DS0 and thus transmits 672 voice conversations (or the equivalent in other data) at once. Today’s primary DS3 users are high-traffic Web sites, supply chain networks, data intensive applications (think multi-media including video conferencing), medium to large Web-hosting companies, WISP network grids, medical centers, call centers, universities, and government offices for example.
In short, DS3s are typically used today by many mid-large businesses, as well as Telecommunications carriers for routing traffic throughout their own networks.
DS3 lines, also called T3 lines, are becoming more and more common in company networks today. Their high capacity (45Mb) makes them sought-after as the backbone of today’s Internet. Also, DS3 lines are more complex than T1 – technically, they run 28 T1 lines alongside one another, and that takes extra equipment and software to work properly. But even that is easier and cheaper in today’s world compared to a short time ago.
DS3 bandwidth can be a combination of multiple T1 services, or a single service type (such as access from an ISP). DS3s, by definition, are a copper-based service, but more and more frequently, Telecommunications Carriers have expanded their fiber optic systems closer to the end user, and DS3-level customers are their highest priority. As such, a large percentage of DS3 circuits are actually all-fiber, but with a DS3 interface point on the light-wave terminating equipment. In other words DS3s can be provisioned over SONET-based optical systems.
Not long ago DS3 lines were not cheap. However, DS3 bandwidth prices are dropping as ever-more users need DS3 and competition in this market rises.
Here’s a tip …. businesses that don’t need constant DS3-level bandwidth should consider a “burstable” connection, which involves sharing DS3 access with another company or companies through the DS3 provider. This gives access to extremely high transmission rates for much less than the cost of a full DS3 set-up, because the companies sharing the burstable connection don’t usually combine to use all the bandwidth at the same time.
Unless you are a trained Telecommunication engineer … and most businesses don’t have those … you’ll need help to determine if DS3 bandwidth is the right bandwidth solution for your voice/data newtork requirements. That can be a risky task without such assistance … plus more than a little scary.
But you don’t need to stress over that effort. To help navigate that minefield and reach the other end unscathed and confident you are doing the right thing …. I strongly recommend taking advantage of the NO COST support provided by DS3 Bandwidth Solution.