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Let's talk turkey for a moment (or Vonage if you want to throw a pun into the discussion ha ha.).

The age old question (OK recent topic of concern) among VoIP users and those whose bandwidth is used to make those calls is......how much bandwidth does VoIP use?

Well Virginia....that's an interesting question. Any discussion may illicit potentially tense reactions. So let's try and shed some light on the subject....in a practical fashion.

Bandwidth isn't measured like it was a garden hose of water. ON and OFF, measuring it's usage. It can be read that way, but it isn't actually looked at that way. Not by most providers anyway. (Unless of course they are trying to rationalize prices to the FCC).

For instance; as a business you may have numerous DS3/OC circuits that you pay for each month. A DS3 for instance rounded off is 45mb of pipe. Now, you pay the same thing for that circuit each month whether you put 1 voip line on it, or an entire network with hundreds of computers and such.

Same with your VoIP. You pay the same amount on an unlimited calling plan whether you make 1 phone call or 1000 calls. To try and measure actual Mega or Terabytes of data as a means of determining cost is pure rationalization.

Ma'Bell, Level 3, or any other backbone has "X" amount of bandwidth that they can use simultaneously. Some of that bandwidth is dedicated, some isn't. Some are using ATM so it can better utilize the bandwidth among inconsistant users, while there are also other flavors like Frame and TDM.

The point is, while some providers and backbone and backhaul carriers might charge a metered circuit, most sell fixed amounts of bandwidth. That's why your ISP has little statements like; "UP TO 1.5MB" or "Speeds may Vary". Just because voip has started making a presence, doesn't mean that ISP's have had to automatically start buying more bandwidth from the backbone.

If they tell you that, they are full of ......it. When DSL and cable broadband are sold to you, the max bandwidth that you are buying is formulated into their pricing and bandwidth demands.

For what it's worth, more bandwidth was probably used, until recently, on streaming audio/video, torrent, MP3 downloads, distributed computing, etc. If your service provider gets too saturated, they will offer more bandwidth at a higher price, which is what they will use to buy from the backbone/backhaul providers.

However when you have 10 people that are using the bandwidth (for VoIP) that would supply 50-100 average (internet using) joes..... not only is that causing more congestion at that junction box, but you are also causing the provider to buy more bandwidth.

You know as well as I do they will not make another tier! They will just raise the prices on the ones already established. How many average people max out their connections on a regular basis?

Anyway, the VoIP companies for the longest time have been getting pretty much a free ride on the PSTN and the ISPs.... plus were not subject to the same taxes MaBell is. So.... you can see why there is so much tension about bandwidth?

If you'd like help find just the right VoIP based solution....covering all the bandwidth in's and out's.....I suggest you take advantage of the free consulting services offered at Business-VoIP-Solution.com.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

Looking for bandwidth? That can be a daunting and frustrating task even in the best of situations. There's lots to consider in order to make the right decision for your needs. Below you'll find some help when evaluating Fractional T1 vs T1. Factors covered include Technology, Speed, Description, Application, Pros, Cons, and Cost.

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Technology: Fractional T1

Speed: 128 Kbps - 1.544 Mbps

Description: Same service as a full T-1 provisioned in increments of 64 Kbps. A full T-1 is 1.544 Mbps or 24 channels, Fractional T-1s start at 128 Kbps or 2 channels.

Application: Used to connect a company to the Internet when less than a full T-1 is required. Circuit runs from the location into the Internet.

Pros: Provides access straight into the carrier's backbone. Unlike DSL and Cable Modem, there is no aggregation. Fractional T-1s have unused channels which can be turned up on demand.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: Fractional T1 cost starts at around $100-200 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider). A required router is additional unless provided as a "freebie" incentive by the vendor. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However....the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used.

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Technology: T1

Speed: 1.544 Mbps

Description: A 24 channel cirucit that can be used for Frame Realy, Private Line, VPN or, most commonly, Internet access.

Application: Connects a company's LAN into the Internet or carrier's Frame Realy network.

Pros: Provides access straight into the carriers backbone. Only slightly more expensive than a Fractional T-1. 99% availability in U.S. Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A full T1 obviously will cost more than a Fractional T1. Expect cost to start at around a $400 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provder). A required router is additional unless provided as a "freebie" incentive by the vendor. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However....the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used. For example...Tier 1 providers may cost more than local/regional Tier2 and Tier 3 providers but are much more stable and reliable. Also, expect to pay more if you are in a rural area or need integrated (voice and data combined) or bonded (multiple T1s bound in 1 network....option vs full DS3) T1 service.

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Technology: E1 (Europe)

Speed: 2.048 Mbps

Description: The European equilivent of the T-1.

Application: Connects a company's LAN into the Internet or carrier's Frame Realy network.

Pros: Provides access straight into the carriers backbone. Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A full E1 usually costs more than it's North American counterpart. Expect cost to start at around a $800-1000 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from an equivalent Tier 1 provder). A required router is additional unless provided as a "freebie" incentive by the vendor (not common in Europe). Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However....just as with the North American version the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFireCommunications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

Looking for bandwidth? That can be a daunting and frustrating task even in the best of situations. There's lots to consider in order to make the right decision for your needs. Below you'll find some help when evaluating Fractional T1 vs T1. Factors covered include Technology, Speed, Description, Application, Pros, Cons, and Cost.

~~~~~~~~~

Technology: Fractional T1

Speed: 128 Kbps - 1.544 Mbps

Description: Same service as a full T-1 provisioned in increments of 64 Kbps. A full T-1 is 1.544 Mbps or 24 channels, Fractional T-1s start at 128 Kbps or 2 channels.

Application: Used to connect a company to the Internet when less than a full T-1 is required. Circuit runs from the location into the Internet.

Pros: Provides access straight into the carrier's backbone. Unlike DSL and Cable Modem, there is no aggregation. Fractional T-1s have unused channels which can be turned up on demand.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: Fractional T1 cost starts at around $100-200 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider). A required router is additional unless provided as a "freebie" incentive by the vendor. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However....the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used.

~~~~~~~~~~

Technology: T1

Speed: 1.544 Mbps

Description: A 24 channel cirucit that can be used for Frame Realy, Private Line, VPN or, most commonly, Internet access.

Application: Connects a company's LAN into the Internet or carrier's Frame Realy network.

Pros: Provides access straight into the carriers backbone. Only slightly more expensive than a Fractional T-1. 99% availability in U.S. Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A full T1 obviously will cost more than a Fractional T1. Expect cost to start at around a $400 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provder). A required router is additional unless provided as a "freebie" incentive by the vendor. Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However....the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used. For example...Tier 1 providers may cost more than local/regional Tier2 and Tier 3 providers but are much more stable and reliable. Also, expect to pay more if you are in a rural area or need integrated (voice and data combined) or bonded (multiple T1s bound in 1 network....option vs full DS3) T1 service.

~~~~~~~~~~

Technology: E1 (Europe)

Speed: 2.048 Mbps

Description: The European equilivent of the T-1.

Application: Connects a company's LAN into the Internet or carrier's Frame Realy network.

Pros: Provides access straight into the carriers backbone. Very reliable.

Cons: Setup and monthly costs can be prohibitive.

Costs: A full E1 usually costs more than it's North American counterpart. Expect cost to start at around a $800-1000 for a stable, reliable system (e.g. from an equivalent Tier 1 provder). A required router is additional unless provided as a "freebie" incentive by the vendor (not common in Europe). Price climbs as distance from the providers Central Office (CO) increases. However....just as with the North American version the pricing for these connections varies widely depending on the carrier, location of service and the application for which the connection is being used.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFireCommunications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

The death toll of analog technology as a means of data and voice transmission was rung as businesses started venturing out of their regional or territorial strongholds.

As the footprints of the corporate houses started crossing time zones and political boundaries, communication became increasingly important. Not only with clients but also with own employees, who were possibly quite a few time zones away, and supposedly working for the benefit of the organization. It was not only a case of keeping a tab on the employees and asking them for daily reports but also being able to provide guidance and support at crunch moments.

Connectivity gained a major boost with the advent of mobile phones. Now the person and his phone became inseparable. He could be connected any time anywhere. The need to be at the table or in the office did not exist anymore. The final frontier was crossed when the World Wide Web opened up the vista of e-commerce! The whole world became available on the desktop and corporate houses just could not wait to conquer it.

The opportunities are there waiting to be grabbed but the communication was proving to be a bottleneck. The Bell Laboratories were already working at it since they could envisage beforehand that such a requirement was in the offing. They wanted to be ready before the market felt the need for it!

They came out with the concept of T carriers. This was a revolution of sorts in the communication world! The whole concept of analog translation was discarded and the concept of digitization took its place. The voice and data were converted into digitized packets and transferred through optic fibers instead of copper lines.

The speed, capacity and clarity of data transfer increased manifold. A single T1 (the first generation of T carriers) line could accommodate as many as 24 channels. In a lay man's language it meant that while a single telephone line could support either one voice communication or data transfer at one point of time, a single T1 connection could handle as many as 24 separate conversations simultaneously!

The speed also increased sixty times more than that was till then available over conventional copper wire phone lines. Everybody thought that the final peak has been scaled; the ultimate in communication technology has been achieved! But nobody realized that e-commerce would become such a vital life blood in world of business. So, the quest for an even faster and better communication channel was on.

The next offering from the Bell Laboratories was T3. It was essentially an improvement over the earlier T1. Well the word "improvement" is really an understatement.

T3 was forty five times faster than a T1 connection and it had the capacity to carry 672 channels. It roughly worked out to the astounding fact that a single T3 line was capable of servicing an office establishment consisting of approximately 4000 people.

But that was also not the end! Now it was the turn of OC3. In fact OC indicates that data is essentially conveyed through optic fiber. Depending on the architecture used, OC3 is also known as STS-3 and STM-1.

Instead of getting bogged down in a maze of capital letters which many of us can not make any sense of, let us try to find out how much more efficient this new variant is.

Well, an OC3 connection consists of one hundred T1 lines synchronized together. Yes one hundred! And the synchronization gives the impact of more than a 100 T1 lines. Please sit on a comfortable chair and try to figure out what a massive communication power has been unleashed.

No good thing comes free. The installation cost of an OC3 connection depends very much on the infrastructure already present at the subscriber's end.

Article written by Van Theodorou, he gives a free consultation to see if you can slash money off your telecom expenses, including OC3 and all guaranteed lowest on voice t1 service.

The death toll of analog technology as a means of data and voice transmission was rung as businesses started venturing out of their regional or territorial strongholds.

As the footprints of the corporate houses started crossing time zones and political boundaries, communication became increasingly important. Not only with clients but also with own employees, who were possibly quite a few time zones away, and supposedly working for the benefit of the organization. It was not only a case of keeping a tab on the employees and asking them for daily reports but also being able to provide guidance and support at crunch moments.

Connectivity gained a major boost with the advent of mobile phones. Now the person and his phone became inseparable. He could be connected any time anywhere. The need to be at the table or in the office did not exist anymore. The final frontier was crossed when the World Wide Web opened up the vista of e-commerce! The whole world became available on the desktop and corporate houses just could not wait to conquer it.

The opportunities are there waiting to be grabbed but the communication was proving to be a bottleneck. The Bell Laboratories were already working at it since they could envisage beforehand that such a requirement was in the offing. They wanted to be ready before the market felt the need for it!

They came out with the concept of T carriers. This was a revolution of sorts in the communication world! The whole concept of analog translation was discarded and the concept of digitization took its place. The voice and data were converted into digitized packets and transferred through optic fibers instead of copper lines.

The speed, capacity and clarity of data transfer increased manifold. A single T1 (the first generation of T carriers) line could accommodate as many as 24 channels. In a lay man's language it meant that while a single telephone line could support either one voice communication or data transfer at one point of time, a single T1 connection could handle as many as 24 separate conversations simultaneously!

The speed also increased sixty times more than that was till then available over conventional copper wire phone lines. Everybody thought that the final peak has been scaled; the ultimate in communication technology has been achieved! But nobody realized that e-commerce would become such a vital life blood in world of business. So, the quest for an even faster and better communication channel was on.

The next offering from the Bell Laboratories was T3. It was essentially an improvement over the earlier T1. Well the word "improvement" is really an understatement.

T3 was forty five times faster than a T1 connection and it had the capacity to carry 672 channels. It roughly worked out to the astounding fact that a single T3 line was capable of servicing an office establishment consisting of approximately 4000 people.

But that was also not the end! Now it was the turn of OC3. In fact OC indicates that data is essentially conveyed through optic fiber. Depending on the architecture used, OC3 is also known as STS-3 and STM-1.

Instead of getting bogged down in a maze of capital letters which many of us can not make any sense of, let us try to find out how much more efficient this new variant is.

Well, an OC3 connection consists of one hundred T1 lines synchronized together. Yes one hundred! And the synchronization gives the impact of more than a 100 T1 lines. Please sit on a comfortable chair and try to figure out what a massive communication power has been unleashed.

No good thing comes free. The installation cost of an OC3 connection depends very much on the infrastructure already present at the subscriber's end.

Article written by Van Theodorou, he gives a free consultation to see if you can slash money off your telecom expenses, including OC3 and all guaranteed lowest on voice t1 service.

Nowadays there is a proliferation of broadband speed tests on the internet. These have arisen in response to the growing difference between the speeds advertised by Internet Service Providers (ISP's) and the speeds actually received by consumers. More and more customers are finding that their speeds are far lower than what they are paying for and research by Moneysupermarket.com in 2007 showed that 44% of 43,000 customers were receiving only a pitiful HALF of the advertised speeds for their internet connections. This massive difference between advertised and received speeds has finally caught the attention of communication regulator OFCOM.

OFCOM has warned ISP's that they must be more transparent about the actual speeds consumers are receiving and there are calls from consumer panels to make ISP's contact customers within a fortnight of joining to inform them of their exact actual top speeds. OFCOM has also introduced, since Valentine's Day this year, important regulatory changes that give consumers freedom to switch ISP's if they are not happy with the service and speeds.

In the past ISP's could bully consumers into staying with them by charging them for changing providers and by creating delays that left consumers without a broadband connection for weeks, a situation that forces a lot of people to reluctantly remain with a provider they were unhappy with. Under OFCOM's new regulations, ISP's can no longer charge for switching to new providers. They must also ensure that the Migration Authorisation Code (MAC), the code which is given to customers to give to their new providers, is passed on within five days of the request. In the past ISP's would wait weeks before giving these codes to customers, in order to deter them from changing. Now under the new regulations consumers are protected from this practice.

These changes are part of what will be a continuing development of adequate regulatory standards that are needed for the booming broadband industry. As it becomes more integral to daily life, and bandwidth becomes more valuable, we will need to ensure that consumer rights are protected.

With these changes in mind, now is a really good time to do a test of your broadband speeds to ensure that you are getting what you are paying for, and that you CAN get what you are paying for. With many of the previous obstacles to changing providers removed, consumer freedom is far greater and worth taking advantage of to ensure you the best deal.

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