April 7, 2009
Ethernet over Copper Incremental Bandwidth
When our business was growing fast, it became self-evident that we required additional bandwidth.Our T1 we had installed simply wasn’t big enough to handle the data.
As the IT guy, I had to start renegotiating our existing contract. Fortunately our company’s 2 year contract was almost over, so I was able to shop around for different alternatives.
The most obvious choice would have been to move from a single t1 to a bonded T1. Yet with our current growth rate, pretty soon that also would not be adequate.
My sales rep at this bandwidth provider (who will remain nameless here) of course was happy to recommend a bigger and far more costly solution: ds3 bandwidth (T3 line) with a capacity of 45 mb. This is surely enough taking our envisioned growth into consideration, it was perhaps even way too much. And monthly cost was in the higher 4 digit figures, something my boss wasn’t too happy with of course.
I found something that sounded too good to be true. A new technology (or at least new to me) that can deliver internet access via an Ethernet port over plain old telephone lines, Ethernet over Copper. The pricing was superb; we were able to get a 10 meg port for less than a 3mb bonded t-1!
Another main advantage of carrier ethernet is that it is very scalable. It is possible to add bandwidth by simply ordering more, in small incremental steps, even all the way up to a gigabit Ethernet circuit.
Be sure to shop around with several providers and make sure you are aware of new technologies (or use a telecommunications consultant that is).
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