What exactly are T1 and T3 connections?

[GeneralStukov]

What are T1 and T3 connections? I have heard of them when posting for a new forum, etc. but, I have no idea what they are. I would also like to know if they are available to the general public because one of my acquintances said they may not be. If one of you could help me it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and soz.

 

[billm]

they are data circuits:
a T1 is approximately 1.5 mb (megabits) of bandwidth.
a T3 also know as a DS3 is 45 mb of bandwidth

to compare, a DLS line is possibly 768 kb or cable is 1 mb
T1s are availabe to anybody I know a number of people that have a T1 to their house but its more expensive then cable or DSL but is is also not shared bandwidth.

T3s are usually used in business it's possible to get a T3 to your house I suppose but would be expensive.

T1s are also used for voice. an isdn PRI is a type of T1.
T1 has 23 64kb channels that can be used individually for voice (23 phone lines) or combined together for data.

For instance somebody might get a fractional T1 and use 2 channels for a 128kb connection to an ISP. They don't pay for a whole T1, just 2 channels.

hth
bill

 

[GeneralStukov]

Thanks for the information.

Thank you billm that helps a lot. I appreciate this information an extremely large amount. Thanks.

 

[rakedog]

Thanks for that info, i accualy wondered about them as well.