[c-nsp] OT: Differences among T1 Internet access carriers

[Bill Wichers]

> But here's where I need some advice. At the T-1 level, is there really
> much difference between these vendors from a technical perspective?
> Would I be less happy with an MCI circuit, for example, versus one
> from Sprint or AT&T? I'm beginning to think that at this level there
> really isn't a significant difference except for perhaps in price.

IMHO, there is little difference between the major carriers in performance
and basic functionality. They're all selling themselves based on added
extras these days, or what they think their customers think makes them
better (mostly marketing it seems). You might want to try XO too if they
serve your area -- I'm not affiliated with them but I do work with them
alot as we use some of their services and have had generally good luck
with them.

I'm not sure if Level3 sells T1s any longer. Last time I spoke with one of
their engineering guys I was told that they really only want to sell DS3
and larger circuitry, but that might have just been for transport and not
general Internet access service.

> We already have circuits from Sprint and we'd prefer to maintain some
> carrier diversity so we're probably leaning toward MCI or AT&T.

Unless you are in an on-net building for a carrier, all your circuits are
likely to come in on facilities owned by your local ILEC regardless of the
carrier you order from. This limits how much "extra reliability" you will
get by ordering services from several carriers. In 2003 when the big
eastern US blackout happened, one area near here lost an entire ILEC CO
(their generator seized apparently), which wiped out telecom service for
an entire area. Just a thought... If you are in a building that is on-net
for several carriers then you should consider ordering service from those
carriers in your building since you're likely to actually be on diverse
equipment (and possibly paths too) that way.

     -Bill

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Waveform Technology
Systems Engineer