Before we get into T1 internet connections, lets examine some of the main connection types that are commonly available through which to access the internet. There are dial-up modems that typically can only transfer up to 56 kilobits per second. While this is the original and main way that people connected to the internet during the birth of the information age, the advent of broadband has continued to sweep the world in popularity for its dramatic increase in data transfer rates. Another drawback to using dial-up modems and internet connections is that they require the use of a phone line. This presents a problem for many people that need to use their existing phone line for voice calls and do not want to purchase a second phone line.

As far as broadband, also known as high speed internet, is concerned, there are three types of access. There are DSL, cable and T1 types of high speed internet access. One of the main benefits to using high speed internet access is that these types of connections are always on and do not tie up a phone line.

DSL stands for digital line subscriber and is the more commonly available type of broadband internet access. One of the reasons that DSL is more popular than cable internet is that the DSL signal travels over regular phone lines without tying up the voice portion of the line. DSL requires the use of a DSL modem and offers data transfer speed up to one hundred times faster than dial-up internet connections. One of the disadvantages of DSL, contrasted to cable internet, is that distance from the hub can pose a problem. If the distance between the DSL center and the end user is too great, the performance of the connection will begin to suffer or quit working altogether.

According to some sources, there are twice as many cable internet subscribers than DSL users. Cable internet subscribers receive comparable performance to that of DSL users in terms of rate of data transmission and similar pricing structures. Instead of traveling over the phone lines, cable internet signals travel along coaxial cable exactly like cable television does. One of the main differences between cable internet and DSL is that many users utilize the same cable with cable internet access. This means that if your cable internet provider has too many subscribers on one line, you will notice slower connection speeds. So, with DSL the main issue is distance from the central office and with cable internet the issue is with how many subscribers share the same line.

T1 connections are most commonly used by large and medium sized business. Most smaller organizations simply cannot afford this type of connection. Typically, a T1 line is split into 24 56 or 64 kilobits per second channels to carry voice and data. While cable internet and DSL theoretically can reach the same speeds as a T1 line, they really never do in practical applications. With a T1 line, you dont have to share the line with any other subscribers. This means that you can count on receiving a true 1.5 Megabits per second rate of data transfer.