T1 VS Cable

Can anyone tell me if the difference in the speed of a T1 line and the speed of a cable modem justifies the price difference in an environment where speed is critical to everyday operations?

T1 basically laps cable by miles so the price difference is worth it.

T1 is direct connection...or so i think while cable requires a isp to still dial into.

It would be worth it if you download gigabytes of data all the time.

1meg up/down. the price is overpriced for me since my cable is 3mbs down 256kbs up

Whoa, there's something wrong there but do you upload much?

T-1 is far superior to Cable for a few reasons, but for residential applications and simple business apps, there's not much reason for the extra expense. I can promise you that a 3 Mbps connection on a cable modem is still slower than a 1.5 Mbps connection on a T-1. The problem is not in the physical speed (which is the same), nor the bandwidth (in which cable is superior), but in other problems, specifically: network delay and packet loss.

A T-1 connects from your office directly to an ISP POP (point of presence) and (if on a Tier I) directly to an IP backbone. The physical distance is usually covered in less than 60ms.

A cable routes around the cable ring, to the cable office which then connects either to another cable office or to a T-1 then to an ISP POP and (if they are on a Tier I) directly to an IP backbone. (If you aren't on a Tier I for a T-1 in either application, you usually hit some sort of core router which eventually gets to another T-1 to an IP backbone, just increasing delay time). The network delay in this varies widely on traffic, but is usually in the neighborhood of 150 - 300 ms.

End Result: Network delay decreases performance by at least 2.5 times, making a 3 Mbps connection effectively around 1.2 compared to a 1.5 Mbps T-1.

Next, packet loss. Tier I T-1s usually loose less than 1 packet in 1000, meaning that you don't really ever resend information. Cable, subject to higher levels of electro-magnetic interference (ever have lightning affect your cable . . .) looses in some cases 5% or more of its packets, meaning you have to resend more information (thereby taking more time). Recent changes in cable tech has helped, but you normally still see a 2-3% drop-off rate as opposed to .1% on a T-1.

There's a definite cost difference, but the T-1 is superior for people that need the speed and reliability.

P.S. DSL is usually a little better on packet loss and delay, sitting around 1-3% loss and 120-200ms delay.

Well since you contributed very useful info i wont argue with you for bringing this thread up

Is T1 not the short name for direct isp connection

thanks for thread necromancing!

Sorry - just had to put that info in there.

And, by the way - T-1 is "thick" copper wire that has 24 channels on it that can be used as 24 phones lines or for a 1.5Mbps data connection. Where it connects to is up to the provider, but Tier I will run it directly into the IP backbone.

lol

Bandwidth is not the speed, merely the capacity of what the connection can handle. Simple test. On broadband connection (DSL or Cable) ping a site. The latency(The true indicator of speed) will show anywhere from 50 to a couple hundred milleseconds. A T1 will show between 5-8 ms. Sattelite is a perfect example of a high capacity slow connection. Click on a page on a sattelite connection and you will have a long delay waiting for the page. But then all of a sudden the content will explode on to the page. The propagation delay slows down the fetching of the content even though there is sufficient bandwidth.

Stop with the revival of this thread!

That's twice now.

Sorry man. I just got here. My company is getting a T1 installed and I just couldn't resist.

how about now? its 4 years later. is T1 still faster than broadband with its low delays and fancy direct connection?

this i'd like to know.

if you were a business that depended on internet, then i would go w/ a t1. if you are a regular, home user, then go w/ cable. t1 is by far not faster than cable. it's only 1.5 mbps--cable is reaching 12 mbps here in the u.s.

I am thinking of switching our office off the current T1 line which is 1.5Mbps to a Comcast Business Class connections boasting speeds of 50Mbps down and 10Mbps up. I'm not quite sure how even if cable is "shared" amongst other users on a node, would come anywhere as slow as 1.5Mbps. Am I missing a key element here, or are T1's a thing of the past?