With the price of T1 service dropping from its high point of roughly 20 years ago, its no wonder that more and more businesses are searching out and using this cost effective solution. Whether its voice, data, or a combination of voice and data, T1 service providers can satisfy your communications infrastructure requirements.

But where do you find an appropriate provider that offers a great price and support?

This is a great question. The biggest mistake is to base a purchasing decision on price alone. Beware of this. As most know, the net effect of any business purchase is the return on your investment. The cheap T1 service providers may be just that. A cheap cost for an oversold service that would be unable to provide the throughput advertised.

When making this important decision to build up (or out) your communications infrastructure, ask yourself some important questions.

a. If youre looking for a voice T1 service, what are your current requirements? (local/long distance, fax, toll-free service, number of lines needed, etc.)

b. If youre looking for a data T1 service, what is your objective? Web hosting, internet access for your employees, ASP, etc.

c. If youre looking for an integrated solution (voice and data) consider both points above.

Obviously these are some general considerations. There are also cost factors, time lines to implement, technical support, hardware requirements, contract time frames and extensibility issues to consider.

Whether you have an in-house technical staff or not, whatever provider you choose for service should be willing (and technical able) to work with you every step of the way to understand and provide the service that meets your needs.

So, how exactly do you find an objective third party to help you understand requirements, cost, support and extensibility?

A communications broker provides an objective look at your unique situation. Communication brokers work for you and not for any specific vendor. If you were to contact a specific vendor, their assistance would be geared towards a specific product or service they themselves offer. Their solution would be partly tailored based on what they themselves can provide. Using a communications broker removes that limitation by having access to products and services from many different vendors. Further, the communications broker can objectively evaluate your situation and design a solution that meets all your requirements and needs.

There are many T1 providers out there. Do yourself and your business a favor and use a communications broker to help you navigate the waters and build an infrastructure that will solve your immediate needs and provide the infrastructure that can handle the growth of your business. Whether you use our services or that of someone else, your business success is too important to leave in the hands of the cheap guys.