What's The Difference Between
T3, DS3 and OC3 Bandwidth?
What these acronyms mean and
what they have to offer in speed and reliability.
One thing about the telecommunications
industry is that there is no shortage of acronyms. How about
T3, DS3 and OC3? Or T1, DS1, DS0 and DSL? You can tell these
players, but you'll need the scorecard and here it is.
T3 vs DS3
In a practical sense T3 and DS3 are used
interchangeably and mean the same type of service. T3 means trunk
line, level 3 and DS3 means digital signal, level 3. They both
refer to a 45 Mbps time division multiplexed synchronous digital
voice or data service.
What is DS3?
If you want to get picky, DS3 refers to
the digital signal service which could be provided on a T3 coaxial
cable or a fiber optic cable. T3 is part of the T-carrier system
and refers to the physical line, which is copper wire. You can
get DS3 without the specific T3 wires, but not the other way
around.
Compared to T1
T1 is the other popular T-carrier service.
It is a 1.5 Mbps line traditionally provisioned on two pair of
copper phone wires. Some providers are now using a single pair
to transmit T1 using a more advance modulation scheme than was
originally specified. At any rate, the digital signal level for
T1 is called DS1.
What is DS0?
That's the lowest DS rate
specified, which is 64 Kbps or just the right size to carry one
telephone call or one dial-up modem connection. DS1 is made up
by combining 24 DS0 channels. DS3 is made up of 28 DS1 channels
or 672 DS0 channels.
Where Does DSL Fit?
DSL is something else entirely. It stands
for Digital Subscriber Line and is a completely different format,
although it typically runs at speeds similar to T1 lines. Go
figure.
How About OC3?
Now where does OC3 fit into all of this?
Actually OC3 is part of the optical carrier numbering scheme
called SONET for Synchronous Optical NETwork. OC3 runs at 156
Mbps. So OC3 has nothing to do with T3, or does it?
The Common Thread of Timing
You see, the common theme that runs through
all of these digital transmission schemes is the basic design
of synchronous time division multiplexing based on the DS0 channel.
Why? Because DS0 carries exactly 1 telephone call and that's
the lowest common denominator for the telephone companies who
designed the standards. Would you be surprised to learn that
one OC3 can carry 3 DS3, 84 DS1, or 2,016 DS0 channels?
Copper or Fiber
The T1 or T3 service you order might be
delivered on a dedicated copper wire circuit or it might be dropped
off from a larger OC3 fiber optic cable. It depends on which
hookup is most economical.
Still Confused?
Just remember T3 and DS3 refer
to the same thing. OC3 is much faster, and more expensive.
Your Best Price Options
Whatever digital service level you need,
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Our consultants can help you get the best price on the bandwidth
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