Recently, you may have heard a lot about T1 PRI services, but what exactly are they? T1 PRI can best be explained by separating these two individual aspects.
The term PRI refers to Primary Rate Interface. This is provided by ISDN, or Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN provides two basic levels. The first, and most common, is known as BRI or Basic Rate Interface. The second is known as PRI, or Primary Rate Interface. Both of these utilities are a method where many voice and data transmissions can be sent and received over a single fiber optic cable.
BRI provides 3 independent lines that can be used for voice or data. PRI is more robust and uses 24 channels to support individual threads, making it more geared towards businesses or other situations that require many voice lines or a higher amount of bandwidth to deliver.
The T1 service is actually not a service at all, but should be considered more like hardware. This type of thread provides the necessary means for PRI service to be delivered to a location. In short, PRI is the actual service, while T1 is the hardware used for delivery.
A T1 line consists of 24 channels, each of which can be used for a different purpose. All of them can be used to deliver 24 individual telephone threads to a location, or they can be used to deliver bandwidth for data networks and Internet connections. Alternatively, the 24 channels can be partitioned and dedicated to voice or data in any combination, such as 12 voice lines and 12 bandwidth lines.
When used for bandwidth, each channel is capable of delivering 64 Kbps of data, which means that a T1 line fully dedicated to bandwidth will provide 1.54 Mbps of data.
The real beauty of the utility is that the customer basically leases the T1 line himself. This means that it is dedicated solely to this client, providing reliable bandwidth for network or Internet use at all times. This is in contrast to traditional data delivery methods, where lines are reused over and over and shared by multiple users, reducing connection quality. This is a process known as “switching” and can significantly decrease the amount and quality of bandwidth being delivered.