I enjoyed Dave Corp’s commentary concerning T1 circuits for radio use (“The Case for T1 STLs“) but I have to take issue with his statement that “telcos, and their competitors, have mastered T1 delivery so you can get one just about everywhere.”
That has not been the case here. I recently dropped my T1 service — or in this case, lack of service — after spending months waiting for repairs.
It appears that because of the sheer number of customers using DSL, service techs have mastered the art of keeping them up and running. Not so T1 and ISDN. The straw that broke the camel’s back was switching pairs and a re-provisioning that lasted 45 days, during which we dialed up service with a POTS codec that cost as much as the T1, well over a thousand dollars for 35 miles. ISDN service experience has been just as bad, with G.722 the only compression that will go through the pipe.
In desperation I set up an inexpensive IP that tied our two stations together at a fraction of the cost. It’s not perfect but more reliable than T1 and only about $60 a month.
I’m not the only customer to experience similar problems in our area, where telco hasn’t kept up with the growth in population. It isn’t a case of T1s not going away here; it’s a case of them never really arriving.
Bob Ladd
Operations Manager
WMYR(AM)/WCNZ(AM)
Naples/Fort Myers, Fla.
