Given the state of “faster” broadband technologies (5 Mbps to 9 Mbps Cable and DSL) and Broadband “Business Services” catering to true business needs, etc., why would one decide to look for leased T1 connections versus, say, a business-class Cable or DSL connection? I’m looking for a pro/con list and a discussion over whether broadband can actually be considered a point-for-point replacement for a T1 in the business arena. I’m not seeing how the traditional T1 route can justify its costs any more. Maybe someone with a little more longevity in this industry or more WAN connectivity experience than I can weigh in on this.
Example: A medium-sized business needing true 24/7/365 connectivity, prividing online content to nation-wide customers. In a situation like this, things like uptime SLA’s, static IP’s, (possibly) hosted DNS servers, Cisco router/PIX connectivity and compatibility, etc. become true issues. Typically, a business like this might opt for the standard 1.544 Mbps T1 with a failover connection to a (gasp) ISDN 128k or something of that ilk. But why not go with redundant Cable or DSL connections now?
Other Issues:
Price?
Reliability?
Gauranteed throughput?
Multiple public IP addresses?
Customer Support turnaround times?
Supported WAN protocols?
Single points of failure?
Any well thought-out comments are appreciated (I don’t want this thread to wind up being a “look how much faster my DSL tops out at vs. your Cable connection” flame war).
Thanks.