| T3 lines refer to a type of broadband connection that | | | | internet telephony, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), |
| transmits data at 45 megabits per second and | | | | and internet fax. These lines have helped government |
| consists of 672 individual channels, each capable of | | | | agencies in effectively dealing with emergency |
| transmitting data at 64 kilobits per second, which is | | | | situations such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes by |
| equivalent to a single voice grade telephone line. These | | | | distributing the required information to those in need. |
| lines form the backbone of Internet service providers | | | | T3 lines can be used for a wide variety of applications |
| who provide dedicated lines to large organizations with | | | | such as T3 point-to-point, T3 Internet, T3 frame relay, |
| multiple users and set of two to four sub channels to | | | | T3 voice, and T3 virtual private networks (VPN). The |
| individual users. | | | | cost of using T3 lines varies depending on the carrier, |
| T3 lines consist of two receiving and two transmitting | | | | location of service, and the application for which it is |
| fiber optic cables that are capable of transmitting data | | | | being used. |
| at forty-five megabits per second. A single T3 | | | | Increase in Internet traffic has forced Internet service |
| connection consisting of all individual channels can cost | | | | providers to develop new broadband technologies that |
| anywhere between 4 and 15 thousand dollars | | | | provide even higher speeds of data transfer and |
| depending on addition services provided with the | | | | uninterrupted Internet connectivity. New broadband |
| broadband service. | | | | technologies such as SONET (51.8 mbps) and |
| The most common use of T3 lines can be found in call | | | | Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM- 155 to 622 |
| centers and contact centers where it is used for | | | | mbps) are already in the market but are very |
| providing uninterrupted access to its customers via | | | | expensive and have a limited market as compared to |
| multiple channels such as voice calls, e-mail, live chat, | | | | T3 lines. |