DSL Frequently Asked Questions

 

FAQs:

 

DSL

 

Traditional T1

 

Wireless

 

ISDN

What is a traditional T1 and how does it work?
How much does it cost and what does it include?
Can we get a T1 at our location?
What is the installation process?

What equipment is needed?

Do we own the router or does it remain the property of Galaxy?
When does billing begin?
How secure is a T1?
What if my business moves?
What if I need to cancel before the Two Year Contract is up?
What if I need extra IP addresses?
Can my business run its own web server or mail server?
Does Galaxy offer Virtual Private Networking (VPN)?
Do you support PC anywhere?
How do we transfer our domain to Galaxy Internet Services?

What is a traditional T1 and how does it work? Top of page

Most of us are familiar with a normal business or residential line from the phone company. A normal phone line is delivered on a pair of copper wires that transmit your voice as an analog signal. When you use a normal modem on a line like this, it can transmit data at perhaps 45 kilobits per second. The phone company moves nearly all voice traffic as digital rather than analog signals. Your analog line gets converted to a digital signal by sampling it 8,000 times per second at 8-bit resolution (64,000 bits per second). Nearly all digital data now flows over fiber optic lines, and the phone company uses different designations to talk about the capacity of a fiber optic line (see the list below) . 

If you get at T1 line for your office, it means that the phone company has brought a fiber optic line into your office (a T1 line might also come in on copper). A T1 line can carry 24 digitized voice channels, or it can carry data at a rate of 1.544 megabits per second. When it is carrying data it plugs into your network's router. 

A T1 line is  extremely reliable. A T1 line can generally handle the email and data transmission needs of quite a few people in your office. For general browsing, hundreds of users are easily able to share a T1 line comfortably.

The list below shows some common designations of high speed data lines: 

DS0 - 64 kilobits per second 
ISDN - Two DS0 lines plus signaling (16 kilobits per second), or 128 kilobits per second 
T1 - 1.544 megabits per second (24 DS0 lines) 
T3 - 43.232 megabits per second (28 T1s) 
OC3 - 155 megabits per second (100 T1s) 
OC12 - 622 megabits per second (4 OC3s) 
OC48 - 2.5 gigabits per seconds (4 OC12s) 
OC192 - 9.6 gigabits per second (4 OC48s) 

How much does it cost and what does it include? Top of page

We currently have a special T1 offer which is $599.00 per month with a $500 setup fee. This monthly charge includes all Telco loop charges. There are no extra fees. 

There is a Two Year Contract for this service.

This service includes 50 Megabytes of web space for your Company webpage and up to 10 free email addresses for your employees "@yourcompanyname.com". It also comes with a free dialup account for employees to use on the road or from remote locations. The value of these free added services is $34.90 per month.

Our other leased line prices are as follows: (All prices below do not include local loop charges from Verizon).

Can we get a T1 at our location? Top of page

Our special T1 offer is available throughout eastern Mass in the 978,781,617 and 508 area codes. Unlike DSL there are no distance issues or facilities issues with a traditional T1. 

What is the installation process? Top of page

The loop for the T1 will be installed from 6-8 weeks from the time you place the order. We will configure your router for you if required but you are responsible for setting up your network. Any router changes done by Galaxy after the initial installation will incur a $25.00 fee.

What equipment is needed? Top of page

Recommended Equipment: 

For T1 & Frac T1:
OPTION 1:
Cisco 2610 Modular Router, Approx $1400
AND
Cisco WIC-1DSU-T1 T1 DSU/CSU Module, Approx $700 

OPTION 2:
Netopia R5300, Approx $1100 

Do we own the router or does it remain the property of Galaxy? Top of page

In most cases you will be purchasing the router. In some cases the router may be leased.

When does billing begin? Top of page

A refundable security deposit equal to one month of service is due within 10 days of the date that you submit the T1 contract. The setup fee and first month of service are due within 10 ten days of the day that your T1 router is active and can receive and transmit data over the Internet.

How secure is a T1? Top of page

The T1 router be configured with what is called Network Address Translation (NAT). In this configuration the router has one external IP address which is exposed to the Internet, but internally there are over two hundred private IP addresses available for your workstations. Because there are private IPs behind the router which are not exposed to the Internet the router essentially acts as a basic Firewall/Proxy.

If you choose to use real IP addresses on your workstations then you may want to purchase Firewall Software and/or Hardware.

What if my business moves? Top of page

There is a $500.00 relocation fee. The re-provisioning process will take 6-8 weeks.

What if I need to cancel before the Two Year Contract is up? Top of page

There is a cancellation fee of $500 if the service is terminated within the first 12 months of the contract. There is a cancellation fee of $300 if the service is terminated within the second 12 months of the contract.

What if I need extra IP addresses? Top of page

The T1 router can be reconfigured to use public static IP addresses. There is a  $25.00 fee to reconfigure the router from NAT to static IP addresses unless the request is made before the installation of the router. (Note: You do not need static IPs to run your own web server or mail server or to use PC anywhere as long as you are not running more than one of each.)

The table below shows the price per IP block:

Usable IPs	Price	Block Size
1	$10	4
5	$20	8
13	$30	16
29	$45	32

Can my business run its own web server or mail server? Top of page

Yes. If you transfer your Company domain to Galaxy we can do Address and/or MX records to the IP of your router and then map the appropriate ports to the internal IP address of your server. If you have a real static IP on your server we can do Address and/or MX records directly to the public IP address of your server. If you choose not to transfer your domain to Galaxy the web hosting company you use can do Address and/or MX records as described above.

Does Galaxy offer Virtual Private Networking (VPN)? Top of page

Yes, Galaxy does support VPN. Please call to find out more about our VPN capabilities.

Do you support PC anywhere? Top of page

Yes, Galaxy does support PC anywhere.

How do we transfer our domain to Galaxy Internet Services? Top of page

Click here if your domain was registered with Network Solutions.

Click here if your domain was registered with Register.com

Call for more information, or fill out our Quote Request Form.

Sales: 617-558-0900 Toll Free: 1-888-334-2529 | Tech Support: 617-558-0909 Other Customer Service Centers

Copyright 2002, Galaxy Internet Services Inc.