What is the difference between the different types of data lines being offered?
There are basically two different types of data lines: Data lines that provide the school access to the total bandwidth (capacity) of the link, these include Ethernet (fibre or copper tails), Frame Relay, Microwave and ISDN. These are usually more expensive but will offer a defined capacity (bandwidth) supported by tangible service levels. The other type of service is known as DSL where a school shares the line with a number of other users, with each user competing for their share of the total bandwidth. This sharing is dynamic with your actual percentage of the link capacity, at any instance, dependant on the number of other users competing for the total capacity. Therefore, during prime time your share of the link can be very small and after hours may be a significant proportion. Generally the carriers offer no guarantee of service and only a very small minimum capacity. The number of users with access to these links is set by the carrier, it is known as contention ratio. It is the n
