sundance-communications.com Forums Telephony Discussion Phone & VoIP Systems Nortel Telephones & Systems T1 or Pri

Can someone please explain the difference and the advantages and disadvantages of hooking up a T1 to a pri card, pgogrammed as T1, or inputting a key code to enable The Pri?

Standard T1 gives full 24 channels or voice service. You can also get fractional service usually 8,12 16 trunks instead of the full 24. PRI gives 23 voice B channels at max config per circuit with the 24th channel being the D channel signalling circuit. PRI also gives caller ID and faster setup and tear down for call processing. The cost difference in my area is negligible between the two services. I always recommend PRI service when it's available. If the enduser doesn't require callerID and T1s are cheaper than PRI then that would be the only reason to implement standard T1.

Another thing I have seen is the way the federal access charges apply. The T1 may be cheap for the monthly charge, but then each trunk is charged the taxes and federal access charges if they are built from centrex lines. Can add up to big bucks! PRI is a true digital circuit and you only get hit with the extra fees once.