Optical Carrier Level Circuits

What is an OC-3?

"OC", short for Optical Carrier, is used to specify the speed of fiber optic networks conforming to the SONET standard. SONET, (Synchronous Optical Networks), includes a set of signal rate multiples for transmitting digital signals on optical fiber. The base rate (OC-1) is 51.84 Mbps. Certain multiples of the base rate are provided shown below with bandwidth amounts. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) makes use of some of the Optical Carrier levels.

      OC-1 = 51.85 Mbps
      OC-3 = 155.52 Mbps
      OC-12 = 622.08 Mbps
      OC-24 = 1.244 Gbps
      OC-48 = 2.488 Gbps
      OC-192 = 9.952 Gbps
      OC-255 = 13.21 Gbps

 

Therefore, an OC3 can be delivered as three DS3s (T3s) or as one 155M pipe. The benefit in using DS3s is that each can be separated back out as individual T1s (each with 24 channels).

 

To put it into perspective, the speed of an OC3 connection is 155Mbps. This is equivalent to 3 T3 lines or 100 T1 lines. An OC12 connection is 622Mbps, equivalent to 14 T3 lines or approx. 414 T1 lines.

 

Prices roughly range from $5,000 to $15,000+/month to maintain, but for businesses looking for the ultimate in high-speed connectivity and networking, OC-x circuits are the best and most dependable for the money. An OC3 is necessary for businesses where Internet access is critical!

 OC-3 Line Services

 

 

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