OC-12 Questions and Answers
What is an OC12 Line??
An OC12 is the equivalent of 400 T1 lines or a little more than 14 T3 lines and can carry a total signal at 622 megabits per second. It's generally used for connecting extremely large computer networks and works only over fiber optic connections.
What are the capacities and Costs of an OC12 Line?
OC12 lines provide a massive 622.08Mbps capacity making these lines suitable for only the largest internet networks and very large enterprises. With prices starting at $1-$300,000 as well as up to several thousands in setup costs, your business must have tremendous data needs and have a budget to match.
Although OC12 has huge capacity there are many higher levels of OC lines and there are even future theoretical OC lines starting at OC-256!
What is the Speed difference between Internet Connections?
| Dial-Up | Up To 56 Kbps Down |
| DSL | Up To 8 Mbps Down x 1.5 Mbps Up |
| Cable | Up To 10 Mbps Down x 1 Mbps Up |
| T1 | 1.5 Mbps Down and Up |
| DS3 | 45 Mbps |
| Fast Ethernet | Up to 100 Mbps |
| OC3 | 155 Mbps |
| OC9 | 466.56 Mbps |
| OC12 | 622 Mbps |
| OC24 | 933 Mbps |
| Gigabit Ethernet | Up to 1,000 Mbps |
| OC36 | 1.86 Gbps |
| OC48 | 2.44 Gbps |
| OC96 | 4.97 Gbps |
| OC192 | 10 Gbps |
| OC255 | 13.21 Gbps |
Why should I choose an OC12?
If you want the ultimate in high-speed connectivity, choose the OC12 solution. This
reliable, high-speed service enables high-volume users to connect directly to a global network and take advantage of bandwidth up to 622 Mbps. An OC-12 at 622 Mbps can be used with high-volume users and applications such as Web hosting, search engines, and ISPs (Internet service providers).
Who needs an OC12?
OC12 lines are typically used for WAN connections within ISPs to connect regional or local sites. Mid sized internet companies such as web hosting providers or smaller ISPs purchasing services from larger ISPs are also common customers of this type of line.
Like other OC-x lines, these lines conform with the ANSI standard SONET (Synchronous Optical Network), allowing telecoms carriers around the world to interconnect their networks.
OC12 lines provide the equivalent capacity of 4 OC3 lines, or almost 400 times that of T1 lines.
The Optical Carrier (OC) line capacity is indicated by the number following ‘OC’, with the number identifying the multiple of bandwidth offered over the base OC1 : therefore OC-12 offers 12 times the 51.84 Mbps capacity of an OC-1 line.
OC12 lines can also provide additional bandwidth as a company grows over the years without requiring a major overhaul of existing networks. This can provide flexibility to smaller enterprises that do not currently require the entire bandwidth of an OC12 line, but have aspirations to grow their data requirements over time.
Global Communications Group Q&A
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