There have been many innovations in the telephone and Internet industries. Once, a simple telephone line was enough for individuals to connect with one other by phone or by Web. These days, individuals and businesses send many more kinds of data to one another by email, phone, text message, and instant message.

A connection is needed that can carry the weight of all the audio, video, voice, and multimedia data being sent and received. This is especially true for businesses that use one network to connect all their employees- sometimes in different states or countries.

T-carrier lines were used for many years by businesses to transmit data. Unfortunately, the T-carrier lines can crash when carrying the weight of too much data. Optical carriers have become popular with growing businesses. These connection lines have greater bandwidth and higher speed than traditional lines of T-carriers. Optical carriers (OCs) come in several varieties including OC3, OC12, OC48, and OC192. This article will focus on OC12 connections.

Before explaining OC12, it is important to list a few important terms. They are below:

T-carrier: telephone line that can carry 24 or more channels at a faster rate than a dial-up modem

Optical carrier: fiber optic line that can serve multiple points in a large geographic area at a rate faster than T-carriers

Bandwidth: total amount of data that can flow through a space in a specified time frame

Internet Service Provider: also known as ISP, these are companies that provide connection lines for Internet access

OC3, OC12, OC48, OC192 Connections

A basic breakdown of Optical carrier speeds is as follows: OC3 (155 megabits per second), OC12 (622 megabits per second), OC48 (2.5 gigabits per second), and OC192 (9.6 gigabits per second).

OC12 is in the median range and is useful for a large business with a strong Internet Service Provider. All the Optical carriers are expensive and Optical carrier 12 can cost $100,000-$300,000 per month for businesses to rent. Businesses should be very selective about the ISP they choose since cost, features, service, and reliability varies greatly among Internet Service Providers.

Becoming locked into a contract with an ISP that cannot handle data is a financial and customer service nightmare. The other types of Optical carriers: OC3, OC48, and OC192, among others have higher costs and higher speeds as the number attached to "OC" get numerically larger. The size of the business, amount of data transferred, number of employees and customers, and many other factors will determine which type of Optical carrier service is needed.