| Frame Relay Service
What is Frame Relay?
Frame Relay (FR) is a technique used to transport data from
location to location. It provides a high speed, cost effective
and it has a low latency (low delay) as it uses the Mesh Topology.
Frame Relay uses Primary Virtual Circuits (PVCs) to create a
point-to-point data communication circuit from receiver to sender.
Frame Relay is a CCITT (Consultative Committee for International
Telegraphy and Telephony) standard for linking organizations
worldwide. It can be used as an advanced communication service to
link IT networks at various locations and allow users to share Wide
Area Network bandwidth with exceptionally low delay and can be
configured to meet your company’s requirements.
How does it work?
Frame Relay is a networking protocol that combines the advantages of
leased lines (Time Division Multiplexing) together with packet
switching (X.25). The data is divided into frames or packets, with
each packet being assigned a destination address. The packets are
assembled at the FRAD (Frame Relay Access Device) at your company’s
location (this is provided by TSTT) and sent along a PVC (Primary
Virtual Circuit) through the Frame Relay network to the destination
address. Each PVC has a CIR (Certified Information Rate). A company
can obtain a desired amount of PVC’s with variable CIRs.
Benefits:
• bursts of speed in the information rate that is greater than the
CIR, this is often called the EIR (Extended Information Rate).
• simpler than the Leased line circuits.
• pricing does not depend on distance.
• addition of PVC’s is done hassle-free.
• reduction in the required connectivity equipment.
• efficient bandwidth utilization.
• secure and dependable data transmission.
Availability:
This technology is provided by TSTT in Trinidad & Tobago and
connectivity is available in most areas. For example a company can
connect one branch in POS to another in San Fernando and another in
Tobago.
Requirements:
Each Company needs to have a “Head Office” to which other branches
can connect. The Head Office requires a Frame Relay Access Line
(including a FRAD) and a Frame Relay Port. All other locations (i.e.
the branch offices) each require a PVC (Primary Virtual Circuit) in
addition to the Access Line and Port to connect to the Head Office.
All connections and wiring etc, is provided by TSTT.
Costing:
The price of this service includes installation charges as well as
monthly charges and is dependant on your company’s connection
requirements and speed.
Installation Charges:
• Head Office: Access Line install + Port install.
• Branch Offices: Access Line install + Port install + PVC install.
Monthly Charges:
• Head Office: Monthly Access Line charge + Monthly Port charge
• Branch Offices: Monthly Access Line charge + Monthly Port charge +
PVC monthly charge which is split up into Tx (transmit) and
Rx (receive) charges.
The following is a list of Frame Relay Charges as posted
by TSTT :
|
Bandwidth |
Charges in Trinidad and Tobago Dollars
($TT) |
| Kbps |
Access Line
Install Cost |
Monthly Access
Line Charge |
Port Install Cost |
Monthly Port Charge |
PVC Install Cost |
Monthly Tx PVC Charge |
Monthly Rx PVC Charge |
| 64 |
$700 |
$999 |
$600 |
$298 |
$600 |
$105 |
$105 |
| 128 |
$800 |
$999 |
$600 |
$447 |
$600 |
$159 |
$159 |
| 256 |
$800 |
$1,734 |
$600 |
$846 |
$600 |
$298 |
$298 |
| 512 |
$800 |
$1,734 |
$600 |
$983 |
$600 |
$347 |
$347 |
| 1024 |
$900 |
$2,997 |
$600 |
$1370 |
$600 |
$546 |
$546 |
| 1,544 |
$900 |
$2,997 |
$600 |
$1549 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
NB: For further information please contact the Telecommunication
Services of Trinidad & Tobago, TSTT.
This paper was prepared by Bharat Anand Seetahal of
Zandolie Networking
July 2006 |
