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A Wide Area Network (WAN) is normally a network which links LANs together.
Many businesses have branches which
need to be connected so that they can communicate and share resources such as a
common database. The solution is to set up a Wide Area Network.
Below is an example of a WAN
that shows 3
branches connected to a company's Head Office in Port-of-Spain via
Frame Relay links and another, closer branch, connected via a wireless
radio link. Also, it shows that employees at home or on the
road can connect to the company's network from anywhere in the world
via a standard telephone dial-up or a VPN connection over the Internet.
Unlike
a LAN, where
your company owns the network infrastructure (i.e. the
cabling and switches), a WAN normally depends on some third party
provider to provide WAN connectivity. The types of WAN
configurations and solution providers available in Trinidad and
Tobago vary widely. Zandolie Networking can act as your WAN
broker helping you to select a method and provider who will meet
your business needs at minimum cost.
WANs can be private or use the
Internet to set up a Virtually Private Network (VPN) or a hybrid
combination of both. If you use a completely private network
you must ensure that the WAN Provider has the capability and reach
to connect all your branches. WAN Providers in Trinidad and
Tobago are also normally telecommunications service companies.
Several of them are listed below:
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TSTT currently provides
Leased Lines, ISDN and Frame Relay WAN Services. In
fact they are the only Leased Lines, ISDN and Frame Relay
providers in the country. Should you need to establish
WAN links outside Trinidad and Tobago, TSTT is partly owned
and operated by the British telecom company, Cable and Wireless
and can easily connect you to many CARICOM countries and
beyond.
TSTT does not have a comprehensive explanation
or information about their WAN services which they call "dedicated access"
on their website (click on logo at left to get to TSTTs "dedicated access" page
and select from "choose topic" link). So we have done our own research
which is presented below. Just click on the appropriate link to learn more
about TSTT's WAN access implementations:
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Illuminat is
an Information Technology and Communications service
provider which is a subsidiary of the Neal and Massy Group.
It was formed as merger between the group's
telecommunication service arm, Borde Communications and it's
IT arms, CCS and MIS. As a result, its WAN solutions
have mainly grown out of Borde Communication's wireless
services to the business community. |
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Green Dot is mainly known in Trinidad and Tobago as a wireless Internet
Service Provider, but like Lisa Communications and Illuminat, The company
provides wireless radio WAN connections through their network. Though
their prices seem to be very competitive, it has been rumored that they use the
unlicensed public domain frequency of 5.8 GHz which some industry experts say
can result in radio frequency interference problems with other signals in close
proximity. At this point in time we are unsure if the local Green Dot is
in any way affiliated to Green Dot Internet
Services of Singapore. |
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Lisa Communications is a company based in
Port-of-Spain and known for providing paging and Internet access services.
It also provides WAN services for many medium size to large businesses in
Trinidad and Tobago. Theirs is a licensed wireless radio solution
based on
Alvarion technology. Independent feedback suggests that their service
and uptime is very good. The monthly cost of a single site connection can
range from TT$1,380 (128 Kbps) to TT$3,450 (512 Kbps) with an installation cost
of TT$2,500. |
| Columbus Communications |
Columbus Communications is a very large Caribbean-based company which has
acquired the locally owned cable company. They are partners with Alcatel
which is one of the largest telecommunications equipment and services providers
in the world. The company intends to use the its installed fiber and
co-axial network infrastructure to provide voice, video and data marketed under
the brand name "Flow - watch, talk, click" as they did in Jamaica. As a
result, they would be able to provide "cabled" WAN links to business in
specified areas. We need to do more research in this area as these have
been fairly recent developments. As far as we can tell Columbus Communications does
not have a website (ironic isn't it), but you can link to
FLOWTRINIDAD or
FLOWJAMAICA to see the respective
services offered. |
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Information on this
provider is being researched and will be posted by middle of 2007 |
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Information on this
provider is being researched and will be posted by middle of 2007 |
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