WAN technologies in the USA

[GattsuTaicho]

Hey guys,

this question is not really Cisco related but i still would like to ask this as i think this can be very benefical to becoming a better network engineer.

Scenario:
Let's assume, you have several costumers in the US and they are scattered across the country and you need to interconnect them via a WAN technology that you personally prefer. What would it be?

What interests me the most are the following key points:

• Speed of course
• Kind of technology (Cable, IDSL, SDSL, ADSL, DS1, T1 etc)
• Realibility/Availibilty
• "Quality" (Packet-Loss, Latency, RTT, Jitter etc)
• Coverage

Hughes ,who to my understanding is some sort of general provider who works with smaller subcontractors to deliver high quality business DSL, offers something that is called "Dedicated DSL". Not many providers in the US do this. Can you tell me what dedicated DSL means?

What would you recommend while having the above key points in mind to a customer.

I hope, you'll find the time to answer and get into a discussion with me.

Thanks

[Leo Laohoo]

"xDSL" and "reliability" don't mix.  I don't care what SLA is written on whatever piece of paper (sometimes called a "contract"), but xDSL is treated as "best effort".  In other words, if you have trouble with your cheap xDSL link, the ISP can take their time in helping you.  Their philosophy is this:  If you want a reliable service, get a dedicated Ethernet link as a WAN.  

[GattsuTaicho]

I agree. I've dig a little bit deeper into the "dedicated" DSL terminology and this is not just a matter of what is written in their contract.

They actively monitor their lines in regard to quality factors like packet loss.

If a certain amount of packets is lost within a certain time frame, they perform some sort of failover (hot standby second line, which is a shared media) to ensure high quality. Hughes is one of the biggest "Satellite DSL" providers in the US so i think the second line is a sky dsl technology.

What do you think of the other mentioned technologies?

[GattsuTaicho]

Come on guys! This is at at least as relevant as knowing how to configure OPSF or VPN. This is the ground we build our highways on ;)

[Leo Laohoo]

If you are asking comments from the people in the US, you'll have to wait until Monday.  A lot of the guys have just concluded Cisco Live.

[GattsuTaicho]

Ok, thank you for the information, Leo.