Currently our small business has high-speed  DSL serving seven users. Because of the nature of our business, we feel we need redundancy. I contend that getting another DSL line from a different provider doesn't really mean redundancy because most likely it will be reselling from our  CLEC. Does it make sense to connect a dedicated T-1 to our office to ensure we’ll stay up? I realize the cost will be greater, but that’s not the primary goal. We need to have facilities in place that will minimize any loss of connectivity.
- Via the Internet
 
Regardless of which telephone-related option you choose, you’ll still be pretty much going through the same copper bundle to the same central office. If you pick a different DSL provider, the only area in which you’ll see a difference is when the services for the various ISPs that go through the CLEC are split out. Either a T-1 or a fractional T-1 is an option. The biggest cost will be the local loop or the part that runs from your office to the central office that services your office. You may want to see if the cable company in your area is offering cable Internet and if it’s servicing business in your area. This would give you some degree of redundancy over another DSL provider. This should also be cheaper on a monthly basis a T-1 or fractional T-1.
 
Also check to see if there is a wireless ISP in your area; this may also be cheaper than a conventional T-1. It may be able to act as a "standby carrier" and only bill you at the regular rate when you’re using the line. I negotiated this type of contract for one company because its distance from the central office ruled out a redundant feed, economically speaking.
 
You mention redundancy in your message. You’ll need to decide if you want to use this line at the same time you’re using your DSL line or only when DSL is down. This has ramifications on your DNS setup if you have your own mail or Web server to which outside users need access. If this is the case, you will want to put one of your DNS servers on the second ISP connection or have a commercial DNS service work with you to set this up. This also means you’ll need to look at a regular commercial-grade router such as a Cisco 2600 class. A commercial-grade router can handle multiple feeds and give you some flexibility to automatically switch the routing over when one carrier fails without having to go into the router and make the change.