Chorus is happy to help you answer some of the more common technology and telecom related questions.

Our FAQs section is just another way we allow you to take advantage of our decades of industry experience.

If you don't find the answer to your specific technology or telecom related question, feel free to reach out to Chorus Communications at 215-922-1862 and we will do our best to help.

What does MPLS stand for?
Short for Multiprotocol Label Switching, MPLS is an IETF initiative that integrates Layer 2 information about network links (bandwidth, latency, utilization) into Layer 3 (IP) within a particular autonomous system — or ISP — in order to simplify and improve IP-packet exchange. MPLS gives network operators a great deal of flexibility to divert and route data traffic around link failures, congestion, and bottlenecks.

MPLS replaces the hop-by-hop, individually routed packet model with a connection-oriented model that establishes 'paths' to destinations. Instead of routing each packet based upon its destination address, each packet is labeled such that it can be switched along a pre-defined path. In addition, MPLS defines traffic engineering methods that enables these paths to have associated quality-of-service attributes. Thus, a single destination may have multiple paths leading to it, with one path used for voice, one for video, and one for data.

What speeds are commonly available for cable and fiber broadband?
Each cable and fiber provider have different speeds being offered — and the speeds can also vary from location to location. The most common speeds available today are 10Mbps down over 2Mbps up (10/2Mbps); 20/5Mbps and 50/10Mbps. Prices can range anywhere from $60 per month up to $200 per month. Call Chorus to find out what speeds, prices and options are available at your specific location.

What is and how fast is a DS3?
DS3 (or T3) is a Telecom term for "Digital System 3" which represents a 45MB circuit that is carried by 4 copper wires (or via fiber and converted back to copper at the customer site) and can support a wide range of services to include voice, data, and video. Through multiplexing, this single DS3 network can carry a combination of many types of services into a single circuit, reducing monthly access costs.

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