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Frame relay is a packet-switching telecommunication service designed for cost-efficient data transmission for intermittent traffic between local area networks (LANs) and between endpoints in wide area networks (WANs). The service, once widely available and implemented, is in the process of being discontinued by major Internet service providers. Sprint ended its frame relay service in 2007, while Verizon said it plans to phase out the service in 2015. AT&T stopped offering frame relay in 2012 but said it would support existing customers until 2016.
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Frame relay puts data in a variable-size unit called a frame and leaves any necessary error correction (retransmission of data) up to the endpoints, which speeds up overall data transmission. For most services, the network provides a permanent virtual circuit (PVC), which means that the customer sees a continuous, dedicated connection without having to pay for a full-time leased line, while the service provider figures out the route each frame travels to its destination and can charge based on usage. Switched virtual circuits (SVC), by contrast, are temporary connections that are destroyed after a specific data transfer is completed.
An enterprise can select a level of service quality, prioritizing some frames and making others less important. A number of service providers, including AT&T, offer frame relay, and it’s available on fractional T-1 or full T-carrier system carriers. Frame relay complements and provides a mid-range service between ISDN, which offers bandwidth at 128 Kbps, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), which operates in somewhat similar fashion to frame relay but at speeds of 155.520 Mbps or 622.080 Mbps.
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