For a truly critical site \xE2\x80\x94 one where downtime is unacceptable \xE2\x80\x94 a single carrier, however good, is still a single point of failure. Two diverse carriers is the gold standard.
Why One Carrier Isn't Enough
Even a great carrier with a strong SLA can have a network outage, a cut line, or maintenance. If all your connectivity rides on that one provider (and often one physical path), their bad day is your bad day. An SLA gets you credits \xE2\x80\x94 it doesn't keep you online.
What "Diverse" Really Means
- Two different carriers \xE2\x80\x94 so one provider's outage doesn't affect both.
- Different physical paths into the building \xE2\x80\x94 so one cut cable can't sever both.
- Ideally different media (e.g., fiber + fixed wireless) for maximum independence.
- Automatic failover (firewall/SD-WAN) so the switch is seamless.
True diversity is the point: two circuits from the same carrier over the same conduit isn't real redundancy. Insist on carrier and path diversity for critical sites.
Who Needs It
Payment-dependent retail, healthcare, financial services, data-critical operations \xE2\x80\x94 anywhere an hour offline is very costly. Price your downtime (here's how) to see if dual-carrier is justified. Often, for critical sites, it clearly is.
We Design Diverse Setups
Sourcing two truly diverse carriers and configuring failover is exactly what we do. See redundancy and failover and our services.
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