cted. This approach is declining in popularity because it causes problems when a conferencing application involves external companies. Connecting through an IRC's POP is acceptable, however, when all videoconferences will be intra-company Circuit-switched Networks or all participants use the same IXC. A dedicated access connection can be provided over a T-1 or lower speed digital circuits, depending on the application's bandwidth requirement. Most companies install a T-1 for other purposes (long distance service, data communications) and then segregate channels (typically between two and six) from the rest of the pipe for video communication applications. A survey of 75 telecommunications managers, performed by Personal Technology Research (Waltham, Massachusetts) in 1993, found that 77% of those interviewed used codecs requiring bandwidths of 384 Kbps or lower. An organization that falls into this category may want to consider Fractional T-1 (FT-1). Providers of FT-1 use a digital access cross connect system (DACS) to split a T-1/DS-1 signal into one or more DS-Os. IXCs package FT-1 differently, with the low-end speeds starting at 56 or 64 Kbps and ranging, in 64 Kbps multiples, through 768 Kbps. FT-1 terminates on a specially equipped multiplexer. Prices vary widely, depending on bandwidth. When dedicated access is chosen over switched, the segregated T-1 approach is usually more cost-effective than the FT-1 approach. Sharing a dedicated access pipe among multiple types of traffic often allows a customer to cost-justify a T-1. Not only can dedicated access be ordered in several different sizes but customers can also choose from whom to buy that access. The most costly approach is to procure access directly from an IXC, who leases the service used to connect the customer to its closest POP from a LEC. In this scenario, the customer pays the IXC a flat fee to provide end-to-end circuit reliability. The monthly charge covers the LECs' access charge and compensates the IXC for assuming responsibility for the perfor