A flexible solution designed for cost-efficient data transmission between LANs and many other end-points.
Frame Relay is a connection-oriented data transport service operating at speeds ranging from 64 Kbps to 1.544 Kbps. The data is transmitted from the end-device terminal, packaged into variable length frames (packets), and transported through the network on predefined logical links, known as Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVC). Multiple PVC’s may be mapped to a single physical location.
Frame Relay is typically used to cost-effectively support corporate data networks calling for burst transmissions and relying on intelligent end-points.

Features and Components
The minimum components to make up a Frame Relay network include the following:
• Local loop, which connects the customer site to AT&T’s closest point-of-presence.
• Frame Relay port, selected to provide a certain maximum speed. 
• Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC), which defines the speed of a logical connection between two sites. Each site may be logically connected to one or multiple other sites, depending on customer requirements.
• Committed Information Rate (CIR), which establishes a Quality-of-Service (QoS) for each PVC. Data rates are available from 64 Kbps to 768 Kbps.

Benefits
• Improved performance and response time
• Low overhead for accelerated network throughput
• Multiple logical connections can be mapped to a single physical connection, reducing your network cost
• Delivered on a backbone with redundant paths, dynamic re-routing and no single points of failure
• Supports inter-working with ATM, as well as Ethernet Services

How Does It Work?
AT&T provides guidance to help select the proper bandwidth and QoS parameters for the particular application you are looking to support. Local access facilities are then provisioned and logical connections made between Frame Relay-enabled CPE on either end of the links.

Locations supported by Frame Relay may inter-work with locations supported by ATM or Ethernet Services within one and the same corporate data network, by mapping PVC’s between them.