Back in about 1987 when I worked for a major cell carrier I had dozens of T-3's at my disposal. The speed was impressive, but unfortunately the other end was connected to cell sites.....not much "content". Back in those days Bell didn't have many "carrier guys" in the field. Getting a T-1 up and running usually meant teaching their guys T-1 fundamentals and troubleshooting techniques. Back when we were turning up lots of sites I would cringe every time if a Bell T-1 was involved in the WAN scheme. I much prefer microwave DS-1's to T-1's. Point and shoot with no CWA Bell guys to screw things up.....
Things have changed a bit. I’m working for a major cell carrier right now, and I’ve got dozens of OC-3s at my disposal. The far end is still cell sites, though. Bell has improved on their T1 testing ability, although the CWA still sucks. Probably the same grizzled old farts you used to work with.