if it is manual trading, it is easy to open several brokers to smear trades around. but if you do programming trading, it is more complex, since you have codes for two platforms, managing positions on two brokers is a little complex.
why do you need T1 connection given nowadays home internet speed is around 100 MBS and connection with broker is secure encrypted?
T1 guarantees a level of service not a fixed speed. Your 100 Mbps connection at home is only averaged, and on most days it is a lot lower. Take a speed reading at midnight vs 5pm on the weekdays, or basically any time on the weekends. As a consequence your home connection shares bandwidth. If your neighbors both simultaneously decide to binge watch every Game of Thrones episode while downloading the latest games and playing on their cell phones you will suffer a pretty noticeable decrease in QoS.
So many traders that think they are great traders because they front run flow on orders desks... Working with multiple brokers offers several benefits that outweigh the cost of making the operational changes.
You go into a bar, there is an individual surrounded by many women, you watch several customers pay $100 for a $8 drink. The individual surrounded by the women gets all the change from the $100 bennies for the $5 drinks? Who is this guy? Yes, same in the brokerage world...