Business Broadband Buyers Guide

The fundamental base for all business in this century is a fast, reliable, broadband internet connection. This is true for every type of business not just online ecommerce web-based firms. Businesses have forms for customers to fill in, links from other websites, blogs that direct people to a particular business, a top spot on search engines especially for local consumers and much more. The majority of people find what they need online whether it is a roofer, plumber, wedding planner or pharmacy.

Choosing an Internet Service Provider

There is a plethora of internet service providers (ISP) and getting a fast internet presence for your company is easy. The problem comes when you need to choose the right one that meets all of the needs of your business. There are many packages that offer different combinations of services that are useful for different types of businesses. The first thing you need to do is find out exactly what your internet needs are.

The cost of business broadband varies with location. Most of the UK has high-speed internet connection available, and ADSL is available in 99 per cent of cities in the UK. Some rural areas may not be covered and getting a fast connection, may be too expensive for your company’s budget. In these areas a satellite provider may be the best option.

What to Consider for Business Broadband Requirements

Speed may be important, but there are other considerations that are just as important. The services that come with your package are also important and will make a big difference in the way your online presence functions.
You should understand your business requirements for:

• The amount of data you process
• The support system from your IPS
• The internet speed you need
• The amount of security your system needs
• The contention rates

Bandwidth

Your bandwidth requirements will be determined by how much data you will download and upload each month. This is measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). There are two main things that will determine this:

• The number of people using the internet connection
• The type of data being sent and received

Light users often only need an ADSL connection which is like another telephone line. Heavy users will need a dedicated broadband line and possibly fibre optic cable.

Speed

Internet providers always quote the fastest speed that their service can provide. This may not actually be the speed the employees in your business experience, but it is a useful starting point for comparing different ISPs.

The speed for sending and receiving data will depend on how many users there are connected to the same cables. Business broadband packages usually offer 20:1 to 50:1 contention rates. This means that from 20 to 50 other premises could use the same cable network infrastructure. If you are willing to pay more, you can get a private line that is only for your business.

Uploading speeds vary according to the type of broadband connection. If your business needs fast uploading speeds, you should fine a service that has the same speed for uploading and downloading.

Support Services

When researching different ISP packages, look for the support services they offer. You need excellent back-up and support in the occasion the connection goes down. The support may be 24/7 or only during office hours. A personal account manager at the ISP will give you faster help than going through a call centre, and even though this will cost more, it is worth the money. Find out the time it will take to get help. Some packages give priority and some give a fixed time.

Leased Lines

Leased lines are used by businesses to connect offices that are geographically distant from each other. The amount of the monthly fee, or lease, depends on the distance between the ends of the line and speed of the circuit. Leased lines are always active and usually delivered by fibre optic cable. These lines have a high level of quality and are a premium product.

Hosting Considerations

A hosting service will allow your business to have good bandwidth on a server that is provided by a hosting company. There are several types of hosting available but the most common is the dedicated hosting service where the service provider manages and owns the machine and leases full control to the client. The service will monitor the server to make sure it works correctly, provide backup services if the server goes down, provide security patches and technical support.

Once your Business is Connected

Your company will need a router to connect each employee in the business. Some ISPs provide a router, but you need to see if it is a good one. You can buy your own router, it is not very expensive and is worth the cost, but make sure you buy one that is compatible with your broadband service.