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Applications and browsing need more and more bandwidth, while employees expect faster and faster services. Picking the right sort of internet connection for your business can be difficult. Get it right and you have a real competitive advantage, get it wrong and you will never hear then end of it from employees!
Stewart Marshall, an IT and software design expert and the founder and CEO of MashallFloyd, says: "The speed of a business's internet is crucial. Adoption of the cloud for typical "office" activities, such as email and document creation (Office 365 and G-Suite), is highly desirable, as it is for backups and data transfer. However, these demand a reliable and fast connection. Even with a 100Mbps upload speed, it would still make nearly 15 minutes to send 10Gb of data."
If you are looking at upgrading, or have a new office opening here is a quick guide to business internet connections.
Broadband (also called DSL or ADSL) has been the staple of home and small business connectivity for the last 15 years. Delivered over copper wires, it provides up to 8mbps of download speed and normally up to 2mbps of upload. The distance your premises is from the exchange will impact on the speeds you will get.
Low cost, it was suitable businesses with low usage requirements such as email and light web browsing. With the explosion in video streaming leading to higher bandwidth requirements, it is now outdated with most suppliers providing a cost effective upgrade path.
Upgrade to: Cable Internet or Ethernet
Cable internet is delivered over coaxial wire that’s thicker than DSL. This means you can get better speeds. Cable Internet speeds can vary depending on time of day and often will be advertised as ‘with speeds up to…’
Cable is undoubtedly great value for money and still used by small business where speed is important, but that 100% uptime is not essential. Cable Internet provision also varies by area with some providers covering areas others do not.
Upgrade to: FTTP or Ethernet
FiOS stands for Fiber Optic Service and uses Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) delivery meaning you get great speeds that are not effected by distance (the signal moves at the speed of light!)
FTTP is the new wave of home internet and is also being used by small business for a very cost effective connection. U-Verse and FiOS providers will often remove the home phone and replace it with a VOIP service meaning a potential cost saving on that line. There are issues with availability in some areas.
T1 service is delivered via a Primary Rate Interface connection. T1 services bond together multiple lines to provide a high bandwidth internet service. T1 services have been available for over 20 years, so are often replaced with a newer service. They are still very popular in areas that have not had the new technologies made available as they can still deliver reliable internet service and which is normally backed up by a Service Level Agreement.
Upgrade to: Ethernet
Ethernet over copper (or EOC), as the name suggests uses copper wires to deliver the last mile into the premises. The advantage of this is that it can be installed at a lower cost as some infrastructure is already in place. The main disadvantage is that the speed reduces the further you are from the exchange. Available exchanges are also limited to metropolitan areas.
Ethernet over copper is tends to be replaced by true ‘end to end’ Ethernet (see below) when business outgrow their bandwidth.
Upgrade to: Ethernet
The price for ethernet has dropped significantly in the past few years meaning even smaller businesses can afford to invest in true business grade internet. Ethernet gives you a very fast, scalable service backed up with the most substantial SLAs.
Delivered with fiber from your premises through to the network core, Ethernet provides the highest quality service available.
Upgrade: Increase ethernet bandwidth
Satellite internet is useful for when regular wired internet just isn’t possible. Remote locations, far from mobile coverage or for situations where the connection needs to be ready very quickly are normally when we recommend satellite. The cost for satellite tends to higher and the speeds slower. Another issue is the latency (how long it take the signal to arrive) can be quite high, which means it is not ideal for carrying voice.
A fixed wireless connection provides internet via microwaves beamed between two base stations. One is positioned on your premises and the other will be connected to a hard wired internet connection. The base stations need to be positioned within line of sight of each other, so they are normally on top of buildings well out of the way of trees or other obstacles.
Fixed wireless is normally used where they cost of laying fiber is deemed too high or as a disaster recovery solution. Install times can be very quick as there is minimal infrastructure to be deployed.
With over 75 years of combined experience, the TelcoSolutions team has a wealth of knowledge in the telecom sector. We have seen drastic changes occur throughout this time, and have made it our priority to stay ahead of the curve to be able to offer our clients the right solutions at the best prices. We are able to do this by leveraging the 180 providers in our portfolio to find the correct solution for our individual clients. Customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to us. Through our dedicated account management team, we ensure that the installation, on-boarding, billing, and customer service are all accounted for and run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Our experienced professionals and desire to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction are what set us apart from our competitors.
With over 75 years of combined experience, the TelcoSolutions team has a wealth of knowledge in the telecom sector.
We represent a vast range of providers that prove to be stable, affordable and trusted partners. We only acquire top quality service.
We are so happy with TelcoSolutions. Not only did they provide us with a service we can count on, they reduced our costs.
While initially focused on the United States, TelcoSolutions has expanded to being able to offer solutions around the world. Our relationships with 180 providers allows us unprecedented access to offer voice, data and cloud solutions globally.
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