Discover the best Broadband choice for your business.

Nowadays most businesses rely heavily on their Internet connection, so you need to be sure that you make the right choices to keep your business operational and maximise your communication with customers, prospects and staff.

However, there are now many different options of Internet connectivity available and therefore making the right choice for your business can be confusing. Below, we have outlined the basic differences between the services on offer so that you can work out which route to take to ensure that you have the most appropriate Internet connection for your business needs.

The need for speed

You can enjoy a variety of Internet speeds depending on which broadband option you choose. Broadband speeds are measured in Megabits per second (Mbps) and refer to how quickly you can get information from the Internet to your computer (your download speed), and how quickly you can send information from your computer to the Internet, (your upload speed). So download speed is the important factor when receiving large emails or downloading large files from the Internet whilst upload speed is important when sending large data files or backing up your data to the Cloud for example.

Broadband

Broadband is the common name we give to internet access regardless of the technology that it’s delivered over. A broadband connection, like a telephone line, is never switched off and can be accessed at any time. The speed depends on your distance from the local telephone exchange and the signal deteriorates over distance - so the closer you are to your exchange, the higher your speed.

The most basic type of broadband connection is known as ADSL and is most commonly delivered over the copper telephone wires in your street but can also be delivered over satellite, cable or mobile. Speeds vary dramatically but peak at 8Mbps download and 0.5Mbps upload. It is still the most widely available broadband connection in the UK, however most businesses opt to have ADSL2+ which is a superior version providing a more stable connection and slightly faster speeds up to 24Mbps download and 1.3Mbps upload.

Fibre Broadband

Fibre Broadband works in essentially the same way as Broadband but uses fibre-optic cable to deliver the service, giving you super-fast Internet speeds. As the signals can travel at the speed of light, both download and upload speeds are significantly quicker than standard broadband. Fibre broadband also comes in two choices:

• FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) is the most widely available, and whilst the majority of the connection uses fibre-optic, the final part (which runs from the green BT street cabinet to your offices) uses standard copper wire (traditional BT phone lines) in the same way as ADSL. Depending on how far your office is from the BT cabinet you can enjoy Internet speeds of up to 80Mbps download and 20Mbs upload but you will need to check your FTTC availability with your provider.

• FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) is true fibre optic connectivity to your business as the entire connection runs over fibre optic cable, from the local BT exchange right up to your business premises. It is perfect for any business that relies on Internet performance on a daily basis or has heavy Internet users or big consumers of media who want a consistent experience offering speeds up to 330 Mbps download and 30Mbps upload. Although becoming more common, it is only available in limited areas so we would need to check the broadband options in your area.

Ethernet

Ethernet connectivity works in essentially the same way as Broadband and Fibre but utilises Ethernet technology to deliver the service, giving you even faster Internet speeds. Whereas Broadband is not a dedicated line and speeds can fluctuate up and down depending on a number of factors, Ethernet circuits are dedicated to your business and offer guaranteed download and upload speeds, as well as superior up-time and SLAs. Ethernet connectivity comes in a number of different forms:

• EoFTTC  stands for Ethernet over Fibre to the Cabinet and is the most cost effective Leased Line option for providing symmetrical bandwidth (the same download and upload speed). EoFTTC is widely available and can be delivered in as little as 20 working days, with bandwidths provided up to 20Mbps in increments of 2Mb. Customer premises must be in a Fibre to the Cabinet enabled area to take advantage of EoFTTC services.

• EFM stands for Ethernet in the First Mile and utilises multiple copper pairs rather than fibre, offering significant cost savings when compared with a fibre-based leased line and leaving zero opportunity for loss of service. With speeds of up to 35Mbps, EFM offers no compromise in service and is supported by the same 100% SLA as all of the products in our Leased Line portfolio.

• Internet Leased Lines provide the ultimate scalability of up to 1Gbps on a single Fibre Access Circuit, and can be provided up to 35Km between your office and the nearest network Point of Presence (PoP) with no degradation in bandwidth. Ethernet services cover over 90% of UK business premises using only best of breed components and suppliers to deliver optimum traffic performance. This is the best option to avoid downtime, with guaranteed up-time, fully resilient implementation using dual circuits along fully diverse paths, fully managed routers and automatic fail-over between circuits, all monitored 24/7. Naturally, Internet Leased Lines are typically the most costly, however in recent years the costs have come down dramatically, primarily due to the competition in the market.

Getting Connected

To connect your business telephone line to the Internet you will need a modem, usually contained within a router, which will connect your network to that of your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The router may contain a ‘firmware firewall’ which is basic software providing a layer of protection from cyber threats. For business users however, we strongly recommend upgrading your basic router to a ‘hardware firewall’, which offers far greater protection, manageability and flexibility as well as having the option to add layers of security through a Unified Threat Management (UTM) bundle.

At Net Technical Solutions we have partnered with award-winning ISPs Zen Internet and Gamma Telecom to provide the full range of Internet services for our customers. In ALL cases the services are fully managed by the Net Technical team in terms of pre-sales, installation and after-sales support. However, our own service is complemented by back-to-back support arrangements with each ISP giving our customers added peace of mind. All services are billed and administered by Net Technical so there will never be a need for our customers to contact the ISP directly.

If you currently have an Internet connection through Net Technical Solutions and would like to discuss any of the above options in more detail, or if your Internet is currently with another ISP and you would like to transfer to us, please contact your Account Manager on 01252 235 235  or one of our sales team and they will be delighted to assist you.

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