Your Questions Answered - Business Broadband

Q. What size and speed of connection do I need for my business?

A. The answer to this question depends on what your business does and what you want to use broadband for. As a rule of thumb, if you are using broadband to access the Internet and receive and send emails with regular sized attachments, and would like to benefit from internet telephony (or VoIP), then a (what size,speed?) should be sufficient. If you host your own website, are involved in e-commerce or need to send or receive large files, you should aim for (what size, speed?). However, be aware, the efficiency and reliability of your broadband connection also depends on how many other people are likely to be using it at the same time (in IT jargon, the contention ratio). The easiest answer to this question - get in touch with us, tell us about your business and we'll find the best solution for you.

Q. What's the difference between business broadband and the service I get at home?

A. In a word - quality. Business broadband is designed to operate reliably, consistently and at the speed that your business needs. With business broadband, you won't suffer from sudden slow downs at peak times or the service dropping out when you need it most. Our business broadband also comes with professional support from people you can talk to. Yes, it may look like it costs a bit more - but using it is like the difference between shipping goods by air rather than putting them on a slow boat to China.

Q. How do I know if I'm getting good value from my broadband service?

A. Here's our quick checklist - if your answer to any of these questions is "No" then it's time to get serious about your broadband.

Quality - does your connection fail or run too slowly just when you need it most?

Talk to someone - are you able to get in touch with a real person when you have problems with your connection?

Guaranteed speed - are you really getting what you are paying for? Do you know how to find out?

Usage - do you know if you are getting the right package for your requirements?

Q. What can I do if my broadband is unreliable?

A. Change your broadband provider - it's not nearly as difficult as you might think! Instead of messing around with turning your router on and off, or resending your emails in small chunks, or only going on the Internet first thing in the morning, contact us and let us handle the change-over for you.

Q. What's the difference between ADSL and SDSL?

A. ADSL and SDSL are both broadband. The difference is that ADSL is set up to carry more traffic downstream (to you) than upstream (from you), while SDSL is set up to carry the same amount of traffic both ways. So, downloading works the same on both - the difference is when you want to upload. If your business involves sending large files, or streaming data, that's when you need SDSL.

Q. What's the difference between broadband and a leased line?

A. Broadband uses the public infrastructure to carry your data, so you are sharing the lines with other users. When you lease a line, it is private to you (or you and a few other users) so you are not sharing the capacity. Leased lines are therefore more expensive.

Got more questions? Contact us and we'll help solve your broadband dilemmas.