Primarily Cable, DSL, and Satellite
Companies must make sure they have enough bandwidth for all employees to operate on a day to day basis, so understanding how their business uses the Internet is paramount in deciding whether or not a broadband or dedicated access service is preferable. Broadband internet service is fast and cheap, but not guaranteed. If your company is working on web-based applications like CRM and accounting software, ask yourself what happens if the DSL goes down for a day or two? What if it happens on a day you’re supposed to submit payroll? If your company is heavily reliant on the Internet, or has to serve many employees, you may want to consider dedicated access.
Features
- Broadband services for businesses vary slightly in that they are only for business customers.
- Business Class service will often include one or more static IP addresses.
- Broadband Business Class service is more expensive than residential broadband.
- Speeds are asynchronous, which means that you’ll typically receive a faster download speed than you will an upload speed. For example, 5MBps download and 1MBps upload or 5×1.
- The cost is relatively inexpensive.
- The service is not guaranteed.
- The speeds are “up to” speeds, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll actually receive 5Mbps download.
- Service is geographically based. A single phone company central office will service a neighborhood or several neighborhoods. If there are a lot of subscribers in that central office, speeds may vary and fluctuate at certain times of the day.