Whether you do business online or offline, using internet as well as an internal local network is essential for operating it. Almost all businesses, regardless of their size of operations, have their presence online in some form which may include their websites as well as online advertisements. They depend heavily on internet for carrying out their day to day operations which include but are not limited to sending and receiving emails; uploading or downloading large files; video conferencing, research and accessing financial news and data. The size and nature of the business determines the type of internet connection and its speed required by the management or employees.
Businesses are rapidly changing their typical dial-up access connections via 56 k modems with broadband connections. One of the main reasons for doing so is that the dial-up connection keeps the telephone line engaged hence restricting it to be used for the sole purpose of connecting to the internet. Another reason is the interruption in the online session which may cause loss of data or important business deals. The browsing speed is also limited to a maximum of 56 kbps and can further get painfully slow if a local network is using a single connection.
In comparison, a broadband connection, available in DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and WiMAX (wireless broadband access) offers browsing speed options ranging between 256 kbps up to 8 MB and more, depending on the service provider and the package in use. The Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) also uses a telephone connection without engaging it thus offering option to use the line for making or receiving calls. This option works best if the cables are good and the telephone line does not have any disturbance. However, the connection depends greatly on the telephone line and if the line is out of order, so is your internet connection. Businesses that cannot afford disconnection from internet should choose a WiMAX or wireless broadband access connection which allows wireless data transmission without any need for cables or wires.
Home broadband connection usually provides a limited download volume of data and the browsing speed is usually up to 2 or 3 MB and hence costs less, which may seem satisfactory to some. On the contrary, the business broadband connection provides higher speed options with unlimited downloading of data. The ‘contention ratio’ is also lower as service providers restrict the number of computers accessing the servers in use by the business broadband customers.
The one thing that is low in the business services is the problem in the connection ratio. This is very helpful as they decrease the level at which your internet speed suffers, when you are downloading some heavy data, which is an important requirement for an official environment.
Another attribute is the allocation of a fixed IP address for your business, which does not change, even if you reconnect or disconnect the internet connection. This lets you work on the server from your own place of work, in addition to providing safer communication between you and your employees or other people in your network.
Before you pick a broadband service for your business, it is reasonable to make an evaluation of all the deals available in the market. By doing this, you would be able to make a better and cost-effective judgement. Remember never to sign anything before you have read all the terms and conditions. By assessing the mixture of deals, you can find out about the price tags, dial up speed and features that are up for grab.
It is very important that you must select a broadband connection after proper research and evaluation of the packages available in the market with respect to your business needs and requirements.
Check out more about business broadband here.