Beginners guide to business broadband

The way most people access the internet has changed radically since the turn of the century.

It seems hard to believe that just a few years ago you had to dial up to get email unless you had an expensive internet pipe or ISDN line fitted.

And many people on dial-up rationed their net access to 20 or 30 minutes a week so they didn’t run up big phone bills!

Nowadays huge parts of the country have access to broadband. It’s predicted that 82 per cent of the UK will have it by 2013.

And it’s so cheap that it’s a must have for every business. Even if you don’t rely on the internet to sell or communicate, the fast always-on access that broadband offers can revolutionise your business!

Here’s another essential Bytestart guide to getting broadband into your business, and ensuring you pay the right price for it.

Cable or ADSL (phone line)?

For domestic customers, there are two ways to get broadband: Either through their phone line (ADSL), or from their cable TV provider, such as Virgin Media.

Broadband through cable is limited to those areas and streets that already have cable put in. And that tends not to be areas where businesses are based. If you work from home, you may be able to get internet through cable (you can check here).

So unless they have special high speed internet lines in, businesses tend to rely on internet through their phone line. The infrastructure is maintained by BT (especially a division called Openreach) and the broadband is sold by hundreds of different suppliers.

Can you get broadband?

Access to broadband and the speed of the service you get depends on two things. The first is whether your local telephone exchange has been upgraded to transmit the broadband signal. The majority of exchanges have now been done, and unless you live literally in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to get access.

You can check whether broadband is available on your phone line with this handy tool.

How fast will broadband be?

The other factor is how far away you live from the exchange. In the early days of broadband this could be a serious problem; now new technology means a basic broadband can be delivered to anyone connected to an updated exchange, no matter how far away they are. But the fastest broadband speeds are only available to those closest to the exchange.

This is something to be aware of when signing a broadband contract. There’s no point signing a premium contract promising up to 8MB access, when your phone line can only give you 2MB.

What they don’t tell you about broadband

When you first get broadband installed on a telephone line, no-one can say for sure what speed access you will get. The estimate given by the phone line checker is just that – an estimate. One business that recently moved into rural premises was told to expect speeds of under 1MB – once they’d moved in, they discovered they actually had 2MB access.

BT says it can take up to 10 days to ascertain the actual speed of a broadband connection. To get a more realistic idea of actual broadband speeds in the area, ask neighbouring businesses to run this simple speed checker.

Picking a broadband supplier

Broadband is like gas – one company maintains the infrastructure (BT) and lots of companies can sell it. That means you need to shop around to get the best deal. Don’t just plump for your existing phone operator; compare their price first. Be aware that some companies will give you a discount if you do bundle your phone and broadband together (some will give even more discount if you throw your gas and electricity in too).

Bytestart has more help on picking the right supplier.

Domestic or business broadband package?

Don’t be tempted to go for a domestic package for your business broadband. You will miss out on essential support which will get your internet connection quickly back up in an emergency. And many domestic packages are geared around usage in the evenings and weekends, meaning you may find your access capped if you “download too much” during the day.

If you work from home, some suppliers offer a home office package which is cheaper than a full business package, but still gives high levels of support.

Installing your broadband

Once your phone line has been activated for broadband, it’s fairly simple to get your computers on line from there. You need a router which plugs into the phone line and can share net access between a number of computers. Many broadband suppliers will give you one of these free. A wireless router will allow you to use broadband anywhere in your office using a laptop.

Each phone will need to be fitted with a micro filter, again normally supplied when you first get broadband, but also widely available on the internet. These filter the broadband signal so it doesn’t affect the quality of your voice calls.

The future?

If broadband isn’t fast enough for you already, there are trials happening soon on super fast 100Mb broadband, that will be delivered to you through your sewer! We’re impressed by 8Mb now – but maybe another internet speed revolution is on the way.