Category: broadband

In today’s market there are many more choices in broadband connection providers than there were even five years ago. Technology is advancing at an amazing rate, and as one part advances, it spurs advancements in another part, which then requires more changes in the first. Such is what has happened with the internet and broadband connection providers.

Not long ago there was no such thing as a broadband connection provider. The only connection that users had to the internet was dial up access. Dial up was slow and painful, especially by today’s standards. With dial up access, only one user could be on the internet at a time. In addition, if a phone call happened to come through, it would kick the user off of the internet. Dialing out phone calls was not an option either, which meant a user could only do one thing at a time, which is also unthinkable by today’s standards. Downloads could take hours to complete, that is if it did not get interrupted by a phone call. All in all, dial up connection to internet was not very efficient.

Types of Broadband

Today there are three main options in regard to broadband connection providers. Each of these options is remarkably faster than dial up. Because of the speed increase, web developers have been able to be more creative with the types of applications they have created, allowing for more media downloads, such as video, pictures and music. The web has grown to be more and more social because of it, allowing users to share information, likes and dislikes, and let the world know who they are.

Satellite broadband connection providers are probably the least viable option for most people due to the price. In addition, the speed of satellite connections still does not match cable or DSL, so it is not as favored among internet devotees. It is faster than wireless broadband providers, which are at this point only glorified dial up providers with a little more muscle and speed. Satellite dishes cost anywhere from one hundred to five hundred dollars, depending on the speed desired, which most families are reluctant to spend.

Cable broadband connection providers are still the most common, although DSL providers are close on their heals. Both providers supply approximately the same speed of service, options for businesses, and cost, including bundling of phone and TV with internet. The down side of cable is that the bandwidth can get ‘clogged’ with users at high usage times of day, such as evenings, thus slowing down speed. DSL has the same issue the further customers live from the main phone office.

Internet service is becoming more and more important to businesses, since there are many online applications that are needed for day to day operation. If the broadband connection provider is not fast enough or reliable enough, business suffers not only in lack of productivity, but also in the moral in the workplace due to the frustrations those types of issues cause employees.

There are two viable options for business broadband providers on the market today. Each option has its own sets of strengths and weaknesses. A business has to decide what it is looking for in its ideal internet solution and then weigh the pros and cons of each provider.

Cable

Cable is the most common business broadband provider. Not only has cable been around the longest, but it also is relatively inexpensive and works with businesses to give the best solution for each company. Cable internet runs through the same cable fibers as cable TV or cable phone service. As such, it is a great option for businesses that have waiting rooms or other types of services for their customers where TV is available. Cable is one business broadband provider today that offers a bundling of all three services which gives a discounted rate to the business. In addition, it allows the business to have only one point of contact if they have a problem with any of those services. Most cable internet providers also network business offices and provide firewalls so that the workplace is secure and vital information cannot be lost to hackers or faults in the system.

The pitfall of cable internet as a business broadband provider is that the bandwidth at certain times of day is not conducive to the same rate of speed being maintained at all times of day. For the most part this is not a problem, as the high usage times are usually during lunch and in the evenings when people get home from work. However, it is a consideration, especially for companies who have high internet usage. Slower speeds mean less productivity, a problem that no business wants to face.

DSL

DSL is very comparable to cable in the types and speed of services that are offered. Pricing is also comparable since they too bundle services in most cases. DSL business broadband providers run the service through the phone lines for the most part, which is why they are called Digital Subscriber Line service.

The downside of DSL is that the service speeds are the fastest the closer the company is to the main phone company office. Companies that are farther away will experience slower speeds which decrease productivity, especially in high usage offices.