Business broadband: what does it mean?

As broadband completes its shift from luxury item to necessary business tool, consumers now find themselves spoilt for choice when shopping for the right package. The increase in demand over the last decade has prompted many suppliers to provide ‘business broadband’ – broadband packages tailored specifically to the needs of business, and not residential customers. Packages like this can offer a number of benefits, with the key differences listed below:

Speed
> While 2MB or 4MB speeds are standard for many home packages, business broadband usually offers speeds of around 8MB. Higher speeds are crucial for any business running their own website (particularly those with more graphical content), for keeping in contact with staff or clients via email, sending or receiving large files, and a number of other web-based operations.

Unlimited broadband allowance
> While many broadband packages have a ‘cap’ on broadband download usage, this is often impractical for business use. Common business practices, such as sending and receiving large files (such as Excel or Photoshop documents) can eat away at download limits. For this reason, business broadband will usually have a high or unlimited download usage.

Lower Contention rates:
> A contention rate determines how many people you will be sharing your broadband line with. If your broadband has a contention rate of 50:1 (standard for residential broadband), this means that up to 49 other people can be sharing the line with you.  Business broadband usually has a lower contention ratio – for example XLN’s Premium Business Broadband has a contention ratio of 20:1.

Better Customer Support
> Customer support is of huge importance to any business relying on a broadband connection, which is why most business broadband packages should come with free, 24/7 support. Providers who supply both residential and business broadband will often give priority to business users, and providers like XLN telecom, who provide broadband exclusively businesses, offer 24/7 dedicated support. Some providers will offer Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) with business broadband (more so than with residential) so look out for these when choosing a provider.

Static IP addresses
> Unlike most residential broadband, business broadband packages will provide a static IP address – either for free or very cheaply (£2 a month with XLN). The benefits of having a static IP address for your business connection are numerous; you can run your own email and web servers, access your PC from anywhere, secure access to work or other remote networks, and much more.

Free Security packages
> In order to protect important or sensitive information, businesses need high-quality antivirus software. For this reason, most business broadband should come with a free security package, including anti-virus and spam protection. XLN’s business broadband comes with Antivirus, Anti-spyware, Firewall, Abuse Control, Spam Control, and Online Backup (1GB).

Where to from here?
With so many factors to consider, choosing a business broadband package can seem daunting. Visit the websites of possible providers to obtain the information you need and then weigh up your options. Here is a quick checklist of things to look out for:

• Speed - look for at least 8MB
• Download allowance – look for unlimited or very high
• Contention rate – look for low ratio, at least 1:20
• Customer support – ensure it is 24/7
• Static IP address – ensure you can get one, either for free or cheaply
• Free security package