Business Broadband – Does it support your business?
A recent report has stated that UK workers lose 86 minutes a day due to losing internet connectivity.
Research of 1,000 office workers across multiple industries found that businesses across the UK struggle on a daily basis with poor internet connectivity.
Admittedly this ‘survey’ was done to benefit the company who conducted it and it does have a number of flaws but it does bring up numerous questions and observations.
The first observation is that it reports to lost ‘internet’ and not lost ‘broadband’. The difference here being broadband is the service that allows you to get to the internet. Lost internet could also be down to poor WiFi which has nothing to do with the physical broadband service.
As a company we do sometimes find when diagnosing issues for customers that some people do class WiFi as their broadband connection, for example “my broadband is down” but when we investigate their broadband is up but the user has accidentally unplugged a network cable, turned off the Wi-Fi or they have located their router in a location that restricts the signal.
Any business broadband service must have the purpose of supporting your businesses and helping you achieve your business goals, that includes the physical connection coming in and also the router.
KAT Communications provide a business grade router with all their connections. Whether that be:
- Standard Business Broadband
- Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)
- Fibre to the Premise (FTTP)
But what is the difference between these types of connection? and which one is right for you?
Standard Business Broadband
A standard business connection or ADSL as its sometimes referred runs over a copper line from the exchange, via a street cabinet to your premises. The longer the distance of copper the slower broadband becomes. Top speeds can be up to (but very rarely) 21mbps download but no more than 1mbps upload.
This kind of connection is ok for casual use, or as an emergency back up line but little else.
1 single ADSL circuit could carry 7 concurrent VoIP calls but it would be recommended to have a separate circuit for your computers.
Prices start from £19.99 ex VAT per month including the phone line and is available on a rolling 30 day agreement.
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)
Sometimes referred to as Superfast broadband, this kind of broadband runs on fibre from the exchange to your cabinet, and then copper from the cabinet to your premises. Therefore a shorter distance of copper means higher speeds. Speeds can be achieved of up to 80mbps download and 20mbps upload.
A faster and stable connection, great for small businesses but there is still some reliance on copper. Traditionally when a broadband fault occurs it’s a fault with the copper.
1 single FTTC circuit could carry 40 concurrent VoIP calls and still be ok for computer use and cloud based storage.
Prices start from £34.99 ex VAT per month including the phone line and is available on a rolling 30 day agreement.
Fibre to the Premise (FTTP)
The new industry standard! Currently coverage of the UK is very low but fibre is the basis of the new broadband networks being built and will become the norm within the next 5 years, especially as the copper networks become phased out. A pure full fibre connection and no reliance on copper. Far faster speeds, now up to 1GB download and a massive 115mbps upload.
Fibre is a more stable connection and speeds do not fluctuate as much. Pricing is comparable to FTTC with no need for the copper line. No copper line meaning no worries about the distance from the exchange, the speed you are quoted is the speed you get and no degradation in service when the weather is bad.
1 single FTTP circuit can carry up to 450 concurrent VoIP phone calls and also still be able to be used for computer usage, cloud based storage and HD video conferencing.
Prices start from £35.99 ex VAT per month with a FREE Static IP address and is available on a minimum 12 month agreement through KAT Communications.
Anthony Temperton of KAT Communications says “As with most things the right package for one businesses is not necessarily the right for someone else. Certainly business broadband should be the platform to support your business which is why if you have the option of Full Fibre (FTTP) then take it as this can support so many things such as VoIP, cloud based storage, video conferencing and remote working.”
Anthony added “With Openreach plans, though unrealistic as they are to switch off the copper network in some form from 2025 the future is full fibre and ultrafast. From a providers view point we see far less broadband outages in fibre compared to any other type of broadband. Its stable, its reliable and the speed you pay for is the speed you receive. No hazy estimates based on ideal scenarios.”
There are a multitude of business broadband suppliers too, no longer just Openreach or Virgin. Recent developments in Doncaster is the roll out of Cityfibre’s pure fibre product of which KAT Commuications are proud to be a reseller of.
There is more to business broadband than just which has the fastest speed, though if you feel your broadband isnt performing to the speed it should run a speedtest and let us know the results. We can tell you what speed you should be getting.
KAT Communications use their Knowledge About Telecoms to show businesses how they can get the best from their broadband no matter what the speed is. Other business broadband products are available such as leased lines and 4g solutions and more information is available on our website.
For more information on business broadband contact the KAT team on 01302 260195 or via email on enquiries@79.170.44.128
