The majority of firms will have some form of Internet access. In
most areas of the UK, this will now be in the form of a broadband
connection.
The range of choice of broadband providers is large and bewildering.
Not only that, but anecdotal evidence is bound to suggest that some
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have a poor record, others
better.
Key Points
For business -as opposed to home- use, a broadband connection needs to meet several criteria:
Fixed IP Address:
Probably the most important consideration is that a fixed IP address
must be provided. (or at least, this must be an option) Without a
fixed IP address, the range of facilities which can be provided
in terms of roving-access and remote techsupport will be somewhat
limited.
Connection by Router:
The service must also allow for connection via a router. The type of
service provided by way of a 'USB Modem' is not suitable for business
use. Routers provide a good degree of security, and a distributed
Internet service to several computers. A USB Modem feeds a single
computer, and has no inherent security.
No Portblocks:
The service should not operate any kind of port-blocking that would
prevent, for example, SMTP delivery of email to your own
mailserver. Many home accounts do have this kind of restriction,
so beware.
Other Considerations
Full Speed:
The telephone system will typically support up to 8-Megabit (8Mbps)
download speeds for users close to the exchange, and most
home users are provided with this capability. But- despite this
capability being available, many 'commercial' ISPs still restrict
business users to as little as 0.5 Mbps. This goes-on mainly
because their clients are none-the-wiser. Therefore, look for a
provider who will give you the full speed which your line is capable
of.
Download Quotas:
Almost all ISPs will set some kind of limit on the amount of data you
are allowed to download per month. This is only reasonable, as ISPs are
charged per megabyte by the data-carriers, therefore it would not
make financial sense for them to allow totally unlimited traffic,
whereby a few very heavy users would incur the majority of their
data costs. Here again the important thing is to see
if you're being given a fair deal; a typical small business might need,
say, 5-10GB data per month, so an ISP that sets unreasonably-low limits
will not be a good choice. There are often a number of
payment-schemes available, either a fixed price for a
relatively large allowance, ideal for heavy Internet users,
or a pay-as-you-use agreement for data throughput, which may
be more suitable for light users. An ISP which allows you to
upgrade your account as need arises is obviously preferable to one
which does not.
On this subject, beware of claims for 'Unlimited' service. They
are seldom genuine. Check the small print, as there will almost always
be some form of word-mincing involved, and in fact you can bet that
there will be a limit, even if it's not immediately obvious.
Online Portal:
Where changes to the setup are needed, it is generally far better if
these can be made via an online portal. Those ISPs who have to be
telephoned for every minor change to settings create a huge additional
workload for the engineer, and endless opportunities for verbal
mistakes. Likewise it is preferable if a ticket-system exists for
reporting faults.
After surveying the options, we still recommend Plusnet, as one of the few ISPs meeting these requirements.