Explore your Internet connectivity options for your growing business

by Deb Shinder | Jan 23, 2006 8:00:00 AM

Tags: Network technology, Broadband Internet, Digital Subscriber Line service, Deb Shinder, DSL, Internet, satellite, cable, SMB Strategies Newsletter

Takeaway: Small businesses today have a variety of Internet connectivity solutions available to them at lower costs than ever before – but having many options can make the decision-making process harder, especially when you have to consider your future needs as well as your present ones.

A connection to the Internet has become a "must" for even the smallest business networks, and no wonder. The ability to communicate with customers, vendors, partners and others via e-mail, to research industry-specific, legal, and general business issues via the Web, newsgroups and discussion lists, and the ability to advertise your business through a Web presence can be important factors in a company's success. Many take it further and actually conduct sales over the 'Net. And more and more people are saving big bucks on long distance calls by using Voice over IP (VoIP) instead of the phone company.

But if your business is still small, you may not be able to afford hundreds or thousands of dollars per month for a dedicated leased line and you may not be ready to hire a full time Web developer or additional IT personnel to manage your Internet assets. That doesn't mean you can't still take advantage of all the Internet has to offer. It just means you need to weigh your options and think ahead, to develop an Internet connectivity strategy that can grow and adapt to your needs.

More connectivity options than ever

The good news is that small businesses have more Internet connectivity options available now than ever before, and in many cases those that have been around for a while have come down drastically in price. Depending on where your office is located, you may be able to consider some or all of the following:

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line service is being offered in more and more markets as phone companies upgrade their equipment and install the necessary devices at their Central Offices. Consumer-grade Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) lines, with download speeds anywhere from 256Kbps up to 6Mbps or more, are relatively inexpensive (averaging $19.95 to $89.95 per month). Unfortunately for businesses, upstream speeds are usually considerably slower. However, business-level DSL services, including Symmetric DSL (SDSL) lines that provide the same speed up and down, are available in some markets. They generally cost more but not nearly as much as traditional business solutions such as dedicated leased lines.

Cable

Once upon a time, cable Internet was considered to be for home use only. Just a few years ago, this variety of broadband was usually slower (maxing out at around 512Kbps) and less reliable than other Internet options, and cable company terms-of-service agreements generally prohibited running servers and throttled upstream bandwidth to force compliance. Now major cable companies provide consumer-level service that's as fast as or faster than the highest grades of DSL and many are offering business-grade services that allow you to host Internet-accessible servers and provide a higher standard of reliability and support. Costs can range from $19.95 to around $200 per month.

Satellite

If your company is in an area that isn't served by DSL or cable, you may be able to get broadband speeds via satellite Internet. In its first incarnations, satellite service was one-way only; downloads came via the satellite link but upstream communications required a phone line. Speeds were nothing to write home about, either. That's changed now, and companies such as DirecWay (which offers DirecTV) have satellite Internet plans available for both home and professional users with download speeds up to 1 Mbps. Upstream speeds are still low (200 Mbps) and latency issues that are inherent to satellite-based communications make this unsuitable for some applications. Prices are a little higher than DSL and cable, but still well under $100 per month, although upfront equipment and installation fees are much higher (average $600). There are also commercial satellite services such as Skycasters that can provide higher speeds at considerably higher monthly rates (up to $5000/month for 2.04 Mbps both up and down).

Dedicated leased lines

T-carrier (T-1 and T-3) lines were, not so long ago, the only choice for high speed business-level access in many areas. They're still popular, despite their relatively high prices, because of their rock solid reliability and committed information rate (CIR), which means the speed you pay for is the speed you get. A T-1 line provides 1.5Mbps up and down, and prices have come down drastically over the last ten years due to competition from DSL, cable and other broadband providers. In 1995, the typical T-1 line was $2,000 per month or more. Today in many locations you can get a T-1 for as low as $300 per month -- still pricey, but affordable for most businesses. Because of its guaranteed uptime, T-1 is great for hosting servers that must be available and for other mission-critical applications. Equipment costs have also come down; T-1 routers can now be had for a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand.

Fixed wireless

In some areas, you may have the option of long range wireless connectivity. Some communities have wireless transceivers mounted on water towers or public buildings and Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) offer throughput from 128Kbps to 1.5Mbps or more. First generation technologies required line of sight but newer variations don't. Consumer-grade services are priced similarly to DSL. Wi-max is a new long distance wireless technology for which standards are currently being developed; it is expected to make wireless a more popular and widespread Internet connectivity option.

Broadband over power lines (BPL)

Not yet widely available, Internet connectivity over the power lines is being tested in several markets by various electric companies. Since the infrastructure is already in place, this could potentially be a low-cost alternative, especially in out of the way areas where there aren't enough potential customers to justify laying cable lines or upgrading phone company equipment to support DSL. The biggest hurdle is overcoming technical problems such as interference with other communications signals.

ISDN

For small companies that need more speed and reliability than dialup, can't afford a dedicated leased line and don't have the options of DSL, cable, satellite or wireless in their locations, phone companies still offer Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines that can provide 144Kbps on a basic rate interface or 1.5Mbps on a primary rate interface with similar reliability to a dedicated leased line.

What's the most scalable choice?

If you're lucky enough to have several options available and you're trying to decide on a low-cost broadband solution for your small business, don't forget to ask about scalability. If your cable company doesn't offer a business-level service plan and your DSL provider does, you may be better off going with the latter even if it costs a little more.

Another scalability issue is the contract. Will the company allow you to upgrade to a higher speed plan or one that allows more throughput per month if your business grows, or are you locked into a one-year or two-year agreement? If you want to upgrade your T-1 line to a T-3 on down the road, does your low-cost T-1 provider offer that service or will you have to go to someone else? How about equipment costs? Do you have to buy the hardware or will you be renting it from the provider? If you upgrade to a higher service level, will the equipment support it or will you have to buy new hardware?

Making your selection

The choice that's right for you is going to depend on your circumstances, what you want to do with your Internet connection (for instance, if you won't be hosting servers, you probably don't need to pay for high upstream speeds), and the market in your area (in some parts of the country, cable service goes down often while DSL is more reliable; in other parts, the opposite is true). But be sure that when you weigh the pros and cons of each connectivity option, you think about the future in addition to what's fastest or least expensive today.

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