Basic Internet Connection Information for Businesses in
the UK
There are several options available for your Internet connection.
They differ in speed and price, but, depending on how much
you use the Internet, you may well find some of the faster
options will work out cheaper for you.
We offer all the following internet connection methods :
Telephone & Modem
This is the option used by most UK home users, but it is
seldom suitable for any but the smallest businesses. If you
have only one or two potential Internet users, and they will
only be using it very occasionally, then it could be right
for you.
You are charged the normal rates for your telephone calls,
and for the time spent online. You can take advantage of some
of BT's schemes such as Surftime(TM) to limit your costs to
around £40 per month at current prices. Be warned, though:
usually only one user can connect at a time, and it is s...l...o...w...,
especially at peak times.
ISDN
As with normal telephone connection, ISDN is a dial-on-demand
service, and you are charged for each call, and for how long
you spend online.
Remember that it will have to connect each time someone sends
an e-mail, for example, so that could be a lot of connections
each day. It has the advantage of being around three times
faster than a normal telephone connection, and the disadvantage
of being somewhat pricey.
It does, however, allow several users to connect simultaneously,
depending upon how many 'channels' you choose to purchase,
which is a big advantage in an office with several potential
users. Typical costs are in the range of a few hundred pounds
per quarter though, and because of this, most businesses would
be better off with ADSL.
ADSL
ADSL offers a permanent connection to the Internet. There
is no dialling up each time someone wants to connect, so the
charges are fixed and therefore predictable.
ADSL is also as fast or faster than ISDN, the speed depending
on how much you want to spend. A faster service is beneficial
if you have many users trying to use the Internet simultaneously.
The fastest ADSL connections are up to 40 times faster than
a conventional modem.
|
Service
|
Speed
Downstream
|
Speed
Upstream
|
Monthly
|
Annual
|
Installation
|
|
ADSL 512k
|
512 Kb
|
256Kb
|
£115
|
£1380
|
£275
|
|
ADSL 1M
|
1Mb
|
256Kb
|
£165
|
£1980
|
£275
|
|
ADSL 2M
|
2Mb
|
256Kb
|
£210
|
£2520
|
£275
|
Leased Line
These are permanently connected communications links, dedicated
to your company's exclusive use. If your Internet connection
is very busy, or you would like permanent telephone connections
between different offices (making the other offices' telephones
act as if they were local telephone extensions), you might
think about having a leased-line connection. This provides
relatively secure, point-to-point connections between your
offices and the Internet, dedicated solely for the use of
your company. If the connections are business-critical, ISDN
backup can be made available for use in the event of system
failures. However, leased-line connections are considered
to be the most reliable of all telecommunications links.
Virtually every major corporation in the world has leased-line
connections or their local equivalent. The cost is approximately
proportional to the speed you require (technically, the 'bandwidth')
and, if you are connecting offices together, the distance
between them. Leased lines usually work out to be cost-effective
if you are connected to the same sites for long periods, say
5-6 hours a day or more, for data transfer or because your
staff need to be on the phone to other sites for long periods
of time, or just very frequently.
|
Leased Line 64 Kbps
|
(pcm) 200
|
|
Leased Line 128 Kbps
|
(pcm) 350
|
|
Leased Line 256 Kbps
|
(pcm) 525
|
|
Leased Line 512 Kbps
|
(pcm) 625
|
|
Leased Line 1Mbps
|
(pcm) 750
|
|
Leased Line 2Mbp
|
(pcm) 850
|
|
