The advantages of business broadband for startups

by Startacus Admin

The advantages of business broadband for startups - Chris Marling, editor for the consumer broadband website Broadband Genie explains all...

"Whether you’re starting your business up at home or in an office, you’ll be opening yourself up to the world of business deals – and broadband is no exception. But what do these deals offer; and are they preferable to the domestic deals you’re used to?

At first glance, it can seem not; due to high competition the consumer home broadband market is chock full of bargains and a lot of the domestic unlimited deals are on the face of it hard to beat. However, as is so often the case, a longer look under the hood can lead to some rather different conclusions.

The odds are that pretty much any startup is going to be heavily reliant on broadband. Whether it’s just for email, or if you’re off on a huge social network campaign and downloading masses of complex documents, a working internet connection is likely to be key. Whatever speed you need, or however many lines, it simply needs to work – and this is where the higher level of customer and technical support you’ll get from a business broadband deal can be crucial. The Broadband Genie website has a full extensive guide to business broadband. However, a few advantages to this type of broadband can be found below.

The need for speed

Another key area is broadband speed. While it may not look as if business broadband offers better Mb for your buck, the devil is in the detail. You’re likely to be using the service during office hours when home broadband can go down to a crawl; which could well be because business broadband traffic in your area is being given priority over the domestic (described as it having a better ‘contention ratio’).

Another side of broadband speeds that is often overlooked, but becoming increasingly important for many businesses, is upload speed. The high speeds advertised on all broadband packages are for downloads – you’ll find that upload speed are a fraction of this, particularly on home broadband deals.

Upload speed is used whenever you’re sending data from your computer; so this could be syncing data between machines, uploading content to websites (or the cloud), sending files to clients, video conferencing and VoIP. While many home users can overlook upload speeds to a large extent, it can be a lot harder for a startup to do the same.

Keeping things static

Another business broadband differentiator is often the inclusion of a ‘static’ IP address. The IP address is essentially your computer’s address on the internet; the vast majority of non-business broadband deals will just put you through the nearest spare address, while a static IP address offers several benefits that can be crucial to a new business.

A static IP address means you’ll be able to connect to your computer anywhere in the world; while your wireless security will also be improved. Add to this that you can run your own website, FTP and email servers, plus even CCTV and VPN, and the benefits to a startup on the up and up become clear.

Finally, unified communication companies can offer broadband solutions that expand beyond just your business broadband. These can include basics such as mobiles and landlines right up to cloud services and data networks – with the huge bonus of having all the tech support you need on one number (as well as your bills on one invoice).

So while the benefits may not always be financial, smooth running can be so much more important to your new business – as fewer complications means more time spent on the things that should matter."

Author bio: Chris Marling is an editor for the consumer broadband website Broadband Genie. You can follow us on Twitter: @broadbandgenie

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• #broadband

Published on: 10th April 2013