Connectivity Services
There are a number of connectivity solutions available to businesses, but which is the right one for your business?
For single site businesses you may just need to increase the speed or reliability of your internet connection, for multi sited organisations you may want to link your sites or improve the current links between your offices.
Business Boxed provide impartial advice to businesses looking to improve or streamline their communication links, we have extensive knowledge in networking and communication technology and help you to make the right decisions for your business.
With so many types of connectivity solutions available it can be confusing, Business Boxed are here to help you understand the differences between them.
Connectivity Options Explained
Business Broadband (ADSL)
The common name for Broadband is ADSL or Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line, being Asynchronous means that download speed is greater than the upload speed. Broadband works over a traditional copper telephone line, Broadband can offer excellent internet speeds but like all copper technology the performance is dependent upon your distance from the local telephone exchange, additionally speed will be dependent upon the contention of your broadband service, contention arises when the providers equipment in the telephone exchange is shared with multiple customers, if every customer is online at the same time this is where you experience slower broadband speeds. Although Broadband is a good and cheap option, the downside is that you rarely get an SLA if something goes wrong, this often leaves businesses unable to connect for long periods of time with no financial compensation from the provider.
Business Broadband (SDSL)
Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line or SDSL works in a similar way to ADSL, however the difference is that the downstream speed is the same as the upstream speed. SDSL is less common as it is considered an old technology and there are better alternatives available such as Bonded ADSL.
Bonded ADSL
This is where the provider delivers multiple ADSL lines onto a single router, the router then load balances the data that passes through it to provide a greater overall broadband speed. It is possible to have multiple Broadband lines through multiple providers, this not only provides greater speeds but also gives you some resilience should one providers network go down.
Fibre DSL
Most providers now offer a Fibre based DSL service such as BT Infinity or Virgin Media. This can provide speeds of up to 150MB, more than enough for any business. However, being a DSL technology the speed you receive is still subject to contention and the distance from your local telephone exchange.
Leased Line
Leased Lines are traditionally a dedicated private circuit between two locations, Leased Lines can be used to connect two offices together or more commonly to connect an office to the internet at huge speeds. As the line is dedicated there is no contention, they are usually also delivered over Fibre technology so can provide speeds of up to 1GB. Leased Lines are premium services and are covered under an SLA.
EFM
Ethernet First Mile or EFM is a relatively new technology that sits between Broadband and Leased Line. It can deliver fast guaranteed speeds but like DSL is dependent upon distance from your local telephone exchange. EFM does usually give you an SLA so should something go wrong you have a guaranteed timescale for the provider to fix the problem.
MPLS
MPLS is based upon Leased Line technology, but instead of connecting two locations together MPLS can connect multiple sites together on a single secure and managed network.
