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When you have a small home business you may not have considered the need for business broadband. It is important that you complete a home and business broadband comparison. There are a number of benefits that you get from business broadband packages; benefits that really do meet home business needs. These benefits cannot be gained with any home broadband package regardless of the speeds and monthly costs.
Why You Should Do a Business Broadband Comparison
When you run a small home based business you may not think about the business implications of using your home broadband. Home broadband has been tailored to the average home user and this usage is generally lower and different to businesses consumption. Business broadband offers a range of benefits that allow you to take your business to the next level. Of course, when you complete a business broadband comparison of providers you need to see who offers business packages in your area.
It is possible that you may not get the business package you need in your area. This is due to the residential status of your area. If you feel that you want to stay with your home broadband package then you have consider the data allowance implications and speeds you are going to get.
Connecting From Home
If you are not running a home based business, but need to connect to your work computer you do not have to change your home broadband package. All you have to do is sign up with a remote access client. These clients offer software that allows you to remotely access your work computer from anywhere on the world. When you access your computer remotely you are able to access all the files stored on it and the programmes you need to work with.
Having a Static IP Address
One of the benefits that you can get with a business broadband package and not a home broadband package is a static IP address. There are two kinds of IP addresses used and they are static and dynamic. The dynamic IP address is the one given to home broadband packages. There are very few packages that allow you to get a static IP address with home broadband. When you use a dynamic IP address you are given a new number each time you log onto the internet. This has been done to limit the number of IP addresses needed and the work the service provider must do.
A static IP address is offered with every business broadband package. There are a number of business packages that offer more than one static IP address when you purchase them. A static IP address is a single address given to the primary computer in the business. This address does not change when you log onto the internet and is set to the single device until you stop paying for it. Having a static IP address can bring a number of benefits that you should consider.
Your Own FTP Server
If you have ever had to send a large file to a client or freelancer then you know that email does not work. All email clients will have a limit on the size an attachment can be. This is for added internet security and there is little you can do about this. Separating the file into multiple smaller files is often not an option which leads you to FTP servers. An FTP or file transfer protocol server allows you to send large files securely. However, many of these services are paid for and you and your client may need to have an account.
When you have a business broadband package you can bypass the use of a third-party FTP server. Through the static IP address you have you can host your on FTP server. This is often more secure and more reliable than the third-party options. You are also seen as having a higher level of professionalism by your clients.
Professional Email Addresses and Websites
Business broadband providers understand that businesses need to have professional emails and websites in order to compete in the marketplace. This is why they offer you a number of email address and web space. This is something you are unable to get with your home broadband. Home broadband users will need to purchase this over and above their broadband costs.
The email addresses that your provider offers will generally come with the domain extension .co.uk unless otherwise stated. The web space they offer will be enough to host your own website. Most business packages also provide you with a domain name of your choosing that relates to your business.
Faster Speeds
The upload and download speeds you have with a business package will be greater than the home package. Of course, many home business owners state that they have fibre optics in their home. While this does offer a faster connection speed to ADSL, which most business packages are, there are other factors to consider.
Only truly unlimited broadband packages offered by certain providers are not subject to traffic management. If you do not have one of these packages then you will suffer slower speeds during peak times. Business broadband packages are not subject to traffic management and if they are they are given priority. The traffic from all businesses during peak times is place before home users. This affects the overall speeds you receive at these times regardless of the type of home broadband you have.
The upload speeds are also greater on business packages. Broadband providers feel that home users do not need fast uploads, but businesses do. The constant flow of information from the business to the rest of the world means that they are uploading more data. Business packages often have up to 2.5mb per second upload speeds which is double what most home broadband users get.
The Customer Support
There are times when your broadband does not seem to be working and there is nothing you can do to fix this. When you contact customer support as a business customer you are given priority service and your problems are handled faster. This is another benefit that you cannot get with home broadband no matter how hard you try.
About the Author: Sam Jones knew that a business broadband comparison would serve him well. He used online services like uSwitch and always made sure that he was getting great value for money.
