BUSINESS ADSL

Key Differences Between Business ADSL and Consumer Grade

Lower Congestion and Contention Ratio

One of the main reasons for consumer grade ADSL being cheaper is that residential services are shared between more users than business connections (contention ratio). That effects the overall quality, especially the speed which is prone to greater fluctuations. As a general rule, consumer ADSL services are shared by around 3x more users than business ADSL.

Static IP Address

Static IP addresses are a necessary part of a business IT network. As opposed to a dynamic IP address, a static address doesn't change each time you access the ADSL service. It's dedicated to your business and can be programmed into any of the business applications you use. Consumer grade ADSL connections do not come with static IP addresses.

Technical Support and Service Level Agreements

Business ADSL services are backed by a 24/7 technical support team which specialises in business connections. It's based in Australia and the operators are trained to understand business requirements. The services are also backed by written SLA (service level agreements) covering installation lead times, service restoration and availability.

Typical Business Use of ADSL Services

Small Businesses and SOHOs

Used by small businesses with general internet needs and ones that don't require high upload speeds. One of the main draw backs of ADSL is the low upload speed which effects the way businesses are able to use cloud based applications. Fast upload speeds are necessary for efficient and productive use of business apps like Office 365, One Drive, Drop Box, and a host of others.

Dedicated Broadband Service for IP Telephony

Ideal as a dedicated broadband service for Business VoIP and Hosted PBX systems with up to 6 call lines. 80 to 100kpbs in both upload and download speeds are allocated to each call line.

Emergency Back Up Service

Emergency back up service to business fibre and fixed wireless broadband. The service is an ideal contingency measure in case the main service goes down.

Dedicated Broadband Service for Cloud Based Applications

Often used as a dedicated broadband service for specific business applications such as point of sale and accounting software.

Quick Guide - ADSL

ADSL has been by far the most widely used business broadband service. Its still very much in demand as businesses wait for the NBN to be rolled out in their area.

What Is ADSL?

ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) is a form of broadband connection that uses the existing copper telephone lines to deliver an internet service.
The term asymmetric refers to the upload and download speeds, which are different. Download speeds are faster than upload speeds. Business grade services are of higher quality because of lower congestion and higher average speeds.

Difference Between ADSL, ADSL2 and ADSL2+

The difference between the three types of ADSL services are the maximum speeds able to be achieved.
ADSL achieves a maximum download speed of 8Mbps, ADSL2 a maximum of 12Mbps, and ADSL2+ a maximum of 20Mbps.

What Determines the Actual Speed of the ADSL Connection?

ADSL2+ up to speeds are the maximum speeds able to be achieved by the technology. Actual speeds are lower than that and depend on a number of key factors.

• Distance of your premises from the local exchange. The greater the distance, the lower the speed.
• The quality of the copper lines, both between the premises and the local exchange, and within the actual premises.
• The quality of your equipment including the modem/router.

What Is a Static IP Address and Why Do I need One?

An IP address is a unique identifier of the location of the computer hardware that is accessing a network or the internet. A static IP address is a dedicated IP address that is assigned to a broadband connection. As a general rule, only business grade services are allocated a dedicated IP address. Static IP Addresses are necessary when running a business IT network and for a variety of cloud based services.

Is ADSL Suitable for IP Telephony?

Business VoIP and Hosted PBX can be used with business ADSL as long as allowance is made for the number of concurrent phone calls, and a suitable router is used. Business grade IP telephony requires an allocation of 100kpbs of bandwidth in both directions i.e. upload and download. With download speed generally not being an issue, an average ADSL service delivers around 600kpbs in upload bandwidth. Which means that without using the service for anything else, it will only be capable of supporting up to 6 concurrent phone calls. Taking that into account, the service can be shared with general internet usage by using a router with QoS settings where voice traffic is prioritised.