Citing feedback from businesses that have connected to the NBN, the spokesperson says improved productivity and the ability to telework are two of the major benefits of an NBN connection.
“For example, staff are able to telecommute from literally any location – home, office and even on the road. They are able to access their files, customer details via the cloud and answer customer queries in real time.
“No longer do staff have to permanently live and work in one place. This in turn helps improve the customer experience and potentially their willingness for repeat business.”
The spokesperson also cites the consistency of service delivery as another key benefit of an NBN connection.
“For example, businesses that are dependent on a particular connection speed can be confident of its reliability on the NBN because fibre is not entirely dependent on the business’s proximity to the exchange. Note: service speeds are dependent on the package purchased from the service provider – not the NBN, which is the wholesaler.”
Knight says an NBN connection can offer a number of productivity benefits to small businesses.
“The NBN is deploying fibre optic cable in metropolitan and urban areas, which gives a much better quality and faster broadband service for comparable prices. iiNet already has more than 25,000 customers using the NBN for access.
“It’s also important for businesses to recognise that the cheapest price may not deliver the best value in the long run, especially if it’s a residential-grade service.”
According to Knight, in areas served by the NBN, iiNet offers a range of plans with speeds ranging from 25Mbps for downloads and 10Mbps up, to 100Mbps downloads and 40Mbps up, with a starting price of $79.95 per month.
The carrier also includes business-grade technical support and a telephone service, including all local and national calls, as part of the connection.
It can also provide secure network connection (known as a “virtual private network”) between two or more different business locations, such as between a central office and a suburban store, or between an office and the home of a teleworking employee.
Outside NBN areas, most small businesses will opt for an ADSL broadband connection. ADSL relies on the traditional copper phone network to provide the final mile link to your exchange, rather than allowing you to connect directly to fibre optic cable.
ADSL2 has a maximum speed of 24 Mbps, or roughly a quarter of the speed currently available on the NBN.
As Knight explains, the speeds you get with ADSL connections are affected by a range of factors, including the distance between your workplace and your local telephone exchange.
“ADSL broadband services provide the most cost-effective Internet access for the small business outside NBN coverage areas.
“While businesses have relied on ADSL-based broadband services delivered via copper telephone lines for the past 14 years, the performance of these services depends on your distance from the telephone exchange and the quality of the copper line.”
It is also worth noting that the ADSL packages you’ll be able to receive from some providers will depend on the equipment installed at your local phone exchange.
Some phone exchanges will have ADSL equipment installed from a range of carriers, while in other areas all the carriers resell services off Telstra’s equipment. Some providers will offer higher download allowances or lower prices if they have equipment installed at your local exchange, so it’s worth asking about this when you organise your order.
For businesses stuck in an ADSL area, Irving says Telstra offers small business bundles that can be upgraded from an ADSL service to an NBN one as the network is rolled out.
“A superb option for most small businesses is Telstra’s DOT (Digital Office Technology) bundle. DOT integrates a small business’s needs in one package including fixed lines, mobiles and broadband.
“It has some powerful features, such as simultaneous ring across fixed and mobile phones (you never need miss a call from a customer!).
“It also means that you get one account, one bill and one point of contact. DOT is also NBN-ready, so when the NBN arrives in your area you can be quickly back up and working.”
Both carriers recommend that small business customers talk through the options with their preferred internet provider before choosing a broadband internet product.
Irving advises Telstra’s small business customers to visit one of the company’s 90 dedicated Telstra Business Centres across Australia.
“Small businesses need to take the time to talk to their technology provider about the range of options available to them that will ensure they can operate efficiently, regardless of whether they are at their desk, or on the road.”
The sentiment is echoed by Knight, who also encourages customers to discuss their options before deciding to connect.
“As each business has different needs and operates in different environments, iiNet encourages you to contact one of our experienced business consultants to discuss your business, so we will work with you to identify the optimal usage plan.”
Next week, we’ll examine the options available to small businesses when connecting a new phone service, while in part three, we will examine whether it’s viable for your business to go mobile only.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
