Talking Broadband for Business

The Internet is key to so many aspects of business nowadays, but with some providers it is not always clear what you are getting. Below are some of the key areas we get asked about, to help you understand broadband for your business.

‘Up to’ speed vs actual speed- while many providers state an ‘up to’ speed, you are very unlikely to achieve this, even if you are close to the exchange. Factors affecting the speed you ultimately get include; the capacity of your local exchange, the line length from your premises to the exchange and the quality of the copper in the line (unless of course you are receiving fibre). Speed tests can be run to give you a more accurate expected speed for your site.

Loss of speed- do you notice your broadband speed varying throughout the day? It may be that your current provider isn’t supplying you with business grade broadband. Business grade broadband is more robust and more resilient and is especially worthwhile if you work outside of standard office hours, such as evenings and weekends, when general traffic is likely to be higher.

Fibre broadband vs traditional broadband Fibre broadband is the latest revolution to the internet market. With faster download speeds and upload speeds, it allows you to get even more from your broadband service. Unlike traditional broadband, which uses copper wiring, fibre broadband uses fibre optic cabling which means faster broadband with less signal degradation.

Can I get fibre? – To receive fibre broadband your site will need to be connected to an upgraded cabinet within an upgraded exchange area. Sites positioned too far from an upgraded cabinet as well as sites directly connected to the exchange will not be able to receive fibre broadband.

To find out if you are in a fibre enabled area, or to get more information on any of our products and services, please contact the office on 0844 848 2300 or by filling in our email contact form here.

Office inaccessible? With Disaster Recovery, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Did you know that 80% of businesses affected by some kind of disaster either never recover or close within 18 months of reopening?

Or that the average time it takes for a business to get back up and running after a disaster is 9.4 days?

Statistics like these are the reason Disaster Recovery is something all businesses should think about.

With Deep Blue’s InBound service, disaster recovery measures can be put into place quickly and at no extra cost. They can be set up in advanced and because they are controlled through an online dashboard, you can manage them from anywhere with an internet connection.

With the Automatic Failover features, you can put measures in place so that if there is a problem with the normal line, such as a fault, outage or damage, the system will automatically divert to your specified failover, such as a mobile or alternative landline.

You can also set up invoked plans so that if your office is rendered inaccessible, such as by heavy snow, roadworks or strike action, you can have your calls routed to another site at the click of a button.

Customers with InBound- Contact Pro also have the option of setting up a staff emergency number, which can be used to inform staff of the effects of any disaster. If your area is affected by something such as flooding or heavy snow, you can set up a recorded message on the emergency line which staff can then listen to, to find out if your site is open before making the journey there. This is also a useful tool for schools who can set the number up for parents to ring.

Disaster Recovery measures allow you to prepare for many of the obstacles that can hinder the running of your business. Floods and heavy snow are now common features of winter and cost businesses millions of pounds every year, severe roadworks and strike action which impede staff getting to your site can bring your business to a standstill. But with the features of InBound, you are always prepared.

Disaster recovery measures can be managed from My InBound. Simply log in, click the ‘Point my number’ tab and select ‘Manage my DR’ (bottom right of the window).

If you are a current InBound customer and have any questions you can call us on 0844 848 2300 or fill in our email contact form.

If you don’t currently have InBound and are interested in learning more you can download our email pdf brochure here . You can also contact us by calling 0844 848 2300 or completing our online contact form.

Broadband Latest

Deep Blue is happy to announce that all our broadband customers are now receiving more for their money.  If you regularly exceeded your download allowance, you will be pleased to know that the monthly allowances have now been doubled with no extra charge.

Exchanges in our area are also gearing up for BT’s next generation telephone network which will vastly increase the speed of your connection. Depending on your area, you could have up to 20Mbps download speed, again for no extra cost. Watch out for the letters which are being sent in advance of your upgrade.