Business Broadband Services

While Residential broadband consumers are primarily concerned about the price and value of the broadband service, business broadband customers have several more considerations which determine their decision to go with a specific broadband service provider. Some of these considerations for Business Broadband services are listed below:

Static and Dynamic IP addresses

In case of a dynamic IP address, you get assigned a different IP address each time you log on to the network. When you log off, you lose that IP address which may then be assigned to another user. On the other hand, with static IP address you get a fixed IP address assigned to you.

When you have a fixed IP address, you will be able to use your computer as an internet server and other computers will be able to find you. You will also be able to login to your file and mail servers from anywhere with internet access and thus have remote access to local area network or virtual private network facilities.

Therefore depending upon your business requirements you will need to check with your ISP if they will give you the option of Static IP. Having a Static IP, however, requires additional security measures such as firewalls.

However, having a permanent connection (by giving other Web servers the ability to locate you) will pose a greater security risk, so you will need to put security measures in place, such as firewalls.

Broadband sharing across multiple PCs

When you get broadband service, you can share the broadband access with multiple computers in your home or office. You can either implement line sharing or a local area network. In case of line sharing, you need to have additional outlets installed for each computer.

To set up a LAN on the broadband service, you can use a router. A router has multiple ports and connected users can share files, peripherals, printers and more with everyone else on the network. By connecting a broadband modem (cable, DSL or other), they can share a single high speed Internet connection. That's everyone online, all at the same time.

An alternative to using routers is to use a proxy server. A proxy server is a program that runs on the computer directly connected to the internet modem. Proxy server acts as an intermediary between computers on the LAN and computer on the Internet. Proxy servers often have a cache built in to make web surfing faster. Computers on the LAN request data from the proxy server to access the internet. Because a proxy server does all of the data requesting, each PC must be configured to make all internet requests from the proxy server - not the internet. Configuring a proxy server for more than basic web, ftp, news and mail functionality can be challenging for a beginner.. In addition to proxy software, you will need a network card and cable for each computer as well as a network hub.

Back-up Access

In case the broadband service from the ISP is down then you need to have a back-up option from the Broadband ISP. Many Broadband providers offer backup dialup access as a part of their broadband service package.

Security

Since broadband connections are always-on, the broadband users are constantly exposed to online security risks. Therefore online security tools and features are very important for broadband users. Most broadband providers include firewalls and antivirus protection in their packages.