North Charleston High-Speed Internet Access

Accessing High Speed Internet in North Charleston, South Carolina: Gigabit Internet, Company Broadband and Metro Ethernet Access

In today’s world, North Charleston, South Carolina companies need dependable Internet access. It is the lifeblood of their business. All companies rely on reliable and quick access to The net. This is true no matter how large or small the company.

We will, in the months and years ahead, become more and more reliant on our Internet access.

From video conferencing to voice over IP, email to data sharing and data archiving to Internet commerce, the net is everywhere you look. What can best meet your needs? Is a cable modem sufficient? Metro Ethernet? Gigabit Internet may satisfy your needs. Your North Charleston, South Carolina organization probably needs a 5 Meg Internet circuit, 10 Meg access to The Internet, a 50 Meg circuit, or a 100 Meg Internet access point but which one is best?

Access to the net: Determining Your Business’s Needs

You must, before selecting a service, assess the actual needs of your organization. Why will you need the internet? Will you only be web surfing and emailing? Will real-time data connection with servers in the cloud be the primary use of the web? Perhaps you, in North Charleston, are hosting the data and remote sites rely upon this.

How would an outage to your high-speed Internet affect your company? What about the downtime that results? Can your business afford that? Is your success reliant on uptime? Ask yourself these questions before making any purchases. The answers will help you determine what is right for you.

Evaluating Different High-Speed Internet Solutions in North Charleston, South Carolina

It is no secret that all companies need high-speed access to the web. Before you choose your broadband internet, look at the costs and benefits. Performing this analysis is an important step in picking the right one for your business. While you are likely to hear some service providers toss around terms such as:

• High-speed access to The Internet service
• Provider of Internet for Businesses
• broadband cable modems
• Metro Ethernet service provider
• GbE or Gigabit Ethernet
• Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)
• Point-to-point circuit protocol
• Internet access circuits-five megabyte
• Ten megabyte Internet access
• Internet access-50 Meg
• 100 Meg Internet access circuits
• sip trunking / sip trunks
• Internet access dedicated to you and only you
• … plus others

… do not lose sight of the real issues: what are the capabilities and technical solutions you need to best serve your company?

Business access to The web for Web Surfing

At any company in North Charleston, South Carolina some employees, if not all employees, need some type of access to the net if they are to properly perform their job duties. There are countless reasons to need access to the web. Perhaps it is to order materials, to conduct business research or communicate with clients.

The number of workers you employ, may be the most important factor in your decision making process. If you have a smaller workforce, you may do fine with a smaller Internet circuit. For example, if you only employ a handful of people, a 5 or 10 Meg circuit may meet your needs. If you have more than that, you may need more.

Your workforce may simply use an intranet system with limited video and graphics. If this is true, your need for high speed Internet be less than you thought. If your organization functions demand the downloading of documents and images or videos on a regular basis, speed becomes a must more important issue.

Does your organization regularly conduct backups? If you are doing remote backups from every desk, which is advisable, you will need to be able to support simultaneous connections out to the web to synchronize your backup data.

Do you use a file sharing service like Google drive or DropBox? The saved files go to the cloud and are then synchronized or “shared” with other people’s computers. Supporting file sharing, while supporting every other service, requires sufficient bandwidth.

Your company location may cause you to think about high-speed organization Internet access such as Metro Ethernet and/or gigabit Internet. They are commonly found in “lit buildings” in North Charleston, South Carolina that have already been wired by a carrier. You may be surprised by how easy and affordable it is to add high-speed Internet to your organization.

While it may be the case that bringing Metro Ethernet into a new building can cause a big dent in your wallet, bringing the connection to a suite or offices within that building does not have to. You can actually get high-speed access with gigabit Internet or even Metro Ethernet quickly. It often takes only 30 days or less, depending on availability.

Maximize Internet-based Applications With High-Speed Internet Access

Does your company host its own servers? Does your company use the hosted servers to run data feeds, APIs or websites for offices or businesses located elsewhere? Are your organization headquarters with a hosted application connected to fifty or more satellite offices? Are you hosting the point of sale (POS) system for 15, 000 retail chain stores? Are you a legal practice hosting the data for three sites?

Access to data and programs by people outside of your main location becomes necessary when you host information centrally. Those people are not able to work without a solid Internet connection. Make sure that when you choose your intranet solution it is reliable enough to support your need for multiple and simultaneous connections for many different places.

If you have one office using the web, you may get by with a cable modem or a low- cost 10-megabyte circuit. Company headquarters should have high-speed access to The web such as gigabit Ethernet, Metro Ethernet or some other high-speed dedicated circuit. High-speed alone is not enough. They must also need to be capable of supporting many diverse connections. A cable modem would likely be insufficient.

Shared Cable Circuits V. Dedicated Internet Bandwidth in North Charleston, South Carolina

There is a price that comes along with choosing a cable modem or other lower cost circuit. Oftentimes, a lower monthly rate comes with the realization that you are sharing bandwidth with many different tenants and offices. It is possible that you have a cable modem with a 30 Meg connection but cannot reach proper speeds during peak hours. Cable operators differ but many have prescribed limits on the bandwidth amount that they can deliver within a set community. That amount of bandwidth must be shared with different buildings and with the tenants housed within. While you may be capped at a 30 Meg speed, you may never be able to reach that speed during organization hours. Do you care if you only get 6 when you were set up to expect 30?

Some providers offer customers dedicated and guaranteed bandwidth. In this situation, your bandwidth is not shared but is fully allocated to your company. The presence of numerous buildings and tenants should have no effect on your speed. You should receive full capacity of your circuits no matter what the time of day.

With Metro Ethernet, for example, you can receive a guaranteed bandwidth in various increments including 5 and 10 Meg circuits, and 50 and 100 Meg circuits. You can reach gigabit speeds with gigabit Internet providers.

The providers in this situation deliver high-speed to a particular building in sufficient quantity to split their circuit among various tenants. Of course, they must ensure that they each get the specific amount of their contracted speed.

North Charleston High Speed Business Internet Circuits: Redundancy

Realistically, while some carriers in North Charleston offer excellent Internet bandwidth products, it is possible for a circuit to go down. The question then becomes, “how do I minimize my chance of an outage? ”

The answer is redundant circuits.

There are, in essence, two types of redundancy.

A single carrier, providing multiple circuits, to one customer, characterizes one form of redundancy. When there are problems with a physical line or a port or other failures, it can be helpful to have redundant circuits. Even multiple circuits can fail, such as in the event of a large-scale carrier outage or when there damage to an external line. You get some protection, but also some risk.

The second way to set up circuit redundancy is by using two different carriers to bring in your circuits. Using advanced routers and IP address allocations, you can bind these connections together so that, to your users and to the public, it appears and behaves as a single circuit. In fact, they are totally redundant and separate. This redundancy, referred to as diversity redundancy, offers much greater protection. When one carrier has a problem like an outage or some other failure, you have another one that works.

When considering redundant circuits and providers, try to be sure that the providers you look at in North Charleston, South Carolina have different physical geographic routes or pathways. Doing so will maximize redundancy. This means that you should try to have the circuits come into you building from different sides. Ideally, the circuits will be going in different directions and toward various central company spaces or data centers. In this way you have redundancy in different physical directions. If there is an event that causes a regional circuit problem, you have an alternative that is unaffected.

Not Having Organization Class High Speed-Internet Access Protection May Cost You

Although Internet access comes at a price, the price of unreliable access to The Internet is tremendous. Please think about the following scenarios:

Your organization relies on VoIP for its telephone service

You are on a cable modem with the carrier providing circuits to 14 other tenants in your building. During your working day, those tenants could be conducting massive downloads of information, processing a large amount of calls or streaming endless video. What will happen to your telephone calls as the amount of usable bandwidth decreases? How will the quality of that phone call be affected? Will calls be arbitrarily dropped? Will they be full of static?

Is your organization the central data location for multiple offices?

Your office is the center of your company. You may be a law firm that does file sharing or a retailer operating a POS system. All of your locations, whether 2 or 2000, depend on your primary Internet connection to access and retrieve data. How will you be affected if your circuit goes down? Is it simply an irritation or a catastrophe? Can meaningful work be conducted at your remote offices? Process new orders? Share essential information with anyone? Make sure you completely understand your needs before you pick a solution. You have a software company, and are running a hosted solution for dozens, maybe hundreds, of customers. Is an API utilized in your business so that your customers can access and talk to your system? What if these other systems have difficulty connecting your servers? How long will your customers tolerate repeated outages?

You have a large call center that is completely reliant on voice over Internet protocol

Is the web integral to the proper function of your business? Do you count on it entirely? Should your circuits go down, your representatives cannot make outbound calls. Your representatives would also be unable to answer calls. You are now, essentially, out of organization. While most reputable call centers are already aware and using redundancy, is it enough? Are your current carriers as dependable as you would like? Do you consistently get quality service that provides clear and reliable calls?

Choosing the Right North Charleston, South Carolina High-Speed Business Access Circuits for Your Company

Obviously, there are a variety of choices. Your company needs and budgets will drive your decisions. To recap:

Internet Access Needs for Small Organization

If you are a small organization, with one location and you do not worry about redundancy, one five meg, ten meg, or fifty meg Internet access circuit may very well be enough to meet your needs. Gigabit service and Metro Ethernet options seem expensive. If you are in a lit building, however, they can be less than you think. Look into it. Prices vary based on your location and availability of circuits; speak with our engineers to find your best option.

Single Location Mid-Sized Company and Internet Access

If you have a midsized business in North Charleston, you will need higher-speed Internet access. Your choices include: Metro Ethernet, gigabit Internet or other high-speed circuits. Multiple circuits utilizing multiple providers would, ideally, provide you with maximum redundancy. You may be able to achieve this in a manner that will not break the bank. Two smaller circuits may be cheaper than one. For instance, you may use two 50 meg circuits instead of a single 100 meg circuit. Do not forget that you will find variations in price and availability. Your specific location will determine what options you have. Please speak with one of our experts to find out what those are and how we can meet your needs.

Internet Access for Mid-Sized Businesses with Several Locations

Businesses with many places face the greatest risk for failure. Redundancy is extremely vital to them. Different providers are desirable. Also, redundant equipment such as switches and routers in your facility can minimize the risk of downtime. Here also, examine the Ethernet access services, gigabit Internet and Metro Ethernet providers. Take a careful look at other high-speed access to The Internet circuit providers before choosing the right one. The correct combination of providers and services can keep your organization running smoothly and efficiently.

Clients who provide services delivered via Internet, large corporate and enterprise clientele

If you fall into this group, you must have Metro Ethernet, gigabit Internet circuits and point-to-point High-speed Internet circuits. Redundant hardware and redundant circuits will, for these businesses, ensure the greatest uptime. Be sure the circuits are from different providers. Having plenty of bandwidth will help avoid interruptions or decreased speed that sometimes occurs during spikes in usage. It is crucial that not only your circuits have the ability to support a vast number of multiple and simultaneous connects, but your hardware must have the ability to support them as well.

You Can Get a Free Internet Need and Demand Analysis

There is great risk of failing circuits or insufficient bandwidth. The circuit or circuits you have must stay within the parameters of your budget while still meeting your business needs. Selecting the appropriate mix of circuits and hardware can overwhelm you.

We have engineers that will analyze your needs, look at your business requirements and develop an action plan for you… for free!We are going to examine your current usage and demand levels then create a design that provides you with the resources you need to keep your business running smoothly at a reasonable cost.

Please click here to complete the contact form on the right side of this page or call our office to schedule an appointment for an assessment. It can take less than 48 hours to complete your assessment.