The Internet in Tuscaloosa: High-Speed Access

High Speed access to The Internet in Tuscaloosa: Organization Broadband, Gigabit Internet and Metro Ethernet Access

Today’s environment demands that companies in Tuscaloosa, Alabama have reliable Internet service in order to run their business. The organization functions of all companies, from Fortune 500 to small businesses, depend on fast and reliable access to The Internet.

In the months and years ahead, people and businesses will become more reliant on access to the internet.

Our uses of the internet reach far and wide. From data sharing, video calls, and shopping to VOIP and email, the web has a broad presence. What is the best solution for you? Is a cable modem sufficient? Maybe you need Metro Ethernet. You may need Gigabit Internet. Your Tuscaloosa organization probably needs a 5 Meg Internet circuit, 10 Meg access to The net, a 50 Meg circuit, or a 100 Meg access to The web point but which one is best?

Determining your Company Need for Internet Access

Your organization must assess its real needs. This must be done before an appropriate service can be chosen. Perhaps the internet is only used for a few things such as email communication or surfing the web. Is the net used for real-time data connection with servers in the cloud? You may be hosting the data in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and remote sites rely on this.

What happens to your organization if your high-speed Internet experiences an outage? Can your company afford the downtime? Does your business require uptime? Before you buy anything, you must answer these questions.

Evaluating Different High-Speed Internet Solutions in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

High-speed Internet access is required by all businesses. An analysis of the costs and benefits should be done prior to choosing the broadband that is correct for your company. While you are likely to hear some service providers toss around terms such as:

• High-speed access to the Internet
• Business Internet service provider
• Cable modems and broadband
• Metro Ethernet experts
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Multiprotocol label switching, also known as MPLS
• Services related to point-to-point circuits
• 5-megabyte access circuits
• Internet access circuits- ten megabytes
• We provide Internet access circuits-50 Meg
• We provide 100-megabyte access to The net circuits
• Sip trunking experts
• Direct or dedicated Internet access
• … and so many more

… focus on what matters: what does your organization need and what are the best services and solutions out there to meet those needs?

Business Internet access for Surfing the Worldwide Web

Companies in Tuscaloosa need access to the net for their employees. Some companies may need it only for a few people and others may need it for the entire workforce. It may be needed for company research, to order office supplies or other reasons.

Perhaps the size of your work force may determine the solution that best fits your needs. An Internet circuit of 5 -10 megabytes might be enough for your business if you only have a few people working for you. 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. However, employees who must often download documents, images and videos, need that speed.

Do you backup information? Simultaneous connections to the web, which you need in order to sync your backup data, require support. If you conduct remote backups from every workstation, which you definitely should, this will be important.

Do you use a file sharing service like Google drive or DropBox? After a file is saved, it goes to the cloud and then to someone else’s computer. The right amount of capacity or bandwidth is necessary to support this function in conjunction with every other service you have.

Depending on where you are, you may want to look into high-speed company Internet access such as Metro Ethernet and gigabit Internet. They are almost always found in “lit buildings” in Tuscaloosa that are already wired by a carrier. The ease and affordability of adding high-speed Internet to your office may surprise you.

The introduction of Metro Ethernet into a new building can be quite costly. However, bringing that connection into office space within that building is usually less so. 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.

High-Speed access to The net Required for Hosting Applications

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 business headquarters with a hosted application connected to fifty or more satellite offices? Perhaps you are in retail and host the point of sale (POS) system for thousands of stores? Are you an attorney with offices multiple cities or states? Do you have one office hosting data for several places?

When data and programs are hosted centrally at one main site, people outside that location must gain access. For those people, no Internet connection means no work gets done. Are you picking an intranet solution that provides reliability and stability for your multiple, simultaneous connections from various sites?

If you have one office using the web, you may get by with a cable modem or a low- cost 10-megabyte circuit. High-speed dedicated circuits, Metro Ethernet or gigabit Ethernet are advisable for company headquarters. While fast Internet access is and important, they must also have the capability to handle assorted simultaneous connections. A cable modem would probably not be enough.

Dedicated Bandwidth Versus Tuscaloosa, Alabama Shared Cable Circuits

In some situations, there is a high price to pay for bringing in an inexpensive circuit or cable modem. While the monthly rate is lower, the bandwidth is generally shared among other tenants. You may experience slow downs. For example, although you subscribe to a cable modem with a thirty Meg connection, it can be difficult to maintain the maximum speed during busy times and peak hours. Many cable companies only deliver a set amount of bandwidth within a community. Different buildings and tenants housed or working within those buildings all share that set amount of bandwidth. With a 30-megabyte connection, you may not get to that speed during the working day. Is getting 7 when you expect 30 a problem?

Some carriers are available who offer dedicated bandwidth and guaranteed bandwidth. If you want your very own bandwidth that is not used by anyone else, you should consider this. Regardless of other tenants in your building or neighboring buildings, you should receive the full capacity of your circuit.

Metro Ethernet provides guaranteed bandwidth in increments as follows: 5, 10, 50 and 100 Meg circuits. In your office out to the internet you can reach gigabit speeds with gigabit providers

In these situations, each tenant receives their contracted high-speed. The carrier delivers enough so they can split their circuit and provide enough to each tenant.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama High Speed Company Internet Circuits: Redundancy

Despite outstanding Internet bandwidth products offered by providers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, circuits do go down. How can you lower the chances that you will experience some kind of outage?

Consider redundant circuits.

We are primarily talking about two kinds of redundancy.

A single carrier, providing multiple circuits, to one customer, characterizes one form of redundancy. This provides some protection when there are certain failures. Multiple circuits can help for example, when there is a physical line issue or a problem with a router port. However, if that carrier has a regional outage or physical line damaged outside of your building, both circuits may go down. There is some protection that comes with this but there is risk as well.

Circuit redundancy can also be achieved in the following way: Import circuits using two different and distinct carriers. For users and the public, you can make it look like you have one cohesive circuit. You can also make the connections act as a single circuit. You can do this with various advanced routers and IP address allocations. In reality, they are completely separate and redundant to each other. Diversity redundancy offers far greater protection. You will still have a live, fully functioning carrier if one fails.

If you want to maximize redundancy in Tuscaloosa, Alabama please consider the following question: Do the providers I am considering use the same physical geographic pathways? Alternatively stated, try to have your circuits enter the building on different sides from one another. Whether they are attached underground or to a telephone pole, your goal should be to have the circuits in different directions leading to different central locations. If a major accident occurs or there is a fire that impedes the function of circuits in a particular region, you have redundancy in a different direction.

Not Having Adequate Protection for your High-Speed Internet access: What is the Cost to Your Company?

The cost of dependable access to The net pales in comparison to the cost of unreliable access. Think about the following situations:

The phone service in your office relies on Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Is your company on a cable modem? How many other tenants is your carrier servicing in your building? Are 14 other offices getting circuits? During the course of a regular work day, any or all of these other businesses might be performing massive file downloads. Tenants might be taking a large volume of calls or be regularly streaming video. How will your telephone calls be affected as the amount of available bandwidth decreases? What about phone call quality? Are calls lost or dropped? Will you sound muffled?

Is your company the central data location for multiple offices?

You may be an accounting firm that shares databases, a retail chain company utilizing a point of sale system or a law practice sharing files. Regardless of the specifics, your office is the hub for your enterprise. Your primary Internet connection is solely responsible for smoothly granting access and sending data to all of your places whether you have two or two thousand. If your circuit goes done, what happens next? Is it a mere annoyance or a catastrophic failure? How much work, if any, can be done by your remote sites? Can they process transactions or new orders? Share essential data? Choosing the right solution depends largely on assessing and understanding the specific needs of your business. Perhaps you are a software company, running a hosted solution used by hundreds of customers. Maybe you operate a service that allows other systems to talk to yours via API. This may be to collect miscellaneous data, calculate prices or shipping prices or other information. What happens when they are unable to connect to your servers? Customers do not enjoy repeated outages. How long with they put up with them before looking to take their organization elsewhere?

The phones in your office, which functions as a call center, relies entirely on voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP)

What if your company could not function at all without the web? Maybe your business depends upon it completely. Your employees or representatives will not be able to make outgoing phone calls if your circuits go down. No calls could be answered either. You are essentially out of organization. Even for the most reputable call centers that already know of and use redundancy, is it sufficient? Are your carriers sufficiently reliable? Are you getting quality service so that your calls are clear and consistent?

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama: Selecting the Proper High-Speed Organization Access Circuits for Your Company

You have several different options to pick from. Your business needs and budgets will drive your decisions. As a high-level summary:

Small Organization Internet Access

If you are a small company, with just one location and not concerned about redundancy, a single five meg, 10 meg or 50 meg access to The web circuit may be adequate. Is your building lit? If so, find out about gigabit or Metro Ethernet services. They may be reasonably priced options. Because prices can vary based on the location of your business and the availability of circuits, speak with our engineers to learn your options.

Single Location Mid-Sized Business and Internet Access

You will need higher speed access to The Internet if you have a medium sized business in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Metro Ethernet, gigabit Internet and other higher-speed Internet circuits are your options. In a perfect world, you will achieve maximum redundancy by utilizing multiple carriers to provide and service different circuits. Achieving this may not be as costly as you first thought. For example, choosing two 50 meg circuits versus one 100 meg circuit. Again, costs and availability vary. You need to speak with one of our experts to determine your options in your specific location.

Mid-Sized Company with More than One Location: Access to the Internet

Businesses with many locations face the greatest risk for failure. Redundant circuits are a necessity. Multiple providers or providers are recommended. You can minimize the risk of downtime at if you also have redundant equipment like routers or switches. As always, take a careful look and choose the right Ethernet access services, Metro Ethernet providers, gigabit Internet providers and other high-speed access to The Internet circuit providers. Your organization can benefit from finding the right mix of services and providers.

Larger corporate clients, enterprise clients and providers of services delivered via the Internet

Companies such as these require the following: Metro Ethernet, gigabit Internet and point-to-point (PPP) high-speed Internet circuits. If you want to ensure your valuable uptime, have redundant circuits from multiple providers as well as redundant hardware. You need enough bandwidth. The bandwidth must be sufficient to handle spikes in usage with no slowdowns or interruptions. Having both your hardware and your circuits capable of supporting many different, fast, and simultaneous connections is essential. It cannot be one or the other.

Internet Demand and Internet Need: Receive Free Analysis

Your business faces great risk of less than adequate bandwidth and failing circuits. Your ideal single circuit or multiple circuits should stay within your budget while still meeting your demands. You have to select the optimal combination of hardware and circuits, which is a daunting task.

Our engineers can help. We will analyze your requirements and needs and create a free action plan for you. 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 if you wish to complete the contact form on the side of this page. Alternatively, call our office to schedule an assessment. Your assessment may be finished within as little as 48 hours.