Small business broadband - commercial premises

sophiedb

Hi all, I've looked around this forum and the internet one, but most of the answers relate to people whose businesses operate from home.

I've been checking out the various business providers and Tiscali seem to have a good deal at the moment (512Mb @ £19.99 per month, unlimited download, webspace etc), but I'm worried that I might be missing another provider who could do better.

I'm also unsure about PAYG broadband - I really don't know what our usage is, especially since we don't use internet much yet (due to the fact that our fax machine and credit card doohickey use the same line - very inconvenient - and EXPENSIVE!).

Any advice gratefully received!!

Soph

(also posted on internet forum)

chatmonkey

hey sophie, glad you asked this cos i was wondering about using a domestic broadband tariff in a small business (want to offer free wireless access to customers in a coffee shop).

did anyone say you couldn't use their regular tariffs in a business setting?

sophiedb wrote:

I'm also unsure about PAYG broadband - I really don't know what our usage is, especially since we don't use internet much yet (due to the fact that our fax machine and credit card doohickey use the same line - very inconvenient - and EXPENSIVE!).

there's a little programme that i downloaded which measures your internet usage (i got it to be able to see if download limits would be a problem cos like you i have no idea how much i use). anyway it's free and straightforward, available at http://readerror.gmxhome.de/

bridiej

I use normal broadband......

Savvy_Sue

We use freeonline at work. Initially on dialup then went to BB later. Very happy with them - and they have a freephone number for support if you need it. They have a section of the website which lets you see what your dialup usage is which was very useful.

chatmonkey, I believe you will be in breach of your provider's t&c if you use a domestic package in a business setting. You're likely to have very heavy usage in an internet cafe, so I'd have thought they were likely to notice ... but I'm not an expert.

bordercars

oh where to go, i'm currently with tiscali home package 15.99 and have just had a call to upgrade only 14.99, hey thats good i can save a quid , no sorry you cant step down, so as well as a s... service , i lose bb at least twice dailt for about an hour a time i cant save any money, got my mac code and tried to migrate but im on a business line so have to have a business package, as far as i can see BT charge more but you become a preferntial customer and if you have a fault the engineer will look at you first great for big probs but not when you only lose it for an hour at a time, probaly the crucial hour, but hey they still get there 21.99 + vat.

does anyone know a good isp reasonable price, with a getout clause if they dont come up to scratch