Email and Internet Access

It's a rare situation these days when a company can exist entirely "off-line". With so much information being moved onto the World Wide Web and the billions of email moving about daily, the Internet has become a major part of business life in the 21st century.

Providing Internet access to your staff is not particularly complicated or expensive. It really depends on how many employees you have and how much you intend to use the Internet. We'll help you figure out what options are available to you and get you set up.

Today's most common options are:

• DSL Service. DSL uses telephone wiring to connect to the Internet. The majority of DSL lines are sold by the local telephone company (AT&T), and cost between $25 and $100 per month. Speeds can be very impressive, depending on the price. DSL generally doesn't work unless you are located within about three miles of your telephone company's central office.
• Cable Modem. Historically geared more towards residential customers, cable modem could be a great option if it's available in your building. Charter and Cox are offering attractive new business plans. Service costs between $40 and $200 and it's available from one source -- the local cable company. Speeds are fine for smaller offices.
• ISDN. If you can't get DSL, ISDN is probably the next best thing. It works fine for very small offices (up to maybe 5-7 employees) and doesn't have the same distance limitations as DSL. Cost is between $65 and $150, depending on the amount of usage.
• T1 Line. A T1 line is a dedicated pipe between you and the Internet, and works best with larger offices. The problem is that it is significantly more expensive than any of the other options, but for many applications it is just what you need. The cost depends on the distance from your office to your Internet service provider, but expect monthly costs between $400 and $1,000.
• Dial-Up. Using a standard 56K modem and telephone line, a dial-up connection may be perfectly fine for many situations. Special equipment is available which can dial on demand from the network when someone wants to use the Internet. Speeds are slow, but acceptable for small offices. Cost is around $60 per month combined between a dedicated telephone line and Internet access, so often a DSL line (if available) is a better bargain. Business lines usually are billed for usage, so you pay per minute for dial-up connections. Can get expensive quickly.

For more information or to schedule service, call (985) 871-0333.