Bandwidth - what is it good for?

The costs of increased bandwidth are rapidly decreasing. Many companies are being faced with the decision of re-signing their current ADSL contracts or upgrading to T1. The cost of T-1 has decreased from around $800 per month just a few years ago to around $300 per month today. Because most small companies don’t use all of the download bandwidth they have with their ADSL connections, CEOs are asking, “Why would I spend extra money for more bandwidth?”

In many cases the simple answer is that there is no good reason to switch. Let’s look at some of the options available with higher Internet speeds.

1. More convenient remote connections – ADSL usually sacrifices upload speed for high download speeds. This works great while one is in the office. It’s not so great when you are outside the office trying to access files that reside on the internal network server. Higher upload speeds make this a much more tolerable experience.

2. Less expensive telephone service – Unlike DSL which simply passes data over the copper wire between telephone switching stations and homes or offices, T-1 is essentially a dedicated telephone line that offers data transfer rates of 1.544 Mbits per second. Because there are 24 individual channels available, smaller companies can often dedicate some channels to voice and others to data. This allows companies to dump their expensive, restrictive Centrex lines and open up a whole new world of options.

3. Hosted software and files – The biggest obstacle to utilizing hosted services has always been bandwidth. The idea of sharing resources like backups, file storage space, and software has been around since the early days of the World Wide Web, but the bandwidth of the late 90s made it impractical. Since the Internet bubble burst a few years ago, the technology has been maturing and companies are quickly beginning to take advantage of cheaper bandwidth to access these technologies.

If you’d like to discuss whether or not any of these options might be available to your company, please call Promethius at 317-733-2388.

They said it...

“Remember your dreams. We’re nowhere without them. The one thing that never cost any money was being able to visualize where I wanted to go in my life. And here’s the amazing thing: seeing myself as a success tricked my mind into believing I really was a success. That’s the sort of thinking that triggers winning streaks.”
Sylvester Stallone

“When I hear the words, 'That’s never been done,' I feel like a lion being thrown some meat.”
Quincy Jones

“Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
Bruce Lee

“All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney