May 16, 2008

Internet Speeds: Faster, Faster, Faster. Cost: Lower, Lower, Lower

If you have not looked closely at your bill for Internet access - you should. The price you are paying might be way too high. Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and other providers are in a fight for YOUR dollar. They want to sell you basic Internet services, but also bundle telephone, TV (especially for the home) and services such as email hosting, security and backup.

For example, AT&T recently announced the availability of the AT&T U-verseSM platform for high-speed Internet access to small businesses in more than 40 U.S. markets. AT&T High Speed Internet U-verse Enabled Business Edition offers download speeds up to 10 Mbps and up to $100 per month. Signing on to AT&T's service also includes access to its national WiFi service, which includes 7,000 Starbucks stores.

This price point is pretty competitive.

Verizon Charges $200 a month for up to 7.1MBps
Verizon FIOS is $74 per month for up to 15MBps
Covad charges $174 for up to 10MBps
Time Warner Cable's prices I could not find online - but I'm sure they offer competitive services as well.

Price is not everything - you also need to ensure the provider has good support and is reliable - 99.9% uptime.

Why would you need higher speed Internet access?

If you find that you are uploading a larger number of larger files - you'll need increased bandwidth for the upload.

Maybe you are using more hosted applications, backing up online and doing more overall online - you'll need faster Internet access for downloading this data as well.

On an annual basis, it's smart to review your technology services - especially recurring costs and see where you can save money.

tags: at&t , dsl , internet , telephone | 0 comments