Commercial Internet speeds

[navychop]

We currently have at work a fractional T1: 8 voice lines and data. Cavalier. Here are the results:

Repeating the test gets around the same download speed, but often the upload speed results are even higher. Trifle odd, wouldn't you say- we aren't supposed to be symmetrical.

Anyway, we will likely relocate in a few months and move to a full T1 for data alone. That's 1.5M. We've simply outgrown the current speeds. Ten years ago we had no internet access at all. 7 or 8 years ago, we were on dial up. Can't exist today without some form of broadband- and we do not host (or even have) a website. The new location will have capacity for growth way beyond what we could ever foresee using.

Question- for those of you working in small business, and we're around 10M in sales, what speeds are you "getting by" with?

 

[mike123abc]

Cable internet 8 down 1 up commerical with static ip $99/month.

 

[Pepper]

20Mb in each direction on each of two different fiber providers, adjustable up to 100Mb with a phone call to the ISP, using BGP on the routers for redundancy/reliability and to balance the traffic.

But... our business is providing Internet services for other business clients, any downtime or bottlenecks are lost money for us.

 

[docpadds]

The most common one with my customers is a 7/1 Roadrunner Business cable connection. Its been good for most all of them.

 

[navychop]

Interesting. We have a complete package, so it's not easy to really pick out how much for the voice, the data, the email, the services, etc. But we certainly seem to be at the low end, speed wise.

 

[Voyager6]

We have Verizon Business DSL. 3meg down and 768K up.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/[URL=ht...peedtest.net/result/346315634.png[/IMG][/URL]

 

[LER]

we've got a full DS-3 (45M) at the office from XO. I don't remember what the cost was, but the delta from the 6 meg Fractional DS-3 to the full was unbelievably cheap.

 

[John Kotches]

We have multiple OC-3 (165 mbits/second) currently and are going to multiple OC-12 (622 Mbits/second) next year when our new data centers open up.

 

[navychop]

I gather you last two guys aren't "small businesses!" :

 

[LER]

I gather you last two guys aren't "small businesses!" :

We're a software company of about 200 people, and have offices here and in Europe.

Define "Small Business".

LER

 

[navychop]

Well, since you asked:

SBA Small Business Standards effective August 18, 2008

:dev

 

[TheForce]

Cable internet 8 down 1 up commerical with static ip $99/month.

I'm definitly small. Just me!

Pretty much matches with what I have here. I'm a heavy user too with having to support a video on demand service so mine is provisioned at 1.5Mbs up and 8Mb down for $89. Don't need static IP as I just use Goto my PC when I travel.
But the main thing I like is rapid response to outages and tech support. Still I have to have a second backup which I use Verizon EVDO. Had I not had that, the cost of lost business could have easily paid for it. That is $60 a month for 50Gb bandwidth limited per month.
I see many small business using cable modems these days. The commercial accounts are pretty steady during peak loads too.

 

[Ilya]

Trifle odd, wouldn't you say- we aren't supposed to be symmetrical.

Why? I thought T1 was always symmetrical (unlike ADSL).

In our small office we use AT&T Elite DSL with static IP: 6 Mbps down, 768 Kbps up. Good enough if you don't host anything: for Email, Web browsing, etc.
$70 or so a month - don't remember exactly.

 

[navychop]

It's a fractional T1. They split out 8 voice grade lines and provide the data bandwidth out of what's left over. Doesn't quite add up to the full 1.5, IIRC. Sales Critter says it's "712 down." I suspect a typo. Or brain burp. I suppose with this setup they could divide up and down as they please.

When we move in a few months and upgrade our service, I'll get some direct answers by simply declining to sign a renewal until I talk to somebody familiar with our service and the available options.