Choosing the Right Internet Service Provider

These days, organisations need an internet service provider (ISP) if they want to stay in business. However with telecommunication companies offering a plethora of package deals, it can be confusing to know which Internet provider to choose. So whether its DSL, ADSL, mobile broadband, or 'fixed wireless' internet, we offer you advice on your data cap, rates, connections fees, and understanding the fine print on your contract so you're not taken for a ride to what may seem like an attractive deal.

It was only a decade ago that many businesses would have started to consider whether they need an internet service provider (ISP). Today however such services are all but mandatory.

But choosing a broadband ISP can be challenging, with the number of ISPs in the market matched only by the range of products and technologies they offer.

The big telecommunications companies are well represented, with both Telstra (through BigPond) and Optus offering business-oriented broadband services. Beyond the telecommunications companies are a plethora of new and established specialist broadband ISPs.

Some service providers offer low monthly rates or no up-front connection fees, but will penalise customers who download more than their allocated amount of data each month (called their data cap). Others will lock customers in to fixed contracts, and then charge them through the nose should they wish to change their requirements over time.

According to the managing director of business-focused ISP Pacific Internet, Dennis Muscat, it is important that companies not get locked into cheap deals that will penalise them if their requirements grow over time.

“There are some really low-ball offers out there where you can come in at fairly low prices, sign into a fairly lengthy contract and get your equipment up front for free,” Muscat says. “Then after about three months you realise that the speed that you’ve signed into cannot support the applications that you want to run. Therefore you upgrade the speed, but this leads to a contract variation which is at a much higher profit level for the ISP.”

The general manager of business for the ISP iiNet, Andy McIntyre, agrees that flexibility is one of the main factors that a company should look for.

“If you need to upgrade or downgrade your service you shouldn’t be penalised for that,” McIntyre says. “You need to look at the contract break fees, because they can be quite heavy, and that’s always in the small print.”

One of the most important elements is the data cap, which is the maximum amount of data that a user may upload or download, usually over a month. Some providers will simple slow down the speed of the service should the user exceed their cap (this is also called ‘shaping’ the service). But some providers will charge their customers excess usage fees based on the amount of additional data they download – an exercise that can soon become costly.

Hence it is important to keep a close eye on how your staff are using their internet connections. Sites such as MySpace and YouTube might make for a pleasant lunchtime distraction, but streaming or downloading audio and video files can quickly chew up a company’s data allocation.

Similarly, some websites constantly refresh the advertising that appears in the browser. While the amounts for each advertisement are small, they can soon add up if the page is left on screen for a long period of time.