Broadband News

Small businesses let down by broadband speeds

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

More than 60% of small businesses are dissatisfied with the speed and reliability of their broadband connection, it has been revealed.

And a quarter of companies were unhappy with their overall broadband service, a new study by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has found.

Some firms were so dissatisfied with their broadband speeds that 13% even said they would consider moving premises for a faster connection.

John Wright, national chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The online world is crucial to small business development, especially as small firms look to grow and expand as the economy recovers.

“Small businesses, particularly in rural areas, have been promised action to deal with slow broadband and the ‘notspots' - where there is no broadband access - but they have seen little action.

“These figures show that the broadband service provided to small firms is letting them down. Small businesses need fast and reliable broadband to ensure the UK remains a key player in the global economy. The Digital Economy Bill gives the government a chance to guarantee Britain becomes a real competitor and the FSB is calling on the government to enforce rules on service providers and regulators so that small firms are given the fair deal they deserve.”

The FSB is calling for a minimum 8Mb connection for businesses.

Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, added: “A fast, reliable broadband connection is a vital ingredient in running a successful small company.

“A good business broadband package should offer prioritised internet traffic so that your connection isn’t affected by peak time congestion, static IP addresses so that you can connect to your work PC remotely and even your own .co.uk email addresses, making your business look more professional.

“But these kinds of broadband packages don’t have to break the bank,” he added. “You can get an up to 24Mb broadband package, with ‘unlimited’ downloads, a static IP address and prioritised traffic for as little as £10 a month from Opal Broadband.”

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