Give my regards to broadband

Pro

1 April 2005

Broadband is one of those terms we all understand, right? Well, perhaps not, because according to a recent survey carried out by research company IDC, many Irish businesses aren’t quite sure what the phrase means.
In fact, nearly 45 per cent of companies that responded to IDC’s study, believed ISDN or even dial-up Internet access were broadband technologies. Not surprisingly, the survey then went on to confirm that take up of broadband in Ireland remains low, despite the fact that it is more widely available now than ever before.

Always on
Put simply, broadband is a technology that offers users a fast, always-on Internet connection. Compared to so-called ‘narrowband’ access technologies like ISDN, there are some obvious advantages to broadband. It’s more cost-effective for starters, much faster and it enables companies to use new business applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – which allows firms to make phone calls on the Net – and Virtual Private Networks (VPN) – which enables businesses to use the Internet for secure connections between remote offices.

However, because the term broadband is used to describe a wide range of technologies, there is some obvious confusion. Broadband comes in a number of different flavours including ADSL, wireless, satellite and cable. Which particular version of the service you opt for is largely dependent on location, but other issues such as the amount of bandwidth you require are also factors that need to be taken into consideration.
The delay in rolling out broadband services around the country has led to a widely held belief that many small businesses can’t avail of the technology. However, in theory at least, almost any company can now get a high-speed Internet connection – although some firms will have to pay more than others for the privilege.

Even if this is the case, it still make sense to switch to broadband rather than pay exorbitant amounts each month for ISDN or dial-up, as Ray Tobin, broadband sales manager with Esat BT, makes clear. ‘Many SMEs look at what they’re spending at the moment on the Internet and think that broadband will be more expensive, but I believe they’re too focused on cost and aren’t seeing what the technology can do for their business,’ he says. ‘I would argue that even if an SME is spending as little as EUR20 a month on dial-up Internet access then they should still switch to broadband. I talk to a lot of firms who are using dial-up and, without fail, every single one of them has problems getting online, and then uploading and downloading large files. People are literally sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting for files to transfer.’

Such a view is shared by Colm Piercy, managing director of Digiweb, a firm that provides both wireless and satellite broadband services. ‘People don’t immediately appreciate what broadband is about or why they should bother with it,’ he says. ‘It’s only when they get their hands on it that it clicks with them. Once they have the experience they realise how much it changes the way they work.’

DSL dominates
There may be a number of different types of broadband connection available, but unless you live in a large urban area, you’re not likely to be in a position to pick and choose which one you want. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is probably the best-known version of broadband currently available in Ireland. It is a specialised transmission technology that is used to deliver high-rate digital data over existing ordinary phone-lines. Many of Ireland’s leading Internet providers including Eircom, Esat BT and UTV Internet have their own ADSL services and there are a number of resellers scattered around the country who offer these services to clients. According to Andrew Fordham, head of business marketing with Eircom, ADSL (the most common type of Digital Subscriber Line) is highly dependable. ‘DSL is fast and reliable, and uses standard copper phone lines to carry data,’ says Fordham. ‘There is no need for a second phone line and you can talk on your phone while you’re using your DSL connection to access the Internet.’

Louise McKeown, sales and marketing manager with Netsource, also believes that DSL is the best broadband connection available to businesses. ‘DSL has more advantages than other technologies because the infrastructure that’s being used is the most reliable in delivering the service,’ says McKeown. Most other Internet providers would happily concur that DSL has a lot going for it, and this is borne out by the fact that it is the preferred choice of access throughout most of Europe. However, there are limitations.

Firstly, it is a distance-based technology, which is only available to customers who are within 5km of an enabled exchange, meaning that large pockets of the country can’t get the service because there are no exchanges nearby. Secondly, it can take a while to get DSL, even if you do live near an exchange. There has been much controversy over the past couple of years because of the speed with which leading telcos have rolled out DSL services. In fairness, the situation is changing on a day-to-day basis. To date, Eircom has enabled over 800,000 customer lines and says it is on target to have one million enabled by the end of March 2004. Moreover, it recently announced that it will roll out broadband to every town in Ireland with a population greater than 1,500 people by March 2005. Esat BT meanwhile has enabled 40 exchanges over the past two years, 13 of which are based outside Dublin.

If you do live in an area that has an enabled exchange, then ADSL is definitely an option to consider. However, before taking the plunge, be sure to think about what you’ll be using your connection for. Are you going to be uploading more than downloading? If so, then ADSL may not be the right option because it is asymmetric, meaning that download speeds are faster than upload speeds.
Another flaw with the technology is contention rates – this is the number of users who share a single connection. With ADSL, contention rates are usually higher (on average, the rate is around 24.1 compared to as little as 8.1 for some alternative access methods) and this can result in deterioration in quality. However, this isn’t a problem at present because ADSL has yet to reach the tipping point. Furthermore, it is possible for Internet providers to offer different broadband packages with different contention rates – although you’ll probably pay more for the privilege. Lastly, even if you do live near an enabled exchange, it can take time for providers to make the service available to you, whereas satellite and wireless providers can have you up and running in days if not weeks.

Wireless works wonders
An alternative option for those living in urban areas is wireless Internet. This technology is becoming increasingly popular, not only in regions where companies can’t avail of ADSL, but also in parts where it is, as Colm Piercy makes clear. ‘In Dundalk, Navan and Drogheda we’re competing directly with DSL Services, and with our wireless service our coverage is wider in these areas.’

With wireless Internet, providers set up a central transmitter in an area and then fix customer receiver units within organisations, which then transmit a radio link to and from the unit to the base station. Ruairi Jennings, commercial manager with Irish Broadband, one of the leading providers of wireless Internet, spells out the benefits of wireless connections. ‘The key advantages of wireless are that it is fast to install, has a symmetrical service, meaning that clients get the same upload and download speeds, is delivered independently of existing phone lines and is cost effective,’ says Jennings. He also notes that unlike DSL, Irish Broadband’s services offer low contention rates for business customers, so that they get a leased line service at DSL price points. Moreover, once the company has installed a customer radio unit, it can be remotely upgraded from 512kbps to 10Mbps.

A third option for those living in major cities is cable Internet. This is the preferred choice of access in the US (although DSL is close behind and likely to overtake it soon) and local cable companies such as NTL and Chorus offer high-speed broadband services to some customers via their cable networks, rather than over telephone lines. Cable Internet is considered both reliable and cost effective, however on the downside, local operators have only made it available to customers within select areas in cities and towns.

Satellite services
This is all very well, but what happens if you don’t live in an urban area? Well, the good news is that with satellite broadband, even those living in the remotest areas can now switch to high-speed Internet. However, compared to other connection options, companies will have to pay more for services.
With satellite Internet, providers stick a dish on the side of customers’ buildings, which is wired up to a modem that’s connected to the computer network – it works in pretty much the same way as satellite television, except that instead of just receiving signals, it also broadcasts them. All that’s needed for a successful installation is a clear line of sight; this has failed to be a problem, according to Bobby Gara, sales manager with satellite provider Orbitlink, makes clear. ‘We haven’t come across an installation that we couldn’t do yet. We’ve had some awkward ones, but we were still able to do them.’

Gara claims that there has been a high level of interest for satellite broadband from businesses that are outside of the ADSL area. ‘Apart from being able to connect businesses that can’t get ADSL, the main difference between the two technologies is pricing. ADSL is cheaper and generally has better uploads. But it’s worth bearing in mind that businesses have to play a waiting game with it – it can take firms months to get DSL, whereas it takes just five days for us to set up a satellite Net connection anywhere in the country.’
Gara believes that there is a bright future for satellite Internet in Ireland because, despite the progress being made with ADSL rollout, some regions will be unlikely to ever avail of it. ‘There’s around 4,000 villages in Ireland and the likelihood is that there will always be some people who won’t be able to get DSL,’ he says. ‘This makes us think that there will always be a market for us.’

Someone who shares that view is Gordon Smith, sales manager with satellite provider GVD. GVD offers clients a premium service to clients who require a guaranteed quality of bandwidth. Smith says: ‘With our Armiska service, there’s a limit on the amount of users on the channel – our contention rate is just 8.1 on downloads and 4.1 on uploads – which compares with 25.1 for Eircom’s DSL business offering. Some satellite service providers have higher contention rates than us because they put more people through a channel. This means that you pay less, but you’re not guaranteed the same type of quality service.’

While DSL, wireless and, to a lesser extent cable Internet, are all feasible options in urban areas, satellite may best serve those living in remote areas. The basic benefits of all broadband products are the same; the differentiation comes in the detail.
For companies that have yet to make the switch, the message is loud and clear – the time to opt for broadband is now. Failure to do so could lead you to fall behind your competitors, rather than taking the fast lane to success.

Padraig O’Connor, MD of P O’Connor Communications, which designs and manufactures telemetry systems for remote controlled bomb disposal units

Broadband in action in an SMB
P O’Connor Communications designs and manufactures telemetry systems for remote controlled bomb disposal units. Due to the nature of their business, the firm uses a lot of complex computer aided design (CAD) software. If it wants to try out a new product, P O’Connor Communications may have to download files of 300Mbyte or more from over the Internet, which would takes days using an ISDN connection.

The firm decided to switch to Esat BTs DSL service and managing director Padraig O’Connor says that there was an immediate impact. ‘We use the Internet on a daily basis and the main attraction of the service is that it is always on. There is no dial-up or waiting time, we can get what we want when we want it. Our IDSN service was costing about EUR280 on calls alone. The DSL service is costing just EUR90 per month. Not only has Broadband DSL lowered costs, it has made our business run efficiently. I now have my evenings free because the service is so quick and reliable that I get my work done during the day, and I am not spending my evenings on the Internet anymore.’

Contacts

DSL

Broadband Solutions
www.broadbandsolutions.ie

Eircom
www.eircom.ie

Esat BT
www.esat.ie

Netsource
www.netsource.ie

UTV Internet
www.utvinternet.ie

Cable

Chorus
www.chorus.ie

NTL
www.ntl.ie

Satellite

Digiweb
www.digiweb.ie