| The rapidly increasing availability of ADSL Broadband is one of the biggest IT benefits of recent years, as long as it is implemented correctly!
Inter-Logic is regularly involved in ADSL installs, and you can be confident that all of our installs take account of all of the neccessary issues for a secure and effective roll-out.
Save Money: If you use the Internet and you are not using ADSL, then there are almost certainly savings to be made by switching to Broadband. Some of the potential savings are as follows:
- If you are paying for the time that you spend online, then you can almost certainly save money, as most broadband packages are a flat rate for access 24 hours per day!
- If you have a seperate phone line for Internet use, then you can reduce your bills by terminating this line when you switch to ADSL, as an ADSL connection does not tie up the phone line that it uses. This means that you can make and receive calls at the same time as being connected to ADSL.
- If you have ISDN for Internet calls, then you can almost certainly cut costs by getting broadband, as ISDN rental is still very expensive.
- If you have an expensive leased line for Internet access, then you may be able to save a lot of money, as long as there is an ADSL package available that gives you sufficient bandwidth, contention ratio and service level.
- If you have an expensive leased line between two of your sites, then you may be able to make dramatic savings by putting an ADSL connection into each site and then linking the two sites by Virtual Private Networking.
Go Faster: If you are using a modem to connect to the Internet, then you will likely be connecting at about 40 - 50 kbps, whilst an ISDN connection will be 64 kbps (or 128 kbps if you don't mind paying double for the calls!) The basic ADSL package is 512 kbps and standard packages go up to 2048 kbps. If you need more speed, then two or more ADSL connections can be combined to give you as much bandwidth as you need.
 Choose the right service provider: There are hundreds of companies offering ADSL packages with great competition to be the cheapest. However Inter-Logic recognise that the cheapest is not always the best. Inter-Logic is a reseller for Entanet's range of ADSL services. We have selected Entanet after trying many others for their fast and reliable service, and also for their excellent technical support should you need it. Whilst many ADSL providers give their technical support on an '09' phone number at 50p per minute or more, EntaNet use an '0871' number which is only 10p per minute. Should you decide to buy an ADSL package from Entanet through Inter-Logic we can manage the whole ordering process on your behalf, making the process very easy for you. If you need a package that Entanet cannot offer, then Inter-Logic can help you to choose the right package: but the ordering process will be down to you.
Be Secure: Although a broadband connection is no less secure than any other type of Internet connection, its high speed and high availability can increase the probability of a security breach once broadband is installed. However, that risk can be minimised by taking sensible precautions:
Use a firewall: Any broadband install should include some form of hardware firewall. At the simplest form this would involve using an ADSL router with built in firewall, which is an inexpensive solution, and in many cases sufficient. For organisations with higher security requirements, a dedicated firewall appliance may be better suited. Inter-Logic can assist in the selection of a suitable appliance. In addition, if your workstations run Windows XP, then it is advisable to install Service Pack 2, which includes a software firewall for second level protection, as well as a number of other security updates.
 Use Anti-Virus: Sadly, these days, up-to-date Anti-Virus is essential on every computer with Internet access, and this is particularly true when broadband is installed. In addition, if you have several computers on the network, it is highly desirable to use a centrally managed Anti-Virus solution so that you can make sure that all stations have up-to-date protection. Inter-Logic is a reseller for the AVG range of Anti-Virus products, which are cheaper than the common names in AV protection, and certainly as good!
Keep up to date with the latest service packs and hotfixes: New security flaws are discovered in Windows and other operating systems from time to time, so it is important to keep up to date with all the latest service packs and fixes. Fortunately, modern Microsoft operating systems can be easily updated using Windows Update, which works particularly well with a broadband connection.
Making it easy - Inter-Logic's Broadband Consultancy Service:
As you can see, there is a lot to consider to ensure a successful broadband installation. Fortunately, Inter-Logic can help with every step of this process. Inter-Logic would be pleased to discuss how we can manage your broadband installation, or assist you in this process.
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