Technology

New Technologies Help Small Businesses Compete in Digital Marketplace

by doug reineri

Every day, more companies are realizing the full power of the Internet and how it can help businesses grow and become become more competitive. Because of the new, affordable high-speed communication modes being developed, larger companies are not the only ones with access to the latest technologies. In particular, the development of consolidated broadband service like Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) has enabled small to mid-sized companies to compete in high tech arenas. These advances in communications technologies are creating new, smarter, cutting-edge companies with the ability to survive the critical startup years. The result is increased competition and an improved marketplace for our heavily consumer-driven economy.

DSL has had a tremendous impact on small to mid-sized enterprises. DSL uses existing copper phone wires to send and receive information at much higher speeds than standard computer modems and the more traditional dial-up methods. The days of sending analog signal across the phone line may be numbered. With DSL, a digital signal is sent across the phone line using a very high frequency. The bandwidth over the phone line is broken down into many different "virtual" lines which can be used for a number of different applications, such as data, voice and in the near future, video. The most common flavors of DSL include asymmetric DSL and symmetrical DSL.

Asymmetric DSL, or ADSL, provides users with different speeds for uploading and downloading data. The rationale for this is that information requests usually require minimal data, while the information generated from the request tends to be larger and requires more bandwidth. ADSL may not be suitable for customers who need to send large amounts of information to other locations. For example, if a company hosts its own high-volume Web site or a large volume e-mail server, upstream bandwidth is more critical than in a typical "browser" environment. However, if surfing the web, sending e-mail and downloading files are a company's primary uses for the Internet, choosing ADSL makes sense for that company.

With symmetrical DSL, or SDSL, information is sent and received at the same speed, providing greater flexibility in application deployment. Like ADSL, SDSL uses existing copper wires and is less expensive than its predecessors, like the T1 and the Frame Relay. SDSL is the method of choice for integrating voice services and other web-based applications. Bundling these services across a single connection allows companies to access powerful Internet-based applications quickly, easily and cost-effectively. It is now possible, to package high-speed, dedicated Internet access with up to eight unique telephone numbers for voice, e-mail and web hosting capabilities over a single DSL line. When configured to support both voice and data, Internet bandwidth is dynamically allocated to allow for each phone line in use.

DSL does have has some limitations. The most common limitation is distance from the customer to the nearest telephone company's central office (CO). DSL requires a clean, unconditioned copper loop that is less than 3 miles, or roughly 17,500 ft from the CO. Also, some companies choose to resell DSL services through national or regional DSL providers. This could lead to difficulties in determining who has responsibility for parts of the service. Issues like customer service, technical support and billing can become clouded. Facilities-based DSL providers, on the other hand, have complete ownership of the DSL service, can react quickly to the needs of their customers and have more control over the types of DSL services offered. This allows for more flexibility to meet a customer's needs.

There's no "one-size-fits-all" technology that works best for every company. When making the decision to go with a technology like DSL, talk with several vendors. Make sure to find out which application best serves the needs of your company before making a commitment.

Doug Reineri is Vice President of Sales for Primary Network's Western Division, a facilities-based DSL, Internet Access and telecommunications company specializing in small to mid-sized businesses. Phone: 913.402.7900 Fax: 913.402.8501 Website: www.primary.net e-mail: dreineri@primary.net.