A Guide For Rural Businesses

Cable broadband is still limited to areas with a high population density, meaning if you run a company from a rural country district, your most likely route for business broadband is via your landline business telephone systems. ADSL is the best-known example, although upload speeds can be slow if you have minimum bandwidth. SDSL is better, with upload equal to download speeds, at little extra cost.

However, what if your business phone lines are reliant on mobile communication – for example if the business itself is a highly mobile one, or the office is located deep in the country, away from BT landlines but with good mobile coverage? It does happen. For this, there’s the mobile broadband option – a recent but highly successful development that is now threatening to knock ADSL off its pedestal.

The truth is, business broadband for professional use is now available, by and large, throughout the UK – even in areas like the Outer Hebrides and the Scilly Isles. However, packages and speeds can vary quite dramatically. You are likely to be offered less choice if your business is located out in the sticks, and a confusing list of possible options if your company is city-based.

BT has extensive coverage in the British Isles, and so the majority of companies with broadband internet connectivity get it through their business phone lines, typically via BT’s Openreach Division. However, BT isn’t the only landline option. We at 5G Telecommunications offer LLU (local loop unbundling) packages, which allow you to opt out of BT’s exchange system without losing any of the benefits. We also offer set up, maintenance and other business telecoms solutions.