Today’s business environment has become exponentially more dependent on bandwidth than it was a few years ago. While DSL and then Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) were seen as the dominant sources of bandwidth used to deliver Internet to the business community in the early 2000s, the current trend might suggest that the entry of cable companies in the business market could become a significant source in the coming years After working through seemingly endless efforts to offer consistency in service, cable companies in general have found their footing in relation to Internet service commercial.
In most major markets, business customers can receive broadband from major cable companies such as Time Warner, Comcast, and Charter. Communications are at the forefront offering bandwidth that far exceeds traditional Internet speeds at a fraction of the cost. As an example, there are markets where businesses can access 20MB x 5MB for almost half the cost of a 1.5MB DIA circuit from the phone companies.
To be fair, service levels are characterized as best effort or “up to speeds,” while DIA services have definitive guarantees of minimum speeds. Still, the value and performance of cable services has been a favorable tradeoff for the potential downside of cable service.
Another consideration when it comes to cable companies versus traditional phone companies is the level of customer service. While not necessarily known for being the best in customer service, phone companies often have a good track record in managing service delivery, especially in the business market. The same cannot be said for cable companies. While the level of service doesn’t often resemble the “customer without service” of the consumer market, as consumer advocate Clark Howard might put it, it still lags behind the standards of expectation that businesses demand. For that reason, it’s not uncommon for businesses to use a secondary or backup Internet service. Whether it’s maintaining DSL or sharing the bandwidth of a voice circuit, the cost and security of this can alleviate fears of losing service or experiencing outages with less-proven cable broadband services.
One final note when considering the challenges of dealing with cable companies is their limited service areas. While they are aggressively marketing the services, it often takes weeks of time and trouble before service availability can be determined. It is also not uncommon to find the cable company willing to provide the service only if the building owner allows it and the customer is willing to pay a substantial construction fee.