Internet access isn’t just necessary for businesses to exist; it offers potentially unlimited opportunities for growth. Unfortunately, many businesses are using an obsolete, tired, old Internet connection medium. Michael Colin, sales director for BitCo, explains why you need to move from ADSL to fibre optics and/or wireless connectivity.
The long-standing development, and continued investment, in copper telephone lines has made ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) the preferred Internet connection choice for many. And for the longest time, it was a great choice.
ADSL is capable of relatively high speeds (VDSL offers speeds of up to 40Mbps) and is cost effective, due to the high distribution of the infrastructure and economy of scale. It’s also incredibly convenient; if you have a telephone line, you more than likely have access to ADSL. But ADSL is quickly losing favour with businesses.
The reason for ADSL’s fall is the same reason so many technologies can only be found in the records of history – obsolescence. There are new technologies to take note of – namely, fibre optics and wireless – and they’re spreading through businesses like wildfire. Wireless for its mobility, scalability and low cost. And fibre optics for its incredible speed – upload as well as download – low contention ratio, and high resistance to interference. And its lack of copper means it isn’t a target of theft, improving its uptime even more so.

Fibre optics: replacing ADSL everywhere
Fibre optics is the new standard for cabled Internet provision. It’s able to offer unprecedented bandwidth – 1Gbps plus as opposed to ADSL’s maximum of 40 Mbps – as well as an upload rate that equals its download. That makes uploading large files, such as video or voice, a much quicker process, and using cloud services much easier.
Fibre’s speed can also be attributed to a much lower contention ratio, which means fewer entities competing for the same bandwidth. By removing the limitation or slow progress usually involved with sending huge packets of data to the Internet or a server/cloud outside of your office, the services and experiences you can offer to customers are limited, quite literally, by your imagination alone.
Granted, it can initially be a more expensive investment than using ADSL. But the gains far outweigh the costs. The advantages for productivity alone are enough to justify the move. Imagine seamless HD web conferencing over voice and video, crystal clear VoIP, collaborating and sharing files with offices around the country in no time at all, and never having one or two bandwidth heavy tasks bring the Internet to a standstill for everyone else in the office. And because fibre optic lines are more resistant to interference and less likely to be affected by theft, uptime is almost a guarantee.

Wireless: unlimited reach and convenience

Wireless cannot compete with fibre optics, but its advantages are significant. For one, its independence from expensive cabled infrastructure means you can use it practically anywhere, and the cost to expand it to new areas is significantly less than wired networks. And adding new users to the network is a breeze compared to digging Fibre.

That makes it convenient and affordable, two factors any business should take note of, particularly if what they demand is agility and the ability to provide services or products to new customers rapidly, or expand / downscale quickly and without serious expense. And because wireless connections are easy to distribute, it can be used to expand a business’ reach into rural areas, remote locations and to overcome geographical features wired connects simply could not.

A wireless connection isn’t perfect; it’s slower than its fibre counterparts and, to an extent, less reliable. That’s why many businesses choose fibre as the backbone for their operations, and complement that with wireless, for expanded range, flexibility and agility and backup. Both fibre and wireless offer advantages over ADSL your business should take note of, but ultimately, businesses must understand their business’ needs and choose the best connection (or solution) in response.

BitCo provides affordable, reliable, carrier grade quality with exceptional service and the utmost convenience to businesses nationwide. It’s also one of the only operators able to offer up to 1Gbps on a national scale thanks to 40Gbps of distribution ring in Johannesburg, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal. BitCo offers both wireless and Fibre. Only a handful of Providers in South Africa do.