Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 17 July 2008 16:27
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 4
Well, as I was saying on page 1, having a Plan B will cost money, but it would, in theory, save you money if another outage occurred, especially if it was a long outage that lasted more than a day.
For medium to large businesses that can afford it, having a second Internet connection into your business from an ISP connected to a different network is the way to go. Yes, it will be expensive, just sitting there, waiting to be used.
But when you need it, you just disconnect from the affected provider to your backup provider, and off you go – your downtime is very low.
For small businesses or individuals, you could also get a second wired Internet connection, but a better alternative is a wireless broadband option of some kind. If you’re in 3’s coverage area, you can get 1GB of 3.5G broadband for $15 per month through a USB wireless modem or a PCMCIA/ExpressCard modem.
There’s also Vodafone’s 5GB of 3.5G broadband for $39 per month, Optus’ 6GB of 3.5G for $49 per month, or Telstra’s 3GB of 3.5G for $119 per month.
You can connect any of those wireless broadband solutions into something like Netcomm’s N3G002W broadband router, which can turn 3.5G wireless broadband into Wi-Fi, or distribute it via Ethernet.
Another alternative is D-Link’s 3G Mobile Router, the DIR-451. It does the same thing but comes with four Ethernet ports on the back. Other router manufacturers have similar devices, too, and these routers cost around $300 (and up) to buy.
That way, when your wired ADSL or cable connection goes down, you can just plug your router into your backup wireless connection, and you’re on the Internet once more.
Better still, someone can be using that wireless connection when it’s not needed so at least you’re not paying for something that isn’t being used.
Now, if you have several people working in an office at the same time, you’ll all be sharing a connection that will work at speeds of around 250Kbps to 1.5Mbps, or with Telstra, up to about 3Mbps.
That means several people all connected together surfing the web, doing email and more could result in a slower Internet experience than you’d normally expect from a wired connection. But at least you will have an Internet connection.
Alternatives also include iBurst, Unwired, satellite broadband (although that's expensive) or other commercial Wi-Fi (or even WiMAX) solutions. Even dial-up is a backup for individuals but you'd need both a dialtone and to be truly desperate for that.
Continued on page 3.
