BUSINESS PHONE NEWS

Can a Wide Area Network Aggregate Cable, 4G & DSL? Yes (with our WAN Optimization Toolkit & Buyers Guide)

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

When it comes to getting the very most bandwidth for the very least amount of money business owners ask, "If a coax cable broadband internet connection works just fine at my home, why can't I use coax cable on my business wide area network or WAN"?"

Why indeed?!

The business-class phone companies will all answer this customer question with, "Cable's just a 'best effort' consumer grade product that you can't trust for business applications..."

Other times the phone companies will just fall on the ground and beg, "No! Please don't go cable!"

Well chiding and begging aside, if patching together cheap internet connections can be done using cable, 4G/LTE, DSL and fiber - shouldn't it be tried by cost conscious business owners?

Absolutely!

Sometimes it works great and sometimes it doesn't work very well at all. It all kind of depends on what kind of business applications you're running over your WAN and how sensitive the applications are to network speed and latency.

 

Where Does One Start?  The Yellow Pages or our WAN Toolkit & Buyers Guide

"Aggregated WANs" have been successfully created by many businesses looking for an inexpensive backup or an alternative to expensive MPLS networks.

Creating one simply requires a great deal of patience and labor as doing it successfully requires successfully interfacing with dozens of different Internet service providers or "ISPs" depending on how many different locations your business has and in what part of the country they are located in.

 

How Much Do You Do Yourself?

A lot, a little or none. Again, depending on your tolerance for dealing with all the ISPs you way want to engage the services of a professional WAN independent sales partner, aggregator, reseller or integrator.

If you type "WAN optimization" or "WAN aggregation" into your favorite search engine you'll be amazed at how many vendors you can find that want to help you with this sort of WAN aggregation project. Many solve the problem with people. Others solve the problem with better "secret sauce".

Let us give you some free advise.

We're in the business of helping business owners and IT decision makers navigate the murky WAN optimization vendors. Whether you want a gold-plated MPLS network or just something that works but at the least possible price - we can direct you to the vendors that can help.

That's what we do. Please give us a call.

Ready for Usage-Based Broadband Billing? How Much Data Does Your Business Use Each Month?

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email 

Who remembers the early years of the Internet back in 1994 when we all paid $25 to America Online for just five total hours of surfing each month? Or how about in 1997 when AOL changed to unlimited pricing for just $10 a month but all their dial-up lines were suddenly busy 24/7?

Believe it or not, Internet access started out as a usage-based or metered service. And even though the Internet's been "all-you-can-eat" usage-wise for the better part of 15-years, it looks like a return to some sort of usage-based Internet pricing for both consumers and businesses alike is not too far off.

Both Verizon and AT&T are moving their smart phone customers to metered data models and residential cable companies are following suit according to this article.  

What's a small business owner to do?  

Create a network bandwidth management checklist for your business so you can learn what sort of data transmissions you're paying for, measure how much you're paying for and monitor the traffic to confirm that you're only paying for what you want to pay for.

 

How to Create a Network Bandwidth Management Checklist for Your Business

Do all the ways your employees use your businesses Internet connection suddenly make you feel like you're running a coffee shop with a free Internet "Hot Spot"?  Well if you feel that way you've got the right model in mind.

Effective "Network Bandwidth Management" for any business owner really requires no more expertise than what a coffee shop owner employs for a public Hot Spot when they exercise control over just three things:

1. Who's accessing the network,

2. What type of data are they uploading and downloading, and

3. How much are they uploading and downloading

So step one for creating a "network bandwidth management checklist" for your business can be as easy as treating your business like a coffee shop and instituting the same Internet access controls as a coffee shop.  If you're not sure where to start, click here for a simple, 3-step guide to protecting your business Internet as least as much as a coffee shop owner protects his or her public Hot Spot.

This simple, painless and practically free exercise will educate you about what you need to be looking at to protect your own business wide area network which is no doubt much more complex than a single-site coffee shop.

Many business owners rightfully think, "I don't need to worry about that as my IT director, IT department or IT contractor has got that 'covered'". Maybe yes -- maybe no!  To double-check just how well your business bandwidth is being managed, download and take the "Business Bandwidth Management Self-Analysis Survey" in our Bandwidth Management Buyers Guide.

Business owners should know the answers to these important bandwidth management issues. If you don't, let the survey be an opportunity to discuss with your IT resources where your current business bandwidth management policies are today -- and where they may need to be tomorrow.

If your IT consultant isn't managing your bandwidth then feel free to contact a local bandwidth management partner listed at www.BusinessPhoneNews.com. 

 

Download our Free 2013 Bandwidth Management Buyers Guide

Click here to download our free Bandwidth Management Buyer's Guide. Our guide is designed help you understand what questions to ask bandwidth management sales partners and vendors to ensure you're getting quoted the right design at the right price.

If you need a referral to a TA partner or vendor that has been recently recommended by their customers for bandwidth management expertise, the buyers guide lists specific partners and vendors that you may wish to call on for consulting, solution design or a competitive quote.

How to Inexpensively Increase Internet Bandwidth by Bonding Low Cost Coax Cable and DSL Circuits

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

Helping large multi-location business customers save money on their primary and/or backup data networks by cobbling together the lowest-cost Internet access provider in any particular region in the country is good business for Bandwave Systems.

For over a decade, Bandwave Systems has taken a solution that any IT systems manager might think "this should work" (bonding DSL, 4G/LTE and cable Internet together) and making it work the way it should by ironing out all the kinks. 

To learn how inexpensively increase Internet bandwidth bonding coax cable and or DSL circuits we recently interviewed Adil Zaidi, Operations Manager of Bandwave Systems.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the white paper created from this interview.

To listen to the interview, click here to download the MP3 recording.

You can also listen now with your computer speakers by clicking the player below and then follow along by reading the transcript below. 

 

Interview Audio

Click the player above to listen to the interview now.

 

Interview Transcript

Dan Baldwin:  Intro: Today I'm speaking with Adil Zaidi, Operations Manager of Bandwave Systems, a nationwide business broadband provider that integrates and aggregates all carriers and cable operators and technologies (DSL, T-1, Cable, Fiber Ethernet, Wireless) so that businesses with multiple locations are provided a complete nationwide network solution with just a single point of contact. Adil thanks for speaking with our audience today.

 

Question #1:  Adil, many telecom companies have long told business customers that low cost "best effort" bandwidth services like DSL or coax cable were "residential grade" products that where not comparable in quality to higher cost T-1 level solutions and above. What is Bandwidth System's experience with having your business customers successfully use DSL and cable for business solutions?

Well Dan, we’ve actually had a lot of success with our customers using dsl and cable for business solutions.  T1 technology is a high cost, low speed product.  We’re able to bring in a 10meg by 1meg next gen dsl or a 50meg by 10meg cable circuit for under 200 dollars per month.  We have metrics on both dsl and cable and we see two solid reliable products that have low latency and high bandwidth for the fraction of the cost of a T1 circuit.   

How to Use Cable Aggregation as an Alternative or a Replacement for Your MPLS Network

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

Can cable aggregated wide area data network ("WAN") really replace an MPLS network for a multi-location business? Yes...

For years the business phone companies have been telling business owners and IT directors that using any sort of cable Internet solution in a business environment is a bad idea because cable does not have any quality of service ("QoS") and is an inherently "shared" resource meaning a business would never get the data throughput they were promised.

Well that argument is certainly still being waived around by the telcos but after experiencing the successful use of cable Internet in their homes, few business owners or IT directors have a problem with the idea of taking a serious look at replacing their expensive MPLS data network with a professionally aggregated mix of coax cable providers.

But since all the cable companies have different service areas across the country, most businesses are hesitant to try an aggregated cable dat network solution because of the problem of having to do all the aggregation in-house and then keeping track of individual cable company invoices.

Fortunately there are cable aggregation companies available to businesses that want to try an aggregated cable solution to replace their expensive MPLS wide area network or "WAN". Of all the cable aggregation companies to choose from, few have the "one stop shop" success that has been found by Bandwave Systems out of Philadelphia. 

To learn just how a coax cable solution works when backing up or aggregating an MPLS network we recently interviewed Tom Azelby, Managing Director of Bandwave.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the white paper created from this interview.

To listen to the interview, click here to download the MP3 recording.

You can also listen now with your computer speakers by clicking the player below and then follow along by reading the transcript below. 

 

Interview Audio

Click the player above to listen to the interview now.

 

Interview Transcript

Dan Baldwin:  Today I'm speaking with Tom Azelby, the founder and managing partner of Bandwave Systems, a nationwide business broadband provider that integrates and aggregates all carriers and cable operators and technologies, DSL, T-1, cable, fiber, Ethernet, wireless and so on, so that businesses with multiple locations are provided a complete nationwide network solution with just a single point of contact. Tom, thanks for speaking with our audience today.

Tom Azelby:  Thanks for having me, Dan.

DB:  Tom, IT directors for multi-location businesses are looking for alternatives to the classic MPLS network because they need to save money, get more bandwidth for the money they're spending or other reasons.  When typing "MPLS Alternative" into their favorite search engine, IT directors are finding Bandwave Systems. 

How to Use Coax Cable Aggregation to Backup or Augment Your MPLS Wide Area Network

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email  

 For years the business phone companies have been telling business owners and IT directors that using any sort of cable Internet solution in a business environment is a bad idea because cable does not have any quality of service ("QoS") and is an inherently "shared" resource meaning a business would never get the data throughput they were promised.

Well that argument is certainly still being waived around by the telcos but after experiencing the successful use of cable Internet in their homes, few business owners or IT directors have a problem with the idea of backing up the wide area date network for their business with a professionally aggregated mix of coax cable providers.

But since all the cable companies have different service areas across the country, most businesses are hesitant to try an aggregated cable backup solution because of the problem of having to do all the aggregation in-house and then keeping track of individual cable company invoices.

Fortunately there are cable aggregation companies available to businesses that want to try an aggregated cable solution to backup or augment their main MPLS wide area network or "WAN". Of all the cable aggregation companies to choose from, few have the "one stop shop" success that has been found by Bandwave Systems out of Philadelphia. 

To learn just how a coax cable solution works when backing up or aggregating an MPLS network we recently interviewed Tom Azelby, Managing Director of Bandwave.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the white paper created from this interview.

To listen to the interview, click here to download the MP3 recording.

You can also listen now with your computer speakers by clicking the player below and then follow along by reading the transcript below. 

 

Interview Audio

Click the player above to listen to the interview now.

 

Interview Transcript

Dan Baldwin:  Today I'm speaking with Tom Azelby, the founder and managing partner of Bandwave Systems, a nationwide business broadband provider that integrates and aggregates all carriers and cable operators and technologies, DSL, T-1, cable, fiber, Ethernet, wireless and so on, so that businesses with multiple locations are provided a complete nationwide network solution with just a single point of contact. Tom, thanks for speaking with our audience today.

  Tom Azelby:  Thanks for having me, Dan.

  DB:  Tom, for years, IT directors have been led to believe that an MPLS network was the perfect solution to connect a nationwide multi-location business over a single wide area network, or WAN, but for multiple reasons, your company, Bandwave Systems has been brought in by MPLS carriers to augment and/or backup the MPLS solution they were selling a business.  

 

Question #1:  Why are MPLS carriers bringing Bandwave into their solutions?

  TA:  Well, I think one of the big reasons today is network redundancy, and coax cable is a diverse pathway to traditional Telecom infrastructure, so the Bandwave Cable -Connect product is a perfect fit for a redundant Internet connection.

The next reason Telecom Consultants and Carrier Sales Reps are coming to Bandwave is due to our experience. We've been in data aggregation since 2000. We were one of the first nationwide DSL aggregators. Today as a cable Internet provider or a cable aggregator, we have the experience, the relationships, and all the systems in place to provision and manage Nationwide Cable Internet Connections, Our main marketing message is one contract, one bill, one customer support, and we do that for Multi Site Enterprises using our partnership with all the cable providers Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, Cox, Brighhouse, RCN, Cablevision, Suddenlink, Mediacom (MSO’s).