Small business secrets...

The UK government has named the areas which will be subject to the ‘full fibre’ trial. This is an attempt to improve the country's incredibly slow broadband speeds which currently rank below most of Europe. Businesses, schools and hospitals will benefit from the pilot scheme in Aberdeenshire, West Sussex, Coventry and Warwickshire, Bristol, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, which are the first to trial the full-fibre network.  

Fast upload speeds are vital if your business is online, and faster speeds in general means it's easier to access work materials, upload files, sync data, hold video calls, and so on.

Earlier this year, telecoms regulator Ofcom proposed compensation for customers. Automatic refunds were proposed to be given to customers if their landline or broadband services are too slow, or if repair deadlines were rescheduled or missed.

A new report shows that across the UK the average broadband download speed is 16.5Mbps, meaning we rank 31st in the world, and trail behind most of Europe.

As it currently stands, in rural areas 30 per cent of companies of all sizes do not have access to a stable connection. This is unacceptable when many businesses now use cloud based services for even basic accounting functions. The days of just using internet for email are long over - its 2017!

While a typical household might have very few occupants who need to use the internet at the same time, businesses could have tens. Superfast business broadband is designed for multiple users, to handle any extra demands. Superfast fibre and cable broadband offers significantly faster speeds than ADSL services. Consequently, you can do more with time and get more out of a working day. Choosing this option, you’ll experience less of the slowdowns in service that might jeopardise your staff productivity.

Looking to change your current business broadband provider? You should first be aware of your current contract situation. Being in contract your supplier would generally inform you to pay cancellation fees if leaving, but under the law a lot of practices would justify an early cancellation. Here are some tips and information that will help you clear your situation with your current provider. You might be able to end your contract within your minimum terms with no extra charges!

Our research shows that small businesses in the UK are overpaying for Business Broadband and Phone Lines.  The top providers have raised prices almost every year in the last 5 years.   

bOnline SEO Consultant, Martin Podlucki, shares his tips for Maximising the SEO Value of Google+ for Your Local Business: