Whatever your industry, having secure, reliable internet access is non-negotiable.

Staying online and providing and keeping your employees connected should be easy. But as your business grows, traditional shared broadband has its limitations.

That's why so many forward-thinking businesses are switching to dedicated internet access (DIA).

DIA is becoming increasingly popular as it provides businesses with a dedicated connection with guaranteed bandwidth, or "symmetrical speeds."

If you're looking to upgrade your internet connection, here we'll explain what DIA is, how it differs from broadband and why you need it for your business.

What is dedicated internet access?

Dedicated internet access is a private, high-performance internet connection. DIA can directly link your business to an internet service provider (ISP).

As DIA is direct and unshared, it offers guaranteed speeds, a reliable connection and low levels of lag and latency. Here’s how DIA compares to traditional broadband:

Broadband vs DIA: what's the difference?

How does dedicated internet access work?

DIA works by providing a dedicated connection directly to your business, also known as “leased lines.” Here’s a breakdown of the process in more detail.

1. Connection: Your provider runs a private line (typically fibre) straight from their network to your business.

2. Bandwidth: By running a direct line from provider-to-business, you benefit from uncontended bandwidth as you won’t have to share it with other businesses. Your provider will also set you up with a dedicated bandwidth, which you can use at all times.

3. Traffic: All traffic connects directly with your provider’s nerve centre, so your data doesn’t mix with anyone else’s. It’s private and secure.

4. Service level agreements (SLAs): Your provider will also outline service level agreements, such as minimum uptime, fault maintenance and latency guarantees.

5. Support: The best DIA providers, like Radius, can offer continuous maintenance and support to ensure the best possible performance at all times.

The benefits of dedicated internet access

As you’re now likely aware, DIA offers businesses a wealth of benefits, which we’ll explore in more depth here.

Guaranteed bandwidth

With Dedicated Internet Access, you get what you pay for. If you commit to a 50Mbp service, that’s what you’ll get.

Many businesses find that when they move to DIA, they can drop from a 100Mbps connection to a 50Mbps connection because of the guaranteed bandwidth they receive.

Equal upload and download speeds

One of the downsides of shared broadband is that upload speeds are normally very poor. With DIA, you’ll benefit from upload speeds that match your download speeds.

The result? A more productive working environment, effective collaboration and a better experience for your employees.

Privacy and security

As you’ll effectively be leasing a line from your network provider, you’ll have far more options when it comes to customising your security settings.

Having a private connection will also keep your business more secure and protect it from data breaches and cybercrime.

Unlimited usage

With DIA, you won’t have to worry about hitting a monthly usage limit or paying additional fees for exceeding it.

That means you can run your business without limits and make more reliable or consistent financial projections.

Customer support

Leasing a dedicated line from your telecoms operator can mean you receive a more focused and committed level of customer support from your provider.

With DIA, you’ll have a ‘Service Level Agreement’ to guarantee what you can expect from your provider. If there’s an issue, your provider will prioritise fixing it as soon as possible.

Confidence

One of the main benefits our customers find is that each of the factors we’ve mentioned increases their confidence in the services they are paying for.

With more confidence in your connection and the service you’ll receive, you can focus on what you do best - running your business.

Who is dedicated internet for, exactly?

DIA is ideal for scaling businesses with further growth plans. If you rely heavily on internet usage to run your business, a dedicated internet connection will maximise your uptime and performance.

If you currently use any of the services listed here, DIA could be your best option for guaranteeing and improving your internet access:

• Remote users
• VPN access
• Remote desktops
• VoIP telephone systems
• Cloud applications

If your business runs on a mix of applications and a lag in service could seriously stunt your productivity, DIA is worth considering.

Make the switch with Radius

Now that you know what DIA is and how it could benefit your business compared to broadband, you may want to make the switch. If so, we can help.

At Radius, we take a partner-led approach to providing businesses with dedicated internet access. We’ll work with you to develop and curate services that will match your exact operational needs and growth goals.