HOW GCI INTERNET BEATS DSL

Transcription

1 HOW GCI INTERNET BEATS DSL THE STRAIGHT COMPARISON GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

2 HOW DO GCI INTERNET AND DSL COMPARE? In Alaska, GCI Internet comes out on top. More Alaskans choose GCI, and when you stack GCI Internet and DSL side by side, the facts and data tend to speak for themselves. GCI is faster, low cost, and here for you with 24/7/365 support that s based right here in Alaska. When it comes to Internet for your business, take a moment to make a straight comparison of your own. See how the technologies differ, along with their pricing and service. When you run the numbers, we re confident that GCI is better where it counts most in performance, cost, and overall support. According to GCI financial and subscriber reporting. GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER 2

3 SPEED GCI IS FASTER DSL HAS ITS LIMITS DSL can t always deliver the speed you want. For example, you may want a 50 Mbps plan, only to find out that DSL in your location is limited to 18 Mbps. Why is that? Typically, DSL makes broad use of older balanced pair wires to connect a business to the DSL provider s network equipment and this can have a clear impact on speed. Specifically, the farther the Internet signal has to travel down those wires, the slower the speed. Even in cases where fiberoptic is used in parts of a DSL provider s network, many businesses still connect to those networks via balanced pair wires, which still impacts speed. FASTER INTERNET IS IN OUR BONES With GCI Internet, speed is not limited by distance traveled because cable connections are designed for high quality and capacity like full HD video and surround sound, all in addition to data. In short, cable Internet was designed for big bandwidth from the start. GCI DSL 1 GIG 500 Mbps 200 Mbps 100 Mbps 50 Mbps 0 Mbps In addition, we re increasing capacity all the time. As part of actively upgrading our technology, we ve launched our new 1 GIG service in Anchorage, which is expanding to multiple locations across Alaska by the end of 2016 and still more in With 1 GIG, you get the fastest Internet available in Alaska with speeds up to 100 times as fast as DSL. 1 GBPS ANCHORAGE 500 MBPS CHUGIAK EAGLE RIVER EIELSON AFB FT. WAINWRIGHT GIRDWOOD KENAI JBER MAT-SU NORTH POLE PETERS CREEK JUNEAU SOLDOTNA KETCHIKAN SITKA 1 GIG is available in select service locations GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER 3

4 SUPERIOR PEAK HOUR SPEED We closely manage our network capacity and other factors that provide you with the best speed and performance. Moreover, cable Internet offers stronger performance in general, as backed by the Federal Communications Commission and its Measuring Broadband America program. Its most recent study from 2014 looked at providers across America and found that cable Internet has the edge over DSL in delivering advertised speeds during peak hours. Per the FCC report, DSL on average meets 91 percent of advertised download speeds during peak periods; cable meets 102 percent. BETTER PERFORMANCE, TOO Also from the FCC, there s another reason why cable Internet wins out responsiveness. Technically known as latency, this is the time it takes for a packet of information to make a round trip from one point in a network to another. Put plainly, it measures the lag time between your device and the sites or apps you re using online. Less lag means that your connection is more responsive. This is usually measured in milliseconds (ms). The lower the number, the better. In nationwide tests, the FCC found that cable Internet provided an average latency of 32 ms compared to 49 ms for DSL. THE STRAIGHT SCOOP ON SPEED GET WHAT YOU ORDERED Contrary to some claims, typical DSL lines are not dedicated. They are part of a shared network, meaning that a typical DSL service connects to the Internet through a neighborhood wire center, which is shared by multiple customers. True dedicated Internet access is defined as a dedicated, point-topoint service that is directly connected to the Internet. Sure enough, you don t get a dedicated line when you sign up for DSL, as you can see in the diagram below. This is true for all service providers, unless you specifically sign up for a dedicated line. DSL PROVIDER DSLAM If you re promised a dedicated line, make sure that s what you re actually getting. A dedicated line is a select service, with very high standards, and one that we offer at GCI as part of our Dedicated Internet Access Service, DIAS. It includes specific uptime guarantees and service level agreements, which makes DIAS ideal for businesses where this level of Internet access is mission critical. Source: Wikia IT Law A DSLAM is a device used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to route incoming DSL connections to the Internet. A DSLAM combines a group of subscribers connections into one aggregate Internet connection. SPEEDS UP TO Every provider uses this phrase when talking about speed, and if they re not, they should. The nature of the Internet is shared, and that means every service provider and every user are subject to a number of influences that can impact top speed at any given time. If you see any claims that you ll get 100% top speed 100% of the time, you ll want to think twice. They re not true, unless you ordered a true dedicated line. Put plainly, the speed for any service provider s plan is the expected speed achievable for that plan. GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER 4

5 KNOW THE FACTORS What can affect expected speed? Let s break down a few major factors: The capability of the device you re using to access the Internet The demand that is being placed on the application, server, or website you are accessing Limitations of Wi-Fi and other equipment you may be using The activity of other users or devices on your business network at the same time The state of the Internet in general, particularly the demand being placed on routers across the Internet at any given time KNOW WHO TO CALL As always, if you ever have any issue with your Internet service or performance, call us. We re here to help you isolate the issue. Our Business Technical Support is Alaska-based, available 24/7/365. VALUE GCI IS LOWER COST COMPETITIVE PRICING GCI Internet offers high speed at a low price. For example: 10 Mbps with GCI, $59.99/month; 10 Mbps with DSL, $139/month GCI saves you 56% per month 100 Mbps with GCI, $134.99/month; 100 Mbps with DSL, $359/month GCI saves you 62% per month You ll also see that you can get faster speeds DSL doesn t even have, and still at a lower price. For example, our red Internet Plan at 500 Mbps costs $ a month, whereas DSL tops out at 200 Mbps while charging $649 a month. Plus, with our 1 GIG launch in Anchorage (and many more regions to follow in 2016), those savings get even larger because with our red Internet Plan, you automatically get upgraded to the fastest possible speed at no extra charge. Compared to Alaska Communications base pricing, September Mbps 50 Mbps 100 Mbps 500 Mbps GCI DSL SAVINGS $59.99 $ $85.99 $ $ $ $ N/A 56% 70% 62% N/A NO CAPS AND NO SURPRISES While GCI builds its plans around speed and usage, GCI does not put a cap on your data. You can use all the apps and services you always use. In fact, 95% of GCI Internet customers fall well within their usage every month. We help you pick the best plan for your business from the start, and give you simple tools so you always know where you stand like the GCI Usage Viewer App and automatic threshold notifications if you happen to reach 80%, 100%, or 120% of your plan s included usage Based on GCI usage data, May GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER 5

6 YOU ALWAYS HAVE OPTIONS If your needs change, you have plenty of low-cost options that still beat DSL. More importantly though, one thing we like to find out first is how your needs have changed. Our account and technical teams can help you determine if your usage has truly gone up, or if there s another reason behind it. Bottom line, if your usage is spiking because of an issue, we can help you identify the problem and work with you to address it. If you end up needing just a little extra data here and there, we can set you up with that for very little cost with data buckets in $10 increments. Even if you dip into a bucket from time to time, GCI will still save you far more than DSL. For example, a 50 Mbps plan from GCI that costs $84.99 per month includes 150 GB in usage. A 50 Mbps plan with DSL costs $279 per month. It would take you an extra 200 GB of data (350 GB in total) to approach the cost of DSL. To put that figure in perspective, that s the equivalent of sending or receiving 40,000 extra s with 5MB attachments in one month. If your business is growing, we can easily switch you to a faster plan, with even more data, and still beat DSL by far. Using the example above, Our 100 Mbps plan offers 300 GB of data for $ compared to DSL s 50 Mbps plan at $279, where DSL is still more than twice as expensive as GCI Compared to Alaska Communications base pricing, September 2015 SERVICE GCI IS HERE 24/7/365 ON CALL, 24/7/365 Better Internet also means better service. GCI is based in Alaska, and so are our call centers and service teams. We get what s important when it comes to doing business here in Alaska, and we back that up with 24/7/365 dedicated support from GCI s Business Technical Support. It features same-day and next-day technical dispatch, along with a dedicated business line for any of your technical and how-to questions. Your dedicated account team is also on call to help as your business needs change, and to consult if it looks like your needs will be changing soon. We track and event manage each call until your issue is resolved. In all, your account team is tasked with making certain that your business is getting the level of service and support it needs and to address any issues or questions you have about your service. We want to ensure that you re getting the performance you ve come to expect. THE RIGHT FIT Signing up for the right plan isn t a shot in the dark. We ll help you select the right plan for the size and type of business you have, all as part of coming on board with GCI. In the meantime, let s look at selecting a plan with the help of a practical example. Consider an office full of power users who really tap into the Internet a lot as part of their day. These are power users who: Browse online and use online business apps 80 hours a month: 1.5 GB Receive 900 s a month with 200, 5MB attachments: 1.1 GB Stream 80 hours of music a month: 7.62 GB Spend 8 hours video chatting/conferencing a month: 3 GB Total usage: GB a month = 22 high-usage employees on our 100 Mbps Internet Plan or 68 high-usage employees on our red Internet Plan Granted, that s a profile of a power user. Another scenario might be an employee average that s closer to 10 GB a month. That makes the 100 Mbps Internet Plan a great choice for businesses with 30 employees, and the red Internet Plan a great choice for businesses with up to 90 employees. It all adds up to this: 95% of GCI business Internet customers fall within their usage each month. Based on GCI usage data, May 2015 GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER 6

7 PUT US TO THE TEST While it s one thing to compare GCI Internet to DSL, what really counts is to see what works for you. Because that s so important, we ve made it easy for businesses to try GCI Internet so you can see the difference for yourself. Your business can try GCI Internet risk free for 180 days, starting at $59.99 a month with GCI Complete 180. It lets you put us, and our service, to the test. If you re not satisfied with the speed, value, or usage after 180 days, you can do a complete 180 back to your previous provider. CONCLUSION While both GCI Internet and DSL are viable solutions for your business, the facts point to GCI Internet as the first choice to consider because: GCI is faster, with the highest speeds in Alaska GCI is lower cost, with clear savings and no data caps GCI is here 24/7/365, with Alaska-based dedicated support Of course, we re happy to help with getting your questions answered so you can make the best decision possible for your business. Talk to your GCI rep, or visit us at gci.com/business anytime. GCI YOUR BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNER 7