Using Wireless USB Broadband As Back-Up

One hundred (100%) connectivity or being always online is definitely the target of every Internet café owner for his business. Getting offline or having no Internet connection for even a few minutes would mean losses in revenue aside from the poor image that it would cause on his business. I distinctly remember that when we were still operating a non-gaming Internet shop, our customers would just wait for say, five (5) minutes in case of a service interruption by our Internet service provider (ISP). After a short wait, they will leave our shop and probably look for one with Internet connection nearby. And, even if our connection gets back shortly after they left, it would normally take at least two (2) hours before our customer inflow gets back to normal.

While many areas in the country are served by more than one (1) ISP, it is not always advisable or financially feasible to subscribe to more than one Internet connection because this would mean doubling the cost of this most important input in an i-café business. Getting a second ISP could easily bring up the monthly cost of a commercial Internet connection to around PhP7,000 to 8,000 instead of only PhP3,500 to 4,000 for a single connection.

But this was before the wireless broadband Internet service came into being. Originally introduced as a fixed wireless service by Smart Communications with only 384 Kbps speed, the two (2) other telecommunication companies followed suit and the choices have widened. Instead of having a fixed antenna installed in the roof or wall of an establishment, wireless broadband service is now completely mobile and the promised speed has gone up to 2Mbps which is sufficient enough to fully serve the connection need of an i-café when its regular wired DSL service snaps.

The other thing going in favor of wireless USB broadband service aside from its mobility is its price. While price varies a little from one provider to the other, the average price of about one thousand (PhP1,000) pesos per month of unlimited usage and the twenty (PhP20.00) pesos per hour of metered connection are good enough for an i-café owner to immediately decide getting one as back-up for his business.

The next questions will be which one to choose, Smart BRO, Globe Tattoo or Sun Broadband and should it be postpaid (unlimited) or prepaid (per minute) service. For use as a back-up connection in an i-café, I strongly suggest the postpaid or unlimited wireless USB broadband service. This is especially useful when you have computers at home. The mobile connectivity that the USB device can provide may make it practical for you to drop your residential DSL subscription.

Regarding the brand of the wireless USB broadband connection that you must avail, it would be best if you could test the connection speed in your area of three (3) different brands before making the decision. Having good cellular phone signal in your area by a carrier (ISP) is not a guarantee that you will have a fast internet connection from the service provider. Do not conclude that a certain brand is best for you because their advertisement say so.