Telecom Service Level Agreements

The Internet can be a double-edged sword for businesses. On one hand, it provides an easy and effective way to connect your office with partners, clients, branch offices, vendors, etc., use critical business applications, and even make local and long distance phone calls via VoIP.

On the other hand, especially when you are employing a Cable or DSL service, the other edge of the sword is reliability (or lack thereof). There are a number of issues that come with Cable and DSL services; arguably the biggest being that they are not regulated telecom services, but rather “information services.” Moreover, they are also considered “best effort” services. This means that, in the event of a service affecting issue, your provider has promised to make its best effort with available resources to reach a resolution as soon as possible. That being said, don’t be fooled into thinking it is any sort of a guarantee for bandwidth, availability or level of service, as it most assuredly is not.

Those of us who are familiar with technology know good and well that Murphy’s Law will undoubtedly appear just in time to make a mockery of your downloads, order entries, updates, and/or your meticulously planned service installations and upgrades. Occasionally it’ll only be for a few frustrating minutes. Other times, however, your service could be down for hours or even days – with no resolution in site. When such interruptions occur repair efforts are often slow moving, causing businesses to suffer – that is unless their provider has specific contractual obligations. While it’s true that no connection provides 100% availability 24/7/365, dedicated services, such as an Internet T1 or Internet T3 line, guarantees greater reliability. This is because the majority of dedicated connections offer a Service Level Agreement.

A Service Level Agreement, or SLA, is a contract between you and your service provider. SLAs cover everything from bandwidth and availability (most providers aim for 99.99% uptime) to compensation for outages. It is important to note that not all provider SLAs are the same, and the degree to which more stringent terms can be negotiated is often dependent on the size of the customer.

Don’t fall victim to a supposedly inexpensive broadband connection. If your business’s Internet connection equates to not only a flow of bits per minute but also dollars, you need a dedicated connection with a powerful SLA. At Connecthere, we partner with today’s leading Tier 1 providers, allowing us to provide you with industry-leading service, SLAs and support. Contact us today!