BT announced the availability of the UK’s first business-grade broadband product which switches automatically to 4G to help SMEs stay connected if they experience an interruption to their fixed broadband service.
The new product– called 4G Assure – is the first example of BT Enterprise’s new portfolio of products which will focus on the delivery of converged connectivity services to business customers. The launch is aligned with, and closely follows, the strategy updates provided by BT Group and its Consumer business, where convergence features prominently.
The launch sees BT provide small firms with a mobile broadband dongle to complement its existing Business Smart Hub. This provides a reliable back-up service with the hub automatically switching to 4G should a firm lose its fixed broadband connection, allowing businesses to avoid the inconvenience, productivity and financial impacts which can result from prolonged periods of broadband ‘downtime’.
Such interruptions to a firm’s broadband service can happen for a variety of reasons, including network damage arising from bad weather, or as a result of third parties inadvertently cutting through cables, for example.
BT has responded to this challenge by incorporating new technology into its latest hub which proactively detects whether a customer’s fixed broadband connection has been lost. If the hub detects an outage, it connects to the mobile broadband dongle to ensure the customer’s service switches to 4G, maintaining the internet connection.
The hub will then monitor for the return of the fixed line broadband connection every few seconds and will automatically switch back to fixed broadband when the line becomes stable. If a broadband fault is detected, BT will know and will take action to proactively fix the fault, without the customer having to contact the company to request a fix.
Crucially, for the many businesses which rely on static IP addresses to run their own websites, servers and connect remotely, 4G Assure is the first product of its kind to support static IP, claims BT.
4G Assure will be included at no extra charge for those customers taking an Ultrafast, Infinity Premium or Broadband Premium business broadband package from BT. Customers who purchase BT’s standard business broadband packages can buy 4G Assure for an additional £8 per month.
With 4G Assure offering unlimited mobile data to small businesses who may need to rely on the 4G connection in the event of a fixed broadband outage, customers needn’t worry about running up hefty mobile data bills, said BT.
Mike Tomlinson, MD, SME for BT
We are very excited about this new service because it combines the strengths of our fixed broadband network and the UK’s most powerful Wi-Fi signal with the most extensive 4G network in the country. This delivers a highly resilient broadband service which will keep SMEs – the backbone of the UK economy - up and running.
