Choosing a service and provider

Providers offer many kinds of products and services to businesses, ranging from standard basic services, right through to specialist and bespoke technical products.

They must set out clear and up to date information on prices and tariffs for their standard services, so you should find information and terms on their website, or you can request it directly from them.

You will encounter services such as voice products, including PSTN and ISDN lines, internet products such as ADSL and fibre broadband, data connections such as leased lines, and other services such as VoIP and business mobile. You can find explanations of important electronic communications products and services in our 'Business Basics' guide and our jargon buster.

You can also see how different types of communications can benefit your business in our infographic guide.

New telecoms technologies often come onto the market and these may be useful to your business. Your provider will be able to give you advice on how new technologies, products and services can help your business, so it's a good idea to outline your requirements.

With more people now shopping online, e-commerce is a great way to improve your business and reach new customers, wherever you are based. Many sites offer to host online stores, and there are a range of tools out there to help you build an online storefront.

Cloud computing applications and services are a way for businesses to cut their IT costs, and new products are becoming available all the time. Instead of having to buy expensive hardware and software licences, cloud computing allows firms to store data, information and applications online.

Almost six in ten adults engage in social media every week, and this is higher still among younger adults. Businesses are increasingly using social media sites to promote themselves, to find new customers, to help existing clients, and even to recruit new staff. It's quick and easy to create a social media presence and it can be a great way to raise awareness of your brand.

You'll find links to a range of useful sites and organisations to help you consider your needs in our page of useful links and other organisations.

Wherever you are in the UK you will find communications providers who can offer business contracts to you. Some of these may be national providers and some local to just your area.

One way to compare services is to use an Ofcom accredited price comparison website. These websites are accredited for their residential product comparison service, but most also provide comparison for standard business broadband (and phone), and all compare standard residential products.

Service availability: rural and urban

Due to continued improvements in the UK's communications infrastructure and developments in technology, it's getting easier to conduct business remotely, out of the office, and reach people across the UK or abroad.

There may still be limitations on the business services and products that are available, and in some instances you may wish to seek alternatives to standard broadband (such as mobile, satellite or back up lines) if connectivity is critical to your business.

Ofcom’s Mobile and Broadband Checker can help you to assess the provision and quality of communications services in your area. By simply entering a postcode, you can check the availability of superfast broadband, average download speeds and the quality of mobile coverage for the major providers – all in one place.

Both the Openreach checker (the division of BT which installs and maintains telephone and broadband connections) and the BDUK superfast checker also allows you check to see if superfast broadband services are supplied to your area.

If you are located in a rural area that cannot get superfast products from any provider, there may be a community project allowing you to gain access to these services. You can also register your interest for superfast services with both Openreach and Virgin Media.

Finding a provider: BDUK

Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is the body that is delivering the government plan to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017. Its website contains information about improvements to UK infrastructure.

BDUK contains information on developments to connectivity are happening in your area. By looking at its Superfast Projects map you can find the scheme for your region, and each website contains information on which providers operate in your area, for all services, not just superfast broadband.

If you are in one of the 50 connected cities of the Government's Superconnected Cities Programme, you can check which providers operate in your area by using their postcode checker, or by looking at the list of cities to display which national and regional communications providers are available at your premises.

This scheme entitles you to apply for up to £3,000 worth of vouchers to help you get connected.

Every business wants to keep its overheads down but opting for the cheapest deal may not always be the best choice.

Providers offer different levels of service, and higher levels of service usually cost more.

It may be beneficial to spend more in return for a better Service Level Agreement ('SLA'). For example, you may want to opt for a deal which promises a quicker turnaround for repairs, particularly if any downtime could seriously impact your business.

More details are outlined on our contracts page.

It may also be worth finding out about a provider's track record in customer service. Ofcom's latest annual report on customer service satisfaction across the communications sector can be found here (please note that this covers residential providers of telecoms services). Ofcom also regularly publishes data on complaints made against the major telecoms and pay-TV providers.

Connectivity is often critical to business operations - 69% of SMEs say that fixed lines were vitally important to business, and 60% say the same about fixed-line internet.

When making a purchasing decision it's important to remember that not all products come with a SLA for service availability, and only some business specific products are fully resilient (100% 'uptime').

This means that from time to time there may be temporary 'downtime' in your service. For example a 99.9% SLA would mean that on average your services might be down for ten minutes per week.

Providers offer resilience options for various products. One example is alternate routing of your connection, (in a separate cable, or in a separate duct). Discuss options with your chosen provider, as you may only need this if a constant connection is vital to your business.

Remember that providers can impose internet traffic management under certain circumstances. This could affect your services if you are conducting data-intensive activities. Read our internet traffic management guide to find out more.

Many providers sell both residential and business products and services, and because around a quarter of SMEs operate from a home office, in some cases you may have a dual use for your connection.

If you are a business considering a residential tariff, check the terms and conditions carefully. Not all providers will allow you to use a residential tariff for business purposes. This also applies to mobile contracts, so again, check carefully before you buy.

There can also be advantages in using products tailored specifically for businesses. For example, landline products will often come with improved service levels, priority customer service, and other features, such as an option to set up a Freephone business number.

Business broadband products can include faster speeds, static IP addresses, email addresses for your company, website domains and web-space if you want to build a website. They might also include enhanced security features to protect your business against viruses, malware and spam.

Tailored products, including those with higher bandwidth, uncontended connections (not shared with other users) and symmetric service (equal upload and download speeds to allow rapid data exchange), are also available.

You may want to consider purchasing a business mobile phone or a number of business mobile phones for your employees. Mobile communications are well established for business users, and can complement existing communications services you may have. A business mobile phone deal may be a good option for you, if for instance your business requires the use of communications while on the move, or if you do not have a fixed location.

Providers' business mobile phone tariffs may be beneficial to your business. They may offer shared data plans that are spread between several handsets, cheaper calls between those handsets, and access to useful apps and tools.

Negotiate your services

Once you have made your choice, make sure you are happy with the terms and conditions of your contract. You may be able to negotiate particular details with your supplier before agreeing to a service. You can request information about the conditions in your contract, as explained on our contracts page.

As the designated universal service provider in the UK, Royal Mail is required to provide First and Second Class services (as well as a range of other universal postal services such as registered and insured, international and addressee services) for every residence in the UK (in some rare cases, exceptions apply).

Many businesses use the same universal postal services provided by Royal Mail as residential consumers - buying stamps and sending mail via the post box network or the post office.

However, if you send letters and packets frequently you can check other available options. There are a range of different tariffs and parcel services (such as tracking and collection from your premises) which are available to business customers.
For example, you may want to consider:

In some areas of the UK, alternative operators to Royal Mail collect and deliver standard mail directly to your customers. These services do not necessarily require a volume or spend discount, or for you to sort your own mail in-house.

Paying using franking machines: franking is a way of printing pre-paid postage onto letters or labels using a franking machine with a credit account. Businesses pay lower postage prices compared to stamps, but need to buy or rent a franking machine. There are annual maintenance and inspection costs to be taken into account. Many services which can be bought with a franking machine are regulated universal services. Only Royal Mail services can be bought using franking machines.

Businesses can also access discounts to the stamp price for universal services (and buy other business mail services) if they have an account with Royal Mail. This is subject to a minimum spend on postal products per annum.

Business mail or 'bulk' services: Many postal operators and third parties such as mailing houses provide discounts against the price of stamps to businesses which post a high quantity of mail, or who sort their own mail in-house. The minimum volume (or spend) varies from operator to operator and also depends on the particular services being provided to you. The operator concerned may collect mail from you, sort it and transport it part of the way, but may use Royal Mail for final delivery.

Packet and parcel services: Many different parcel companies operate through high street stores, or can collect parcels directly from your premises before sorting and delivering them to your customers. Options are more likely to be available for businesses that send high volumes of goods, but a range of services for smaller businesses (and residential consumers) exist.

Details of the range of services on offer are likely to be available on the operators' websites. You can also compare prices for parcels on specialist websites.

Business or bulk services are not regulated universal postal services except when they are services bought from Royal Mail (but not Parcelforce) at the Post Office.

Your rights and how to complain are different if you don't use a universal postal service provided by Royal Mail. You can find out more information in our Postal services: knowing your rights section.