Business broadband can be one of the most annoying things in the universe. Why? Because it isn’t what it says it is and it does not do what it claimed it would do when your struggling business paid over the odds for it in the first place. Nine times out of ten, broadband for business is nothing more than a piggyback add on to a domestic broadband line – which means that early morning, early to late evening, and all day weekend usage is compromised to the point of breaking. Most business owners have learned this the hard way, and their wisdom is written like this: never, ever try and send an important file or report before 9a.m. or after 6p.m. It does not work.

There must, surely, somewhere, be a business broadband provider that has caught onto this? Anyone that could ring fence broadband cables for limited business use only, would immediately be offering the best business broadband service in the country. So where to go to find them? The big guns are all caught up in their own cabling, unable to free up any space because they have the needs of their domestic users to worry about.

It’s clearly time to think small for a change.

Small companies are able to provide local broadband for businesses that really has been reserved for business use only. That’s because they aren’t worried about domestic customers (they don’t have any) and they don’t have to maintain and service thousands upon thousands of miles of nationwide networking. What they do, all they do, is provide the best business broadband coverage in the country – for their area only.

That’s the key: localism. It’s always been key to good business for everyone except the largest of the large – and of course these days we’re all seeing those big guns falling down as nationwide economies fail to deal with their own debts.

Small business models succeed where others fail, by identifying a service and then providing it with surpassing excellence. Anyone looking for good business broadband coverage, here’s the key: forget the big guys and find someone small in your area. That small company will have access to private cable that really is reserved for corporate use only – the Holy Grail, uninterrupted best business broadband coverage, 24/7, 365.

To choose between the little guys, look at two things: the price, and the number of users allowed on any one band of cable at any one time. Broadband slows as multiple users come into the traffic stream (exactly like a motorway) – so look for a company that guarantees an uncluttered stretch of road. Then look for a flat fee price with no add ons at all. Broadband is broadband – you’re either on it or you’re not. There is absolutely no need to charge anything more than one single rate – any company that does is trying to fiddle more cash out of its customers than they need to spend.

Follow the two rules of best broadband practice to the letter, and never curse while a medium sized file fails to send again. Keep it simple, keep it local – and it will keep working.