Telecommunications giant AT&T announced a bundled Internet offer
that includes high speed Internet access, WiFi and mobile broadband,
plus unlimited online personal computer data backup with remote access
from any broadband Web-connected device, starting at an introductory
price of $90 a month through Aug. 31.
The service, called Broadband on the Go, is currently available to
small businesses across the company’s 22-state local footprint. The
services, which help enable small businesses to access their data from
anywhere, include high-speed Internet, available with downstream speeds
up to 24 Mbps (on the U-verse platform), LaptopConnect mobile
broadband, Tech Support 360 Backup and Go with automatic online backup
of computer files and basic WiFi connectivity at more than 20,000
hotspots across the country.
The service includes U.S.-based business-class technical support,
all-in-one protection suite for selected tiers and up to 11 e-mail
accounts, as well as enabling small businesses to remotely access saved
files from any web-connected laptop or mobile broadband device and send
links to files or folders for sharing and collaboration. According to
Compass Intelligence, a high-tech market analytics firm, small
businesses (less than 100 employees) spent $5.6 billion in 2009 on
wireless data services and expect to spend $18.9 billion in 2014,
resulting in a compound annual growth rate of 27.6 percent.
“We estimate that small businesses make up roughly 38 percent of
business wireless subscribers, while comprising about 45 percent of
wireless data spend,” said Kneko Burney, president of Compass
Intelligence. “As such, small businesses are a crucial segment of the
wireless data market, and these customers’ spending is only expected to
rise in the coming years. Additionally, our research shows that
small businesses spend more on average per user for wireless data than
their enterprise counterparts, primarily because a greater percentage
of their workforce is mobile and likely to rely only on wireless for
their business connectivity.”
According to the Small Business Technology Poll, a study released
earlier this year by AT&T, 71 percent of small businesses
responding indicated they use laptop data cards and nearly 79 percent
indicated they use Wi-Fi hotspots to conduct business-related
activities. Moreover, 60 percent of small businesses indicated they use
their laptop more now to access data through mobile networks than they
did two years ago and nearly 68 percent use Wi-Fi hotspots more now to
access data than they did two years ago.
In addition, the study revealed that nearly 85 percent of small
businesses felt recovering data would be important following a
disaster. Yet only 30 percent of small businesses use off-site data
backup, such as online backup. So in the event of a disaster that
destroys their office, a majority of small businesses are at risk of
losing critical data because they’re not prepared. The Tech Support 360
Backup and Go component of the new broadband bundle is included to
address that potential risk, the company noted.
Midmarket News & Reviews 
