BTNet EquIP - Upgrade or replace?

[pcwilson]

Hi Guys

My company has 2 sites, one in Glasgow and one near Edinburgh. The sites are currently connected using a product from BT called Net EquIP. The link is used primarily for inter-site e-mail at the moment. This product is very reliable (it's been down once in 3 years) but at 256Kbps it's just too slow as we are now putting in a new group wide MIS. This will probably run over Terminal Services with the servers at the Glasgow site.

I have 2 options. Either stay with BT and upgrade from 256Kbps to a higher bandwidth (up to 2Mbps), or look for an alternative solution from another provider. My priorites are (in order)

1. Reliablitlity
2. Speed
3. Class of service

Does anyone have any experience of Net EquIP and / or any alternatives? What type / speed of connection would you recommend? I don't want to spend more than £15k a year if possible.

Cheers.

[digga951]

Well, if money isnt an object I would stay with the BT Net equip option. I was at a company with the same 256kps connection between HQ and remote sites, and found it to be very reliable. If you compare this to the options (Business ADSL links etc etc), then the Net equip reliablity will always win. Ok, so we did have problems from time to time, but these were always fixed with the utter most urgency. I dont think that any ADSL service would have been fixed as qucikly. Also, whilst your line may only be 256kbs, you do always get exactly that - 256kbs. The line is constant and reliable, and isnt influenced by busy times.

Perhaps things have moved on now with other services, but I think its a case of staying with a service that is trustworthy, or taking some risks to save money. It all depends if you can really afford to have downtime.