Broadband Speed Checker

Find out the true speed of your internet with the FREE online broadband speed checker!

Your broadband speeds are slow and you’re sick of seeing the buffering symbol every time you log-on… want to track your internet speeds? Now you can!

The online broadband speed checker allows you to quickly track your internet speeds and see if you’re receiving the best speeds possible!

Check your connection speeds by clicking this link and following the instructions: 

www.speedtest.net

Wave good bye to e-mail outages and employee downtime, you can get superfast broadband for your business - with speeds of up to 80Mbps!

 Contact us today and see how we can help at www.national-telecom.com or pick up the phone for a quick chat on +44 (0) 33 0003 0003. 

The British Red Cross

National Telecom actively sponsors the work of the British Red Cross - the support we provide helps us to assist The British Red Cross in making a positive difference in the UK and across the globe.

The British Red Cross has been National Telecoms chosen charity for a number of years, we are keen to sponsor the British Red Cross to enable them to continue with the fantastic work they are doing.

The charity is part of a global voluntary network that responds to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies.

The Red Cross helps many people in crisis by responding to hundreds of disasters in the UK and overseas, they also offer help and support long after the crisis is over. Also, The British Red Cross tackles major health issues and offers social care and support to vulnerable people in the UK and overseas.

Please help support The British Red Cross and make a donation at www.redcross.org.uk/Donate-Now your donation will help Red Cross voluteers who are working around the clock to support hundreds of thousands of people who require help around the globe – whether its food, shelter, healthcare or another form of support. 

Are You a Victim of Poor Connectivity?

Your business can’t afford to be a victim of poor connectivity…

When the internet goes down it has an effect on staff motivation, leading to less staff productivity as unsatisfied workers use the downtime as an excuse to do something else… like make a brew, scroll through their text messages or even complete a quick game of Candy Crush!

Loss of productivity costs the UK economy a massive £11bn a year. As 72% of people use the internet as part of their job, it’s almost impossible for them to work without it!

For the best tips on how to boost your Wi-Fi speed, take a look at our blog post: 

http://bit.ly/1oGIK3n

The Cloud - The Myth vs. The Truth

There are quite a few miss conceptions to do with cloud based systems and today we’re here to reveal the truth behind them…

Myth: “But, the voice quality is rubbish!”

Truth is: If you have a good, strong internet connection, cloud based systems are usually able to deliver better quality than the traditional copper line. The cloud system is reliant on your internet connection so this is where the main security and quality issues lie. With fibre broadband becoming available to many businesses – you can be assured of faster, more reliable broadband.

Myth: “Apparently it’s expensive…”

Truth is: Cloud systems are cost reducing. Instead of receiving numerous separate bills every month e.g phone bill, ADSL bill, broadband bill etc. – you combine these services into one monthly cost, which is easier for you and saves you money!

Myth: “It’s complicated to set up and install”

Truth is: Switching from the traditional office system to a hosted solution is a lot less complicated and the system is very easy to install - there’s no changing lines, no long installation times and no hardware taking up all the space on your premises!

Myth: “It’s connected to the internet, it’s not reliable”

Truth is: The cloud doesn’t have 100% uptime, but let’s be honest - no system does. Cloud systems are designed to give great service and reliability at half the cost of a traditional phone and broadband system. Studies by Microsoft show that companies are seeing security, privacy and reliability benefits, to read more: http://bit.ly/1QgD1gY

To find out more about the cloud and how it can benefit your business, take a look at our blog post: http://bit.ly/1niwGoP

Back Up Your Files!

A lot of us don’t back-up our important files for various reasons – either we don’t know how, or just don’t care enough to do it… until it’s too late.

Floods, fire, computer viruses and strikes… These disasters affect business continuity on a daily basis. If disaster strikes you could lose your most important and irreplaceable documents.

Loss of productivity costs the UK economy a massive £11bn a year. As 72% of people use the computer as part of their job, it’s almost impossible for them to work without it!

There are many simple and easy ways in which you can back-up your files:

External Hard Drive

An external hard drive is a portable storage device which plugs into your computers USB port, you simply drag and drop your files over onto the device. External hard drives are great for large file sizes as these hard drives tend to start at 1 terabyte.

USB Flash drive

A USB flash drive tends to be used to back up smaller files as the drives are a lot smaller in capacity, USB drives are less expensive than an external hard drive - they’re small and lightweight which makes them useful for backing up your files whilst on-the-go.

Like an external hard drive, you simply plug the USB drive into an available USB port on your computer and drag and drop the files you want to make a copy of.

The Cloud

There are many online cloud-based applications which you can use to back up your files such as OneDrive, Google Drive and iCloud.

The Cloud stores your files offsite so you’re protected from any local threats. With the Cloud, you can access your files at any time, from any place on a tablet, laptop or smartphone as long as you have an internet connection. 

Many cloud services have an app which is available to download from your smartphone so you can download or upload files whilst you’re on-the-go.

The majority of cloud systems offer free storage for a few gigabytes – usually between 1GB and 16GB. However, some cloud services offer a paid option for those who require additional storage.

Download your FREE disaster recovery plan online now at http://bit.ly/1npAfJQ or click the link and fill out the enquiry form at the bottom of the page and see how National Telecom can help to prepare your business – whatever happens.

All you need to know: Fibre Optic Broadband

What is Fibre Broadband?

Fibre broadband is a broadband supply that replaces copper telephone cables with fibre optics. It delivers broadband to the cabinet over fibre optic cables which transmit the signal using light and does not degrade with distance. Fibre optic cables are able to carry more data and they’re more efficient at carrying that data.  Fibre optic broadband is much faster, so this means less buffering, faster downloads/uploads and an all-round much faster internet speed!

What does Fibre have to offer?

Fibre is ideal for businesses that have multiple people using the internet, it boosts business efficiency and it’s perfect for businesses that require super-fast internet.

With speeds of up to 80Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream, you are guaranteed throughput, so you will receive a better performance. Fibre Broadband is ideal for businesses that require higher bandwidth and faster speeds to improve the running of business critical applications.

Access to fibre is growing fast, fibre will continue to be rolled-out with estimates that around 80% of premises have access to it.

Is Fibre suitable for my business?

Fibre is suitable for you if you have multiple sites and remote workers. Fibre is a cost effective site-to-site network for people who may use collective data or applications. If you are using Voice over IP or Video Conferencing - fibre is great for you, with its reliability and fast speeds, you can be sure you will have a consistent better service.  If your service goes down you can rely on us to have your problem resolved within 8 hours, giving you the peace of mind to get on with running your business.

Ofcom: Numbering

You’ve probably received or made a call to an 03 number at some point in your life… but do you know what these numbers are? And how much they cost?

Calls to 03 numbers are used by many businesses/organisations and the best part is that they cost no more than a national rate call to an 01/02 number and will be included as part of your monthly inclusive payment plans.

03 numbers include the same benefits as other non-geographic numbers such as 0800, 0844 or 0845. 40% of calls are made through mobiles that have free minutes offered by their provider so having an free-phone 03 number is a lot more appealing than calling an 08 number. This is a great advantage as typical 08 numbers charge by the minute - these can land you with large unexpected bills at the end of the month!

40% of calls are made through mobiles that have free minutes offered by their provider having an free-phone 03 number is a lot more appealing than calling an 08 number. 

You can even get a golden 03 number for your own business! Take a look at our website for more information: http://www.national-telecom.com/numbering.html

If you’d like to find out more about numbering, from 03 numbers to area codes to premium rate services - take a look at Ofcom’s website: http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/numbering/