Advice on EFM dedicated line

[groovyjon]

We are merging our two locations (office and shop) into one location (office above shop). We currently have ADSL connections at both locations, but I'm looking into installing an EFM (Ethernet First Mile) leased line instead. This is because there will be twice the number of users that will now be at the one location, the ADSL service has always been a bit unreliable there, and we do transfer some large amounts of data quite regularly.

A full BTnet leased line is £446 per month which is more than we want to pay. But BT have offered us EFM at just £187 per month for 10mb on an 11mb connection. With the saving on 2 ADSL lines this is certainly within budget.

Does anyone have experience of EFM? Is it a good compromise between ADSL and a full leased line? Anything I should be aware of? Is BT a good provider for this?

 

[Kixo]

Providers aside efm lines are great, you can't compare to adsl lines as they are vastly superior, dedicated and not shared you won't regret efm. It just comes down to price. Sounds like your comparing 2pair vs 4pair? It's basically twice the power at twice the price. It's difficult to exit or upgrade efm contracts so if you think you are going to expand go for 4 pair to start of with. Cheaper in the long run

 

[groovyjon]

Thanks Kixo, can you clarify what you mean by 2pair and 4pair? I've not heard those terms before.

 

[Kixo]

Efm is available on 2 speeds usually. 2 pair and 4 pair. The coms guys may correct me but it's usually 7mb upload and download for 2 pair and 14mb up and download for 4 pair. Prices for 2 pair are usually £1** (£170ish) and 4 pair are usually £3**+ (380ish) so if your comparing companies ask them which one the price is for. A lot of the time all the efm lines end up going through bt anyways sadly so only real difference is support. Again lot of the guys on here seem good.

 

[krisw]

EFM is an outdated technology and you will regret being stuck in a contract at those speeds.

We can offer 100Mbps dedicated leased lines for less than a 4 pair EFM and its about 10x the speed. The issue with EFM is its not upgradable and while 10Mbps might be ok for now, what about in 6, 12, 18 months time.

DM me if you would like to hear more.

 

[Kixo]

krisw you can do 100mbs Ethernet line for less than 4 pair? i assume you mean you offer a 100mbs line but wth 10/20mbs for that price? if you can actually offer 100mb with 100mb for that price i can give you a LOT of business

 

[Elliot Roberts]

Hi Dan, maybe we should talk! We can offer a fibre based connection with up to 320Mbps for as little as £165 per month.

Here are some of the key benefits of our service:

► High speeds - up to 320Mbps downstream and 80Mbps upstream

► Scalable - from 2 to 4 pair service with no CPE change

► Quick delivery - 30 working days

► 99.9% availability - comparable SLA to Ethernet

Open to referral schemes and a strategic partnership if you feel your clients would benefit from this service.

 

[Kixo]

Hi elliot Fiber is the way forward but its simpley not available in any of my clients areas :-( sadly until it's actually rolled out efm and Ethernet are lot of people's only options.