Two in three small firms are offline

Two in three small businesses operate without an internet connection, email or website according to a new survey. 

The figure includes one-man-and-his-dog operations but it astonished Chris Stening, managing director of UK Online, which conducted the survey. "There is a huge gap in the market and we intend to address it," he said.

More than  a third of those business that are online rely only on a consumer-grade account with no service-level agreement. "Many of them are not aware of the benefits of a business account until something goes wrong," Stening said.

Satellite broadcasting giant BSkyB acquired UK Online in 2005 when it bought parent service provider Easynet. The deal gave BSkyB a slice of Britain fixed-line infrastructure to complement its satellite services and allowed it to sell consumer-class web access.

Easynet, which pioneered local-loop unbundling and has fast DSL equipment in 60 percent of BT exchanges, focuses on big businesses. UK Online will still offer consumer services but its new focus on small businesses (of up to 10 people) repositions it between its two parents.

It is offering a business broadband service with 24/7 freeephone support, a 20-to-1 contention ration, anti-virus, a static IP, defined services levels, and a domain with 20 email addresses for £19.99 ex Vat a month in areas covered by Easynet, and £29.99 elsewhere.

The company will also offer, within a few weeks, easy-to-use-tools to help small businesses easily to set up web sites with payment facilities.

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