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Small Business Users Share Cheap, Easy Internet Access

WebRamp 300e lets you connect everyone to the Net via dialup.

By Stan Miastkowski, PCWorld   

Does everyone in your small business need Internet access? If so, the cost of modems, phone lines, and ISP accounts can quickly become a budget buster. Proxy server software (which lets everyone on a network share one modem and one ISP account concurrently) is usually difficult to set up and can bog down your hardware. Routers (the hardware alternatives) are more robust, and a new low-cost router with a few unique twists was announced this week by Ramp Networks.

The $499 WebRamp 300e is the latest of Ramp's products to use Connection Optimized Link Technology (COLT), which lets you use two modems and two standard telephone lines at the same time to boost Internet connection speeds. (Modems aren't included; the product supports a wide variety of popular models.) Although the company claims near-ISDN speeds, prior PC World tests with similar technologies from other manufacturers showed increases closer to the 40 percent range. The WebRamp can also use Multilink Point-to-Point Protocol (MLPPP), which also uses two modems and two phone lines but offers a slightly higher level of performance if your ISP supports it.

The WebRamp 300e's greatest claim to fame is its ease of setup, a sticky point with some competing products. The company says that everyone on your network will be up and running on the Internet within 15 minutes of plugging the small unit into your network and phone lines. EasyStart technology scans your network to make sure PCs are set up correctly for Internet access, EasyIP automatically handles the headache-producing chores of assigning IP addresses to individual PCs, and Express Internet is a one-page setup screen for your ISP account.

If you don't yet have a network, the WebRamp 300e also acts as a hub, letting you create a 10-mbps network with up to four PCs. (Each PC needs a network card and cabling, of course.)

Warren Childs, an analyst with IDC Research, says that as small businesses begin to discover the importance of the Internet as a business tool, products like the WebRamp 300e offer an "affordable and easy" way for them to provide Internet access for everyone.