NE Internet services connect subscribers to the Internet in exchange for a fee. A national ISP will allow access to customers in much of the nation while a local ISP limits its customers to a specific geographic region.

A small business should consider a separate web hosting company to maintain its website instead of using the web space from the Nebraska Internet providers. Businesses with high-traffic sites may require a large national company that can provide mirroring and redundant connections for their websites.

The first consideration in selecting a service that provides access to the Internet in Nebraska is the type of access you want:

1. Dial-up access is the slowest connection using a telephone line. You must dial in to the ISP, and frequently you'll have a limit on the amount of connection time you have.

2. Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, access is available through the phone in most areas. DSL is faster than a dial-up connection and usually allows dedicated access.

3. Nebraska broadband providers have the fastest connections small business owners in Nebraska can generally afford. Nebraska cable providers also offer high-speed cable Internet access.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Locate services that provide broadband in Nebraska to small businesses

ISPs in Nebraska that provide an always-on cable connection are frequently the best deal for small businesses. Some national ISPs offer packages tailored to the size of your business.

I recommend: Charter Business offers several packages for businesses and features a cable connection with a downstream rate of up to 16 Mbps. Time Warner Cable is one Nebraska high-speed Internet provider that provides business class service. This ISP will allow you to scale your website according to size, traffic and functionality.

Find ISPs in Nebraska that offer DSL service for your business

Many ISPs design DSL packages for business owners throughout much of the nation. Businesses can bundle multiple services together, such as Internet and web hosting, to get a better deal from the ISP.

I recommend: AT&T offers a package that combines DSL, VoIP, web hosting, networking and wireless Internet. You can determine if your specific location is in a service area by providing the telephone number of your business. Qwest offers DSL connections along with many other Internet services for small businesses.

Check out the access packages from local ISPs in Nebraska

A business may have to depend on a small, rural Nebraska internet service. Nebraska ISPs frequently offer wireless DSL service for these businesses.

I recommend: Facspro.Net offers residential and small business Internet packages in Brady, Gothenburg and Maxwell. Internet provider eNebraska.net offers business class service to its wireless network for businesses in Chadron, Hay Springs and Rushville.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Check your ISP's terms of service for website size limitation if you plan to have a large website on the Internet. NE businesses will also need to ensure that the ISP permits commercial websites. Most Nebraska Internet service providers also offer multiple email addresses so that you can assign a separate one to each employee.
• •  Use ISPs in Nebraska with a Tier 3 rating or better, especially if you are running a small business on the Internet. Nebraska ISPs that link directly to the Internet are Tier 1; Tier 2 ISPs lease their connections from Tier 1 ISPs and so on.