An NH ISP connects its customers to the Internet in exchange for a fee. A national ISP will grant access to subscribers in much of the nation while a local ISP will limit users to a specific geographical region.

A small business should consider a separate web hosting company to maintain its website instead of using the web space from its high-speed Internet service. NH 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 deciding which of the ISPs in NH to use is the type of access you want:

1. Dial up Internet for NH uses a telephone line and is the slowest Internet connection. You must dial in to the New Hampshire ISP and you'll frequently have a limit on your connection time.

2. Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, access is also available through the phone in most areas. However, DSL is much faster than a dial-up connection and normally provides dedicated access.

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

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

Locate ISPs in New Hampshire that offer cable access to small businesses

ISPs in New Hampshire 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: Conway is a New Hampshire high-speed Internet provider that provides a premium business Internet package using cable. It also sells additional IP addresses, email address and web space separately. Cox's business division offers Internet service solutions for businesses of all sizes and allows you to customize your service with many additional options.

Find a New Hampshire ISP that offers DSL service

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: Speakeasy offers a range of DSL technologies aimed at small businesses, including ADSL, ADSL2 and SDSL. EarthLink offers a range of services for businesses of different sizes and features symmetrical DSL, which allows you to upload as fast as you can download.

Check out the access packages from local high-speed Internet providers in NH

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

I recommend: You can get broadband Internet access and website hosting from Berlin-based Networks, Computers & Internet Access, or NCIA, a wireless ISP. New Hampshire is home to G4 Communications in Manchester and offers business class Internet connectivity using a variety of technologies.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Use ISPs in New Hampshire with a Tier 3 rating or better, especially if you are running a small business. The tier rating establishes the ISP's proximity to the Internet and generally how fast its access will be, all other things being equal. Tier 1 ISPs are linked directly to the Internet; Tier 2 ISPs lease their connections from Tier 1 ISPs and so on.