This month The Australian Telecommunications Users Group will be rolling into town to sing the praises of broadband internet - and why not - this type of internet connection is good for a whole range of reasons. Its take-up is set for internet growth to explode.

In everyday use, broadband just means "high bandwidth", and for us in the region is applied to such technologies as ADSL and satellite.

The benefits of a broadband connection is that it's 'always on' so that using an existing phone line you can be talking or receiving faxes whilst connected to the internet. Also, dial-up internet can be costly. In addition to paying for an internet account, you could be paying anywhere between 20 cents to one dollar per day in phone calls (up to, and more than, $30 per month), not to mention the cost of line rental for a second phone line.

Most of all broadband connections are FAST! With speeds of 128K, 512K or even 1.5MB compared to a 56K modem it's not to difficult to see how much quicker downloading or uploading files can be.

So where am I going with this? If you have a remote workforce in multiple locations you could have a web based, (and central), office management system. This system could store client details and records, manage projects or contain a calendar for tracking staff movements as well. In addition time tracking, billing and client invoicing can all be generated out of the system. Over a broadband connection, the system would appear to be like any internal management system software or database solution would.

It gets even better in that this same system could contain a Document Management System whereby documents and other files could be uploaded and attached to client records. Imagine a virtual client folder that would not only contain client details but also associated quotes, documents, images or PDFS. All would be searchable throughout the system and available for future reference.

To find out more about broadband and how it can enhance business productivity, come along to the FREE Regional Broadband Seminar on the 20th of November, 12:30pm at the Expo Centre in the Dubbo Showground in Wingewarra Street.
Visit the broadband showcase and see how people in the region are already using the broadband advantage in agriculture, business, education, health and personal communication. You can register in advance by calling John Pack or Beth Mackenzie on (02) 9927 9999.