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jack3_99Flag for United States of America

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Network connection between locations

We have an office with 15 employees that is approximately 2 miles from our main location.  Although close, there is no clear line of sight between the locations.  The office connects to the main location that has the database server as well as provides Internet and voice.

The office is currently connected using a VPN over a cable internet connection.  We have found this to be inadequate, especially for the voice connection.

Our IT department has recommended installing a point-to-point connection using our local telephone provider.  

My question is does anyone know of any other alternatives to connect the locations that would be reliable and not too expensive?  Are there alternatives such as wireless or radio that would work well for us?

Thank you in advance for your help.
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SolracM

Bandwidth is always going to be an issue at any location. at 15 employees before you even go into a local ISP provider understand that BANDWIDTH will always become an issue. switching to a MESH WIRELESS, .SATELLITE  connection network or.. using a high yield  WI-FI network extender that can boost your 2 miles away WIFI may help but the coast my not yield desired results since the coast of doing business may be a factor here, So in summary you local ISP may offer a cable, FIOS connection but make sure they provide sufficient bandwidth for 15 employees on MUSIC pages,, video streaming and then there is YOUR business actual bandwidth utilization fact is without some sort of firewall or network monitor they are ALL going to go to a favorite web site and use the employers bandwidth for personal usage it is just a fact, Make sure you have a good secured WIFI and even though it can still be seen I would NOT broadcast my SSID (why make it easy?)  just give the name to your employees and let them connect. average home users upload and download speeds will vary so some smaller business will go with a HOME connection while others will go for a business contract. I would go with a low coast  high yield  rural area WIFI signal booster first.they are all over the place on the internet for sale, (sorry cannot use brand names here)
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Craig Beck
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I would try try get the wireless option working. Maybe build out a small tower if you own the land. In the end it'll save you some good money.

A point to point T1 would be a good option, but your bandwidth is limited to 1.5Mbps, which for voice is ok, but if you wanted to use it for data it might bog you down... depending on your applications of course.

Get with your current cable internet provider, if your offices are 2miles apart then you should be getting a good connection, you both are probably tied in to the same switch somewhere. Just make sure you are using the same provider at both ends.

Additionally, talk to your provider about a VPN configuration with QoS (provider side, not customer.) Since your offices are not that much apart, you may be able to get a good deal on it and it'll just be an add-on to your existing service.
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ASKER

Thanks everyone for  your help.  I have spoken to a provider and it sounds as if we can go with the nanobridge.