[BlueOnyx:10581] Re: Off topic German Business DSL Providers

[Michael Stauber]

Hi Howie,

> I'm currently with Demon Internet in the UK and have 13 fixed IP's on a
> Business package, running a number of servers from home.
> 
> In the next few months I'm moving to Germany (Rommerskirchen, just west of
> Koeln/Dusseldorf)
> 
> I need to find a reasonable ISP that offers Fixed IP's / blocks on a home /
> business package that doesn't cost an "arm and a leg"
> 
> I would like a min of 5 IP's (1 for the home network and 2 each for 2x
> servers)
> 
> Can anyone help with suggestions of companies?

Yeah, Germany is a bit like a third world country when it comes to affordably 
priced and reasonable connectivity with static IP's. Throw in the Telekom 
monopoly for "the last mile" and you have a few brick walls to smash your head 
into. Then there are various technologies for the last mile and not all of 
them may be available for the location that you need it for. Especially the 
western parts of Germany still suffer from old exchanges or copper phone 
lines, while most of eastern Germany got switched directly from smoke signals 
to fibreoptics after the reunification. ;-)

Most of the bigger carriers typically offer DSL or VDSL with one dynamic IP, 
which is what they advertise the most, as it appeals to the largest crowd. If 
they also offer something suiteable to hook up servers to (multiple static 
IP's and with a flatrate), then you usually find it hidden somewhere in the 
business section of their homepages. Prices and availability greatly differ 
from region to region and from carrier to carrier.

Sometime last year I was looking for a new provider for my office. Wanted 
something better than 2.3MBit SDSL with 16 static IPs and without the forced 
disconnect every 24 hours (another Telekom idiocracy).

Here is one company that I can recommend from personal experience:

MK Netzdienste GmbH & Co. KG
Tel. +49-571-38859-24
http://www.mk.de
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mk.de%2Fprodukte%2Finternet%2Fmk-
interconnect&act=url

Here is another example from one of the big players - O2 Germany, which I also 
have a long experience with:

http://www.o2online.de/business/mittelstand/dslfestnetz/internet/

The page is in German language, too, but Google translate should be able to 
handle it.

As for O2: For some regions they can't do "the last mile" (like in my tiny 
little town). In those cases you'll have to get the last mile bridged by a 
Telekom product such as "T-DSL Business symmetrisch" (that's the exact product 
name). They basically install an SDSL line for you with a dynamic IP and 1GB 
of free traffic. Then you throw the Telekom router away and plug in the O2 
supplied router instead to get your static IPs and the ordered flatrate. But 
that may drive the monthly price for a 2.3MBit line (the smallest O2 offers) 
with flatrate up to 119,- EUR for O2, plus 139,- EUR for the "T-DSL Business 
symmetrisch".

See: http://geschaeftskunden.telekom.de/tsi/de/425364/Home/Produkte-und-
Loesungen/Breitband-und-Internet/Internetzugaenge/DSL-Business/DSL-Business-
symmetrisch/1-t-dsl-business-symmetrisch

So all in all I'd suggest to give MK Netzdienste GmbH a try. I'm sure someone 
there speaks English reasonably enough to give you a quote and to help with 
whatever questions you might have.

-- 
With best regards

Michael Stauber