Anyone who watched the recent Super Bowl can easily answer the following question (no, not who was the MVP) but, what is the focus of businesses today?

I’ll give you a hint: DOT COM!

At $2 million per 30-second commercial, Internet companies lined up by the truckload to advertise their services in front of the world’s largest annual television audience. Some of the ads seemed to bear no relevance at all to the site itself, but that was irrelevant. The key is, those Internet companies put their web site addresses in big, bold letters for the entire world to see. And in this day in age, where advertising is often measured in Internet “hits” rather than, say store visits, the chance to put your web address in front of millions of worldwide viewers is as good as it gets.

And therein lies the answer to the question, what is the focus of business today? The Internet.

The Internet has become everything its inventors dreamed it would be, and more. And chances are, the surface has barely been scratched as to how important the Internet will become in the future for business. Companies ranging in size from “Joe’s Hot Dog Stand” to Microsoft, and everyone in between are capitalizing on the Internet. And, with good reason it’s the quickest, most efficient way to make an impact on consumers. In fact, they don’t even have to leave their favorite EZ chair to see what your company has to offer!

Once the Internet became a buzzword among businesses nationwide, the thought process evolved from, “Does our business need a presence on the Internet?” to “How quick of a dial-up connection can I get for my business to get onto the Net?” to “Forget Dial-up I need DSL!”

Dial-up connections are practically becoming extinct for companies that need quick access to the Internet, and the ability to maneuver through it quickly once there. Much quicker dedicated connectivity options are T1 and DSL access. Traditionally, T1 lines have only been used by larger companies. T1 lines are very fast, but they also cost substantially more than the dial-up method a perfect solution for larger businesses, but a bigger jump for smaller businesses. That’s why DSL, which is just one-third the cost of a T1 line, has become the perfect solution for smaller businesses.

Businesses are quickly reassessing the potential of their communications, whether it be how quickly they can access the Internet, to their presence on the web and e-commerce ability to the simple necessity of voice mail, email and call features that reflect the needs of business today.

What once was only affordable to big businesses high speed Internet connectivity -is now available to all businesses. Whether you have three phone lines or 300 phone lines, technology has made dedicated Internet access affordable. So no matter what size your business is, you too can operate in the fast lane of the Information Super Highway.

DSL is a dedicated, high-speed connection that is always on. It saves users time by avoiding traditional dial-up. DSL also provides secure service for businesses by operating on a dedicated connection, rather than the shared connection used by cable modems. DSL is cost-effective because it comes across existing phone lines, eliminating the need for expensive engineering and infrastructure costs. Plus, you get billed one flat monthly rate instead of unexpected user fees.

But what DSL really means is speed! DSL is up to 50 times faster than traditional dial-up methods. DSL is available at speeds ranging of 192 Kbps, 384 Kbps, 768 Kbps and 1,100 Kbps. So now, when you get that urgent document that you have to sign off on, and it’s a five megabyte file what used to take you 23 minutes to download will now take about 27 seconds.

And that’s just the tip of the technology iceberg that is available to companies today. How about e-commerce? Do you want to tap into the thousands of visitors to your web site everyday, and actually be able to sell them something while they’re window-shopping? Companies like TelePacific have a solution for that too. With the push of a few buttons, you can turn your company’s web site from an entertaining and informative viewing area, into a bustling commerce center. And thanks to DSL service, orders can be taken and processed over the Internet with maximum security.

Now that you know how these tools can benefit your business, the best part is that you can purchase all of these tools from one place. A single-source provider like TelePacific can not only provide all of these tools for your business, but show you how to make sense of the technology and let your business reap the rewards.

When you connect with the right telecom provider, they can offer you a customized solution that will make your company a leader on the Information Super Highway. A company like TelePacific, for example, can provide a customer with DSL service, local and long distance plans, web site hosting and design basically, they can manage your entire communications system. It’s the ultimate in efficiency: one company provides all of your communications needs, and you get one bill at the end of the month.

Think about what that means if you are a business with more than three phone lines, you have access to the same Internet technology that every other company has. Big company or small, ten employees or 10,000 employees, your company will have its spot on the Internet and once there, consumers have proven they know how to find you. Plus, you now have a choice in service, value and price.

So let’s go back to our original question, who was the MVP of the Super Bowl? Well clearly, the Most Valuable Product is high speed Internet access using DSL service. It’s what will have your company running at previously unattainable speeds on the Internet, catching the coveted target market, and scoring big gains in the final revenue column. And while a Super Bowl commercial may not be in everyone’s advertising budget, at least you’re in the game.

Ken Bisnoff is the Vice President, Sales and Marketing, for TelePacific in Los Angeles. For more information visit: www.telepacific.com.