Recent statistics show that businesses lose several days each year through their broadband connection being down. The majority of these business losses are actually through home offices and offices that run on a residential business connection.
This article will look through why it is important to choose a business broadband connection and not a home broadband connection for your home office or small business solution, as there are a number of benefits that will help you do things more efficiently, more speedily, and more consistently.
Download Speeds on Business Broadband
If youre looking at the cheapest broadband as your business broadband solution there may not appear a lot of difference in terms of the download speeds of different offerings of the same technology. Indeed, the speed that you can achieve on your connection at a certain location may not have a massive impact on the price. For example, if you are only able to receive ADSL, then your top speed will likely be up to 16MBPS. This could be the same whether you are on the cheapest broadband deals or the most expensive in your area.
However, this shouldnt be the only level of comparison that you do between residential broadband and business broadband. Speed is more than just the top speed; it also involves prioritisation and what you achieve on your connection at different times of the day.
Prioritisation and Business Broadband
The cheapest broadband packages are cheap for a reason. Consumers are not given priority on the networks and will likely receive poorer quality broadband at certain times of the day. Business broadband, it is true, tends to operate during off-peak broadband hours when consumers arent online. However, some off-peak periods start from 3PM, so business broadband on residential broadband connections often start slowing down from 3PM in the day. Businesses get better broadband consistency if they have business broadband. On top of this, the cheapest broadband connection may well be less stable and take longer to get fixed when something goes wrong than business broadband solutions.
The Service Levels of Business Broadband
Internet service providers understand that business broadband is there as a support to making money. They therefore will ensure that the customer service that they offer is superior to that which is offered on residential broadband, and will also ensure that their business customers receive minimal downtime. Their resources will be ploughed into their corporate clients rather than their residential clients when push comes to shove.
Data Limits and Upload Speeds
The data allowances available on residential broadband are often limited even when they are supposed to be unlimited. Internet service providers have Fair Usage policies, which restrict the amount of data that consumers can use per month. On some packages, unlimited broadband actually equals 40GB per month. The cheapest broadband is often the worst hit by this type of false advertising.
With business broadband, its possible to receive unlimited broadband, in the true sense, through more providers. They understand that you cannot have your speeds throttled or your activities cut short at any time of the day or night and that business must take priority over home broadband.
Business broadband also tends to have faster upload speeds in order to enable you to do your website updating, file sharing, FTP activities, and all the other processes that require the sending of data. Upload speeds on business broadband are much higher than on residential broadband.
The Cheapest Broadband vs BT Fibre Broadband
BT Fibre Broadband is going to run at 1GBPS for businesses. Indeed, businesses are getting some of the most amazing offerings in terms of fibre optic broadband to the premises. Fibre optic broadband works through cables that are designed to transfer data quickly. They involve a cable with a core and then an inwardly reflective outer layer, surrounded by an outer padding layer. Data is reflected back in and the cables can carry more pulses per second and offer much greater bandwidth. Integrity of data is also better than on ADSL broadband.
The cheapest broadband packages tend to be ADSL rather than fibre optic broadband, and certainly, serious businesses should be opting for fibre optic broadband in order to get the best speeds, the best wireless connections, and the most efficiency out of their workers. Even on a home basis, having fibre optic cables coming into the home or home office can provide 330MBPS.
Theres no excuse these days for business consumers to suffer with slow connection speeds, intermittent connections, and days of downtime.
Sourcing a Provider
When youre choosing a broadband service for your business, you shouldnt be looking at the cheapest broadband, but rather for the broadband service that matches your requirements in terms of the speed delivered, the allowances of data, and the level of service offered. You should be reading reviews online and going to business broadband comparison sites in order to check through the different offerings available in your area. Indeed, you often have to do a post code search in order to check the Internet service providers that can cater for you. Not all providers do service all areas, even in central business districts.
Most business providers also offer excellent customer service. Engage with them to find out if you could have cables run to your premises if they arent already installed. Often broadband providers will be quite flexible in their services and provide affordable installation to get you the best broadband possible for your business.
Top Tip
Make sure you are comparing like for like in your broadband comparison activities. There are often additional costs that you only discover when you go through the fine print with a fine-tooth comb. Dont have a knee jerk reaction and just pick off the headline rates being offered. Make sure you go through a logical and thorough investigation of the different offerings available to you.
Sam Jones found that the cheapest broadband offers were not necessarily those on the high street. By using price comparison sites like uSwitch he could see all the deals side by side, and he found owe that fit right into his budget
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