Internet for Business: Which is Best?

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Which internet for solution is best for your large or small business IT support needs?

There’s no denying just how vital a reliable internet connection is to today’s businesses. In fact, your internet connection is most likely one of the top variables impacting you and your team’s productivity levels.

Which is the fastest, the most reliable, and the most affordable? In this article, we’ll answer these questions. Let’s get started.

ADSL2+ and NBN

You’re probably familiar with ADSL2+ and NBN connections. You might even use one of these in your home. As cost-effective solutions, both ADSL2+ and NBN certainly are convenient. But, when it comes to speed and ‘service assurance,’ they have a few disadvantages.

First, let’s look at speed. ADSL2+ and NBN services advertise ‘up to’ speeds. What we mean by this is, when shopping around for an internet service provider, you will a particular speed advertised – let’s say 100Mbps. If you opt for that plan, you are not guaranteed 100Mbps. In fact, you’ll most likely experience far slower speeds.

These slow speeds are due to a number of variables, one of the most significant being the underlying technology and cabling leading to and connecting your business premises.

The second thing to consider is ‘service assurance.’ Put simply, service assurance refers to how quickly your provider will respond in the event of an issue, and how quickly the problem will be repaired. Poor service assurance means more downtime, and more downtime means less money.

Both ADSL2+ and NBN connections are labelled as ‘consumer’ services, meaning you won’t get the level of service assurance you can expect from business internet connections. So, if the internet is critical to the running of your business, we suggest skipping ADSL2+ and NBN and looking for something more substantial.

Fibre internet

Ethernet and fibre internet connections are incredibly popular among both small and large businesses. If you use cloud services, VPNs, video conferencing, or other taxing online activities, it’s worth investing in fibre.

One of the key benefits of opting for fibre internet is guaranteed speed. Unlike ADSL2+ and NBN, if you are on a 100Mbps plan, you get 100Mbps all day, every day. Plus, fibre and Ethernet connections are symmetrical, meaning you get equal download and upload speeds.

In addition to the superior speed and reliability, business-grade fibre internet comes with Business Service Level Agreements. Basically, this guarantees performance, uptime, and error restoration. And, in the uncommon event of a fault, you could be eligible for a service level credit.

Fixed wireless

If your business premise is located in a remote area, you may not have access to a wired fibre connection. In this case, fixed wireless is a great option.

Similar to fibre internet, fixed wireless is a symmetrical service that delivers business-grade guarantees and reliable speeds.

Some businesses use a fixed wireless connection as a backup. If their wired connection fails, they remain online.

4G mobile broadband data

If your staff are constantly on-the-go and need network access when offsite, 4G is a great option, particularly as a complimentary internet service. If you find that you need help with your 4G wifi setup, get in contact with us today. Although 4G can be a great option, there are some drawbacks:

• 4G mobile broadband data can be expensive
• With a 4G internet plan, your data allowance will be limited
• 4G internet uses mobile towers to send and retrieve data, so if you are out of range, your service won’t work