How much bandwidth is enough for your business?

Fiber is, in many cases, the gold standard for business internet, for its bandwidth and for its 99.999% up-time. When you get a dedicated fiber connection, you do not have to share bandwidth with neighboring areas, so you get the same high quality connection even during peak business hours. But there are reasons fiber may not be a business’ first choice or its only type of connection, which is why Digital Agent also offers coaxial and T1 connections.

The type of connection you get and the bandwidth you need comes down to a number of factors. If you are not happy with your current connection, look to these factors for how you can optimize and improve your network.

Company Size

You can get away with just 10-20Mbps of bandwidth on a home internet connection because you typically only have a few users on the network at a time. But as you scale up to a business network with tens, hundreds, or even thousands of users, you need a lot more bandwidth. Exactly how much more depends on what your users are doing. If all of your employees need the ability to make high-definition video calls, you will need a lot more bandwidth than a company the same size that communicates only via email and VoIP calls.

Hardware

Sometimes your hardware limits your bandwidth more than your service provider. While all of the devices and users on your network end up sharing your total bandwidth—remember, bandwidth is not the same as internet speed—each user may still be getting less than they should because of outdated or inadequate hardware. Check the network adaptors on office computers and other network devices, especially your main modem and router, to make sure your hardware can handle the bandwidth you want to use.

Location

Even if your business uses wireless internet, the connections between your office network and the rest of the internet are hard-wired. It takes a lot of time and resources to install new cables and fiber optic lines. Because of this, some locations, particularly in rural areas, simply do not have access to fiber yet. This, along with considerations like budget and hardware, is one of the main reasons a business might opt for a cable connection over fiber.

Industry

Of course, one of the biggest factors that affect the amount of bandwidth you need is how you plan to use that bandwidth. A company with a large call center has different needs compared to a media company or a doctor’s office. Talking with an IT expert is the best way to customize your network to suit your business’ specific needs.