Internet Guide for Small Businesses

Reliable, cost-effective internet is a must for any small business. But it can be hard to navigate all of the options and find good customer service from a big box provider. In this internet guide, we will break down the basic internet needs for different businesses and the services that can fulfill them.

Benefits of High-Speed Fiber

Not everyone needs high-speed internet, and it’s important to weigh the costs and benefits. Fiber connections are fast and reliable. If you need the guarantee of 99.999% up-time, then its best to go with fiber over a cable connection. Fiber is also best for larger businesses with greater bandwidth requirements or those that conduct the majority of their business and operations online.

Bandwidth vs Speed

Bandwidth and speed are commonly confused terms, and it’s important to know the difference in order to understand what you’re paying for with your internet connection. Speed is how fast data can flow to and from your network via the internet. If you’ve ever done an internet speed test from your computer, that’s the number you see, typically in megabits or gigabits per second (mbps or gbps).

Bandwidth is the total quantity of data that can travel over your internet connection at any given time. It is also measured in megabits or gigabits per second, which contributes to the confusion. While your bandwidth determines your maximum internet speed, your actual speed is divided across the number of devices actively using your internet connection. The more devices on your network, the more bandwidth you need to run every device at a minimum acceptable internet speed. For example, if you’re paying for Gigabit internet, that doesn’t mean every device on your network will have gigabit speeds; that’s just the total bandwidth. Your actual speed is determined by the number of active devices and the limitations of your device hardware.

Coax vs Wireless Backup

While fiber internet is extremely reliable, with 99.999% up-time, it can fail. For organizations that need a backup connection as a failover, there are two main options: a traditional coax or cable backup, and wireless WAN. There are pros and cons to each, but Digital Agent typically recommends a wireless WAN backup. It’s more cost-effective for most businesses, and it generally comes with its own backup power source, so your office can stay connected even in the event of a power outage.

Your Best Internet Guide: A Local Provider

Big box internet providers can be difficult to work with, especially for small business owners. If you want to be treated like a priority by your internet provider, look for a local ISP like Digital Agent. We offer 24 / 7 support to our managed internet customers while still providing the reliable, high-speed internet options your business needs, from fiber to wireless WAN. Consult with your Digital Agent on how to set up or optimize your internet connection.