What You Need to Know About Choosing a Business Broadband Provider

Many people wrongly assume they can count on their home broadband provider to deliver reliable business broadband — but that's not always the case. In both settings, what you're paying for is an always-on connection but in the case of business broadband, a higher grade of service is typically required. If you experience a little lag during your daily Netflix binge, it's annoying. If your connection is laggy when you're trying to walk a remote customer through a sales presentation, it could mean lost revenue.

Clearly, a fast and reliable business-grade connection is a must-have for most modern companies. What sets a business broadband provider apart from your home ISP won't just be the quality of the connection, however. The broadband plans available to customers are usually more expensive than home broadband because they include extras that companies need, like more robust customer support, consistent speeds (even at peak times) and guaranteed service when connections go down.

In this post, you'll learn about the extra benefits of business broadband, why it makes sense to pay for them and how to compare broadband providers for your business.

Do You Need Business Broadband?

The internet requirements of a multi-person company are very different from those of a household with the same number of people. That's because businesses need a more generous download capacity, stronger security and to know that the internet will always be there when they need it. You might be able to get by with a home internet plan but if you want to do business without interruptions, why take the risk?

What Do Business Broadband Packages Look Like?

They look a lot like home internet plans, actually. But the biggest difference between business broadband and what you use at home will be the contention ratio. The contention ratio refers to the number of users sharing the same server and bandwidth, and residential service is usually shared by about three times more users than business broadband. These broadband plans are typically faster and more reliable because users are not competing with as many people for the same bandwidth.

What Should I Be Looking for in Business Broadband Plans?

As noted above, broadband plans for businesses offer extras that go above and beyond that offered by most residential plans. As you're shopping, look for:

Faster Speeds

Most ISPs give their business broadband customers faster download and upload speeds by default, and higher-tier plans also give businesses data priority so companies don't experience slowdowns during peak usage hours.

Robust Customer Support

Speed is nice, but customer service may be the most important extra in a broadband plan for businesses. With this perk, businesses can get prioritized customer support and tech support plus faster response times when something is broken. In some cases, plans will guarantee that any issue will be completely resolved in a set span of time.

Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Business broadband plans frequently include service level agreements that guarantee a specific standard of service, including minimum speeds, very little downtime and immediate access to tech support. If the SLA is broken by the ISP, a business will be entitled to compensation.

Higher Grade Security

Cybersecurity is vital for businesses that store customer's financial data or proprietary information. Business broadband providers frequently offer security software, VPN usage and data backup and protection.

A Static IP

A business broadband connection usually comes with a static IP whereas most residential plans do not. This IP lets owners access computers remotely, run websites and host servers so owners can more easily manage their business presence online.

That's a lot to consider! But if you run a business today, chances are you're online or will be soon. Sites like BroadbandSearch make it easier to find and compare business broadband packages by showing you what ISPs will actually deliver. When you're ready to sign up for a broadband plan for your business, explore the ISPs in your area.