With so many businesses relying on the Internet for their operational systems such as email communications, data storage and cloud-based telephony to name but a few, it is important to understand what sets apart a business grade Internet connection to a standard service.
Most Internet Service Provider’s (ISP’s) generally run a metered service for consumer use, meaning you get a certain amount of data you can use each month. If you go over, you can expect to pay an over usage charge or the service speed to be throttled when you reach your data cap.
But since businesses use more data (and also varying amounts) on a month-to month basis, running a capped network doesn’t make a lot of sense. ISP’s who cater to both consumer and business traffic often have to slow down their service so that everyone can be online. For consumers, this can be just a general nuisance but for businesses, it can result in huge amounts of lost revenue.
So what other reasons would you choose a business-only grade service?
Speeds
Business broadband is generally available in much faster speeds than the residential kind - including better upload speeds, which makes it easier to post things to the web, make video calls, and so on. While most providers offer fibre packages with speeds up to 76Mb, some are able to offer speeds up to 1Gb.
As a business customer, your speeds will be totally prioritised over residential users, meaning contention ratio (the number of properties sharing a broadband line) in your area isn't as much of an issue. Your connection will also be more reliable and have less downtime, thanks to better service delivery.
Service Level Agreements
In fact, with most business broadband, better service is promised in writing with a Service Level Agreement (SLA). An SLA guarantees that your broadband provider will deliver a certain standard of service - including speeds above a particular level, less outage or downtime and faults fixed within a set time. If the agreement isn't adhered to, you'll usually be entitled to compensation.
For businesses that rely on a good internet connection - such as websites, tech services, or anything where you need to be reachable 24/7 - this is vital.
Security
All broadband packages come with some level of internet security, but when you're running a business, cybersecurity is all the more vital - so broadband providers like to go the extra mile here. With business broadband, you'll get better and more business-focused security software. And your provider may be able to offer you extra measures too, like data backup or use of a VPN.
Customer Support
This is the important one - and the biggest difference between business and residential broadband that most users notice. With business broadband, you'll get prioritised customer service, better tech support, and faster response times when there's a problem. Most providers guarantee that any faults with your line will be fixed within 24 hours and on higher-tier packages you can get that down to just a couple of hours.
Some packages, including more enterprise-level broadband, even give you a specific tech support contact - who you can email directly for help on pretty much any issue.
These are just some of the many compelling reasons to choose a business broadband over a standard service and not to share your traffic with consumers!