VoIP That Keeps Your Team Connected

The term Internet service provider (ISP) refers to a service provider that offers access to the Internet to both personal and business customers. The most common types of ISP connections are DSL, Cable, Satellite Internet, and Fiber.  Cable internet is the most common type of connection sold in the US today, as 90% of residences and businesses have access to Coaxial cable. There are key differentiators between residential service and business service that should be noted. Residential internet has restricted upload speeds and comes with only best-effort service agreements, while business internet demands faster upload speeds in order to perform operations. In addition, ISPs provide guaranteed service and uptimes for business internet.

That depends.  Some providers offer impressively fast download speeds while glossing over their far slower upload speeds. For streaming movies and web surfing, download speed matters. If you’re creating content and need to get it to clients, upload speed really matters—the same goes for backing up your data offsite. Business internet connections usually offer identical download and upload speeds, known as parity.  Plan pricing is based on speed so it’s important to run a speed test on your current system to determine the best cost/best service for your business.  A small office with up to 10 users might do well with 100 Mbps while a company with up to 30 users would do well with 300 Mbps or even 1 gigabyte of data if the company is expanding.

When you’re choosing an internet service provider (ISP), you want one that gives you fast speeds and fair pricing. Depending on where your business is located, you may have to choose between two or three different providers operating in your area. Businesses need a higher speed, so that narrows the options to Cable Internet and Fiber.  Comprised of coaxial copper cables, cable internet transfers data as electrical signals from modem to modem. Cable Internet is slower than Fiber and suffers network traffic back-ups, causing bottlenecks, especially during peak hours.  Fiber, on the other hand, carries the Data in the form of flashes of light and transfers internet Data exclusively.  Fiber is far superior, but it is more expensive and may not be available in your area. Cable Internet can still be a good option for smaller businesses or those on a budget.  You will also want to look at whether or not you need a Primary and backup ISP for failover. This will depend on whether your business is running 24/7 or can experience any type of downtime due to an outage in your area with any service you choose. Whichever way you chose, you’ll want to make sure you get great customer service as well.