A lot has shifted for small business owners over the last few years. It wasn’t just the pandemic that shook things up—technology and how we use it also changed. Thanks to the internet, you can reach your customers in more places than ever before. It powers the processes of e-commerce, cloud-based tools, and social selling. And who knows what else is headed our way in the future? Embracing the digital ecosystem and using technology is one of the keys to staying at the forefront of your industry in the small business space. Learn why small businesses should use business fiber internet to stay competitive in the years to come.
How much internet speed does your small business need?
Every business has different connectivity needs, depending on what you do. Here’s a general guide:
Number of employees | Recommended speed | Bandwidth needed per device |
| 1-2 | 15-25 Mbps |
|
| 2-5 | 25-50 Mbps |
|
| 5-10 | 50-75 Mbps |
|
As you add more employees and digital activities, you need more bandwidth. You can future-proof your internet by choosing business fiber internet, which has built-in bandwidth, speed, and reliability.
Business fiber internet delivers bandwidth
Internet speeds can be complicated. How fast your internet can go depends on your bandwidth. While internet speed and bandwidth are often used interchangeably, they’re definitely not the same thing. Basically, the amount of bandwidth you have is how much data can go through your internet connection. So, your speed is how fast that data moves through.
As you add employees or add bandwidth-heavy activities, like file uploads or data backups, your internet speed will slow down across the board. But, by starting off with a lot of bandwidth (say, up to 940 Mbps), you can continue to enjoy high speeds even while adding more people to the organization or different activities. That’s the power of Gigspeed.
Speed: Is your internet symmetrical?
Upload and download speeds impact different areas of your business. When you receive emails and files, watch training videos, surf the web, or stream music, you’re using your download speeds. On the other hand, you use upload speed when you share digital files with clients, send emails, or post images to social media. When you videoconference, you’re using both.
Many work tasks rely on upload speeds, and you may experience a bandwidth clog with certain types of internet. Take copper internet, for example. It usually has faster download speeds than upload speeds. That’s why small businesses often feel the pinch during a video conference or a slowdown when you upload a big file. This is especially true if you attempt to upload a big file during your video call.
Fortunately, business fiber internet from Quantum Fiber offers symmetrical speeds. That means upload speeds are just as fast as download speeds. You can do all the work tasks you need to without the slowdown or interruption. Symmetrical internet helps keep productivity high, allowing multiple employees to upload and download at the same time.
What about reliability?
Unfortunately, we’ve all been there when a video call cuts out. Or when we need to get a file to a client or vendor ASAP—but it’s taking forever to upload. Let’s not even talk about when the internet drops altogether, and we lose a day of work.
When you’re on the clock, the internet needs to work. Fortunately, business fiber internet is reliable. With its super-thin glass or plastic filaments, fiber internet transmits data using light pulses. Other types of internet use electricity to do the same thing. It’s not only slower but also more susceptible to electrical interference. Fiber’s characteristics all add up to deliver a stable, reliable internet connection for your business.
The future of the internet
You don’t just need solutions that work today. Changes are on the horizon, and with more systems, employees, tools, and applications, you may need even more bandwidth down the road. An increasing number of businesses are beginning to rely on the Internet of Things. Some are part of blossoming smart cities. Who knows? You may even do business in the metaverse someday! When we live life online, we’re going to need more and more bandwidth and speed to keep everything running as smoothly as it can. Fortunately, fiber optic networks are continually being improved with new technology to deliver better speeds.
As the world advances and requires more speed and bandwidth, improvements to fiber networks can help meet those needs. When you make the leap to fiber, you’re making a long-term investment in your internet capabilities for years to come.
Get internet that keeps your business future-ready
Whatever the future brings, you’ll be ready for it with internet that’s built for your small business. Quantum Fiber delivers unlimited potential and productivity with speeds up to 940 Mbps on a rock-solid 99.9% reliable network.* Check to see if this ground-breaking fiber internet solution is available near you.
Get the future of the internet today
* Based on network uptime or availability.
Although our fiber service usually means 100% fiber-optic network to your location, in limited circumstances Quantum Fiber may need to deploy alternative technologies coupled with a non-fiber connection from a certain point (usually the curb) to your location in order to provide the advertised download speeds.
