Today, almost every business has gone online. It does not matter if you own a bakery or run a more advanced digital company with several employees working together in real-time, network speed is an essential question to ask when looking for an internet service provider.
Your business should take into consideration your internet speed requirements to get done with the critical tasks. The correct answer depends on your data needs, the number of customers you cater to, and the type of your business. If you want to make the right decision, you must first learn what internet speed is and how you can measure it. This would help you in choosing the best internet speed required for your business.
So, let us get started!
Internet speed: What is it?
Also known as bandwidth, internet speed is basically how much data you can download or upload in one second. And this covers your whole network. For example, if you share your internet with a friend and you both decide to upload a file at the same time, then the speed would be halved for each of you.
How to Measure the Speed of Your Internet?
Megabits per second (Mbps) is the unit commonly used to measure the speed of any internet connection. So the higher the megabits per second, the faster the internet speed you can get. But as discussed above, it also depends on the total number of internet users and the concurrent tasks that often cause some lags in the overall speed. Similarly, heavy data jobs like video conferencing and large file downloads can also decelerate things. To fend off lag spikes during critical business hours, pare down your internet activity by scheduling your data backups after those hours.
Broadband Internet: Quick Overview
The term broadband stands for broad bandwidth. It means fast speed internet access that is continuously on and speedier than the old dial-up service. Broadband internet is undoubtedly one of the most popular and fastest internet connection types which comes in various high-speed communication forms:
- Cable modem
- Digital subscriber line (DSL)
- Fiber Optic
- Fixed Wireless
- Satellite
According to the Federal Communication Commission, broadband is explained as a connection that gives at least 3 Mbps of upload speed and at least 25 Mbps of download speed.
How Much Internet Speed Does Your Business Need On Average?
Most of us often get baffled while selecting the appropriate internet speed for our business. The first step is to learn what download and upload speeds are. Let’s understand it through this example:
Your internet service provider tells you that they deliver speeds up to 50/10 Mbps. Here, the first number refers to the download speed and the other one is the upload speed.
You must know that internet speed needs differ for each business. There are several factors that influence your speed requirement like the type of business you operate and the total number of employees you have. If you are interested in knowing the average business internet speed, then it is roughly 19 Mbps. But you must know what this number will increase in the upcoming years due to obvious reasons.
Internet Speed that Your Business Needs
Confused about choosing the appropriate internet speed that your business requires to run smoothly? There are certain things that you should consider before making the final decision. For example, if you own a small business, you may use the internet for composing emails, communicating with stakeholders, and downloading files. Remember, as your business grows in size, it directly impacts the total number of your employees who will be using the internet at the same time.
To assist you in this regard, here is a list of ideal internet speeds estimates that you may need depending on the total number of devices connected to your internet and the usage.
| Internet Usage | Total Number of Users / Devices | Required Download Speed |
| Sending & receiving emails, browsing the web, research purpose | 1 – 2 | 5 Mbps |
| Downloading large files, business communication, basic Wi-Fi | 3 – 5 | 25 Mbps |
| Online Video Streaming, sharing files frequently, countless Point of Sales (POS) transaction | 5 – 10 | 75 Mbps |
| Cloud computing, video conferencing, recurrent data backups | 10 – 15 | 150 Mbps |
| Server hosting, audio & video conferencing, , seamless video streaming | 15 – 20 | 250 Mbps |
| Continuous cloud-based computing, heavy online backups, maintain numerous server hosting | 20 – 30 | 500 Mbps |
Running a business with 30 or more devices, like call centers, that use the internet at the same time such will give the best results with 1 GB per second (1,000 Mbps). This will give you access to maximum speed operations with absolutely zero interventions.
Bottom Line:
If you feel like your head is spinning right now, then do not worry! You are not alone. We totally understand that looking for suitable internet speeds for your business may seem like a complicated labyrinth full of complex puzzles. And all businesses have different speed requirements so you cannot just go with the flow, in fact, conduct proper research.
Always remember that a faster internet speed does not always mean a better option. There is no denying the fact that speed matters, and cutting down on costs in this specific area could result in obstacles and lags in the way of your business productivity. Therefore, it is crucial to choose a reliable ISP like Mediacom internet for your business broadband service.
