Top Tips for Getting the Best Internet for your Business

When starting a new business, there are a thousand different factors to consider, many of which you might have never originally foreseen as a decision you would have to make or as an issue that might need resolving. Internet speed, reliability and provider is one of those aspects. Even a business that does not wholly rely on internet connection – a restaurant, for example – requires one for admin and also for providing to customers who, in this day and age, expect Wi-Fi wherever they go.

Existing and well-established businesses will have issues with internet reliability too. Whether you are just starting out or have had years in the game but need modernizing, these top tips should show you the importance of, and the steps to take to get, the best internet for your business.

The importance of a good network

A fast and reliable network will boost your productivity and allow you and your employees to complete tasks without hindrance. Wi-Fi which keeps dropping out, slowing down, or needing rebooting will cause frustrations and in turn, tensions to soar. If you are in the hospitality sector, then a good network will please customers and increase your chances of repeat visitors and excellent online reviews.

Alongside the importance of a good network is the essence of top-quality support. IT support can be expensive and always seems to come at the wrong time, so finding a network that also provides you with insights, monitoring and assistance is critical.

When to take action

An existing business who has an unreliable or poor internet connection needs to know when to take action. This, in fact, is very simple. Action should be taken as soon as productivity drops, you are unable to operate as normal or employees report an inability to work to the maximum of their capabilities due to your bad network. Once it is time to take action, the three points below should help you take the subsequent steps to resolve the issue.

Seek help from a consultancy

Finding a consultancy in the form of INFINIT Consulting, Inc. who provide you with corporate Wi-Fi installation (more on this later), ongoing support and productivity insights, will provide you with the whole package needed to work effectively. When it comes to underperforming internet, using consultants to survey your site and infrastructure to provide you with the best possible coverage could save you plenty of time and money.

Compare providers

Whoever your current internet provider is, contact them and inform them that you are not receiving the service you require. Knowing that you are unhappy and considering moving away from them, they should begin to work hard to improve your network. If they fail, many will offer compensation or attempt to price match any other deals that you find. For this reason, you must start by knowing the market, comparing providers, and seeing if you are truly getting the best value for money that you could do.

Know your budget

When embarking on changing provider, or looking to use a consultancy, you should know exactly how much you are willing to spend. Knowing your budget is something that will come naturally to you as a business owner, so it goes without saying that having your finances in order, with an upper limit agreed on, before looking at new internet deals is an excellent idea.

Corporate Wi-Fi

As mentioned earlier, it could be worth using corporate Wi-Fi rather than the more usual “home” Wi-Fi if you are starting or running a business. There are some key differences to consider, and you should take your time when deciding on whether to opt for corporate Wi-Fi as it is usually more expensive.

Firstly, corporate Wi-Fi usually offers you specific customer support so that you can get back on track quickly, as soon as anything goes wrong. Corporate Wi-Fi callers to the provider’s customer support line are often prioritized, so you shouldn’t be waiting in the usual, endless queues.

You should also receive better speed and security with corporate Wi-Fi, as it isn’t affected by the usage of your neighbors or those in your area and tends to be equipped with higher-grade software for protecting against hackers. Along with this security and speed, corporate Wi-Fi should reach further, meaning less of your office or premises have a bad connection and all workers feel the benefit.

Finally, with corporate Wi-Fi, you should be guaranteed a service and due compensation if you do not receive what you’re paying for. If you believe that these benefits are worth the expenditure, then corporate Wi-Fi could be your next step on the path to better internet for your business.

Home working: Wi-Fi extenders

A recent estimate suggests that 25-30% of the US workforce will be working from home multiple days per week by the end of 2021. With this increase in employees carrying out tasks at home, having the best internet for your business does not stop at having fantastic providers and routers in the office only. For productivity to remain high with staff working from home, their house or flat Wi-Fi must also be of excellent quality.

Home routers can often be affected by their positioning; restrictions on where they can be plugged in means that many homes have the router to one end, or at least not centrally, which brings its own issues. As signal can be interrupted by furniture and walls, as well as distance, employees should consider sourcing a more powerful router or Wi-Fi extenders.

Wi-Fi extenders plug into wall sockets and boost the signal of a Wi-Fi router to more distant parts of the house. For example, having one in a home study would be perfect. Companies who want to encourage their staff to work from home could consider investing in these products for their employees, as it would be unfair to ask them to pay for it themselves if they haven’t necessarily chosen to be away from the office.

Conclusion

In summary, getting the best internet for your business is a task that comprises of multiple parts. Firstly, knowing your budget and researching what type of router or provider you require is essential. Then, consider if using a consultancy to receive the benefits of around-the-clock support is necessary. Finally, think about more unusual factors such as staff working from home. Once you have the best network possible, you can expect to see your productivity grow.