Benefits of Having a Second Business Broadband Connection

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What are the benefits of having a second business broadband connection?

Businesses are doing more online than ever before. With advancements in technology and the adoption of the cloud, this is only going to increase. For most, a single connection to the internet is critical to the day to day operations of their business. But what happens if this connection fails?

Yes, a reliable business broadband connection is crucial. But with only one broadband line, businesses are exposed if that line experiences any downtime. Should this happen with no contingency plan in place, it can result in financial and productivity loss alongside a drop in customer experience. This is why having a second broadband connection is crucial for business continuity.

Why is it important to have a second broadband connection?

From daily internet connectivity, Online calls, Zoom meetings, Cloud backups, Stock management, CCTV and Security. What would the cost be to your business should you lose these functions, even for an hour? Our guess is it will be more than the annual cost of a second broadband connection.

The main reason to have a second broadband connection is as a failsafe should your primary connection stop working. Think of this like an insurance policy. And with the advancements in technology, the switch between your primary and backup connections can happen in a matter of seconds.

While this is absolute best practice for business continuity, the second connection can be utilised for daily operations and not just lie dormant. Outlined below are a few tips and tricks your IT team can implement:

  • Load balancing bandwidth between both connections to maximise value
  • Isolate Primary business network from public (guest) networks
  • Critical projects and operations can be run on an isolated connection
  • Route critical traffic through the fastest connection
  • Instantaneous failover between lines
  • Automatic back-ups on a dedicated connection

By now we hope to have advised you on the advantages of having a second broadband connection.

The secondary connection should be the same bandwidth as your primary. If your business uses 100Mbps on its primary connection each day, the secondary service must be 100Mbps. Otherwise it will create a bottleneck when you need it most.

For Example: Imagine the M50 with 3 lanes of traffic. This is your primary connection of 100Mbps. If your secondary connection is only 30Mbps, when you need it, it is comparable to the M50 going down to just a single lane of traffic. It creates a bottleneck and slows everything down, not allowing you to flow at full capacity. Whereas a secondary connection of 100Mbps will keep everything flowing without any loss in productivity.

 

Benefits of Fixed Wireless for Business

Benefits of Fixed Wireless Internet for Businesses

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What are the Benefits of Fixed Wireless Internet for Business ?

With more and more organisations moving their daily operations to the cloud, business owners and decision makers are finding that microwave fixed wireless connectivity is the only solution to meet their needs for increased bandwidth, better latency with improved reliability, quick install times and performance.

So what is Fixed Wireless?

Fixed wireless essentially does in the air what fibre does in the ground, but better! I also know what you’re thinking and no Microwave Fixed Wireless is definitely not satellite and nor does it have any of the reduced bandwidth and latency issues.

A fixed wireless internet offering utilizes microwave signals to connect a business’s premises to a wireless internet service providers point of presence (PoP) more commonly known as a communication tower. PoPs are responsible for supplying dedicated high-speed wireless internet access to a receiving dish on the business’s premises.

Yeah but isn’t fixed or hard wired better?

If you think fibre is the gold standard in broadband technologies, think again. Microwave fixed wireless technology is fast outpacing its hard wired cousin, offering bandwidths of up to 10Gbps. It is quickly becoming more popular than fibre as businesses are learning about its advantages, even Google have opted for a wireless solution for their own ISP, Google Fiber.

In a competitive business landscape, speed and Internet quality are directly linked to productivity, which, in turn, contributes to organizational success. Increasingly business operations happen in the cloud, and as a direct result increased bandwidth is necessary. Business owners and managers are discovering wireless is providing better connectivity solutions to meet their growing demands.

Why wireless is better than fixed…

We have listed 6 key benefits which will help you make an informed decision when shopping around for your connectivity needs;

  1. Quick Installation – A wireless internet service provider can have you up and running within 24 hours. Typically, all that needs to be installed is a radio, about the size of a dinner plate at your location which can then be configured to communicate with their nearest PoP. Compare this to the 90 day industry average for a fixed/fibre install.
  1. Scalable Bandwidth – Bandwidth speeds can be turned up or down based on the needs of your organization.
  1. Reliable – The lack of cables means fixed wireless is not susceptible to issues that affect cable, satellite, DSL and even fibre. It is proven to be the most reliable form of connectivity available.
  1. Secure – as the industry has grown, providers have developed impressive security protocols that ensure encryption, data privacy and a requirement for authentication and access control; that’s why it is the chosen method for many of the top finance houses and FinTechs.
  1. Primary & Failover Capability – Fixed wireless can be bundled with a wired method of connectivity to provide a redundant solution.
  1. Lower Latency – More hops in cable, DSL & fibre networks lead to more processing latency, noise and contention. The reduced number of hops in fixed wireless microwave networks lowers end-to-end latency. Even a gain of a couple of milliseconds can add up to a sizable advantage for businesses and deliver a better internet experience.

 

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