The Internet is not just important for personal use, but for businesses too. Most companies, regardless of the industry, require broadband connectivity for their operation and to serve their customers better. Internet providers offer different types of broadband plans. There are those that are designed for enterprise use, although some companies would do on lower plans. Not all business broadband plans were created equal and not all customers have the same needs. This is why it's important to weigh your options to get the plan that would match your requirements. Here are some of the factors to consider when choosing the best broadband plan for your company.
Determine Your Needs
The first thing that you need to be clear about before shopping around and comparing broadband plans is your needs. How many users do you have? Do your processes require fast download or upload speed? Are you working on various data and you need cloud storage? As mentioned, companies have varying needs and it's important to determine what yours are so you would know what to look for. This would help you get the right broadband plan at the best price. For instance, if you only have a few employees, getting the broadband plan with the fastest speed and biggest bandwidth that's designed for big companies may not be ideal since it's also more expensive. You could get a cheaper plan that would provide the service that you need.
Choose the Appropriate Speed and Bandwidth
Speed and bandwidth are usually being interchanged, but they are different from each other, though they are both important factors to consider when choosing the best broadband service. Speed is how fast a user could upload and download files. Bandwidth on the other hand would determine how many users could connect at the same time and still have that maximum speed. You should choose a plan that would allow all your employees to access the Internet fast even when they do this simultaneously.
Decide on the Type of Broadband
There are different types of broadband available and they are generally categorized into wired and wireless broadband. It's best to go for a wired connection since this is typically more stable than wireless. Wireless broadband relies on signal and there are several factors that could affect it like bad weather or strength of signal in the area. This type of broadband isn't always reliable so it may not be the best option for your business, especially if it relies heavily on Internet. Wired broadband connection has also different types including DSL and fiber. Bigpipe is one of the Internet service providers that offer wired broadband service. They offer ADSL to their Ultra-Fast Service plan that uses fiber, which is considered the one of the fastest and most reliable broadband type.
Know the Reliability and Stability of Connection
As mentioned, reliability and stability is very important to ensure the continuous operation of your business. However, this may be difficult to determine until you tried the service. To make sure that you get the service that you expect or you get proper compensation in case the service goes down for some reason, read their service level agreement or SLA and ask any questions in case something's unclear.
Available Extra FeatureS
Aside from Internet connectivity, many service providers also include other features on their business plans like email that's customized to the name of your business. They may also offer VPN or virtual private network that would let you connect to the Internet more securely, as well as allow access to contents that are exclusive to certain countries or regions.
Flexibility on Plan Changes
It's also important to consider your changing needs. Your company may expand in the coming years and it's vital that your Internet service would make it easy for you to change the plan depending on your needs. There are service providers that allow this at no cost, while others may require a certain fee. It's best to go for those that offer it for free or at a minimal cost.
Availability of Customer Support
Another important factor is their customer service. They should be easy to reach and available anytime you need their help. You'll never known when problems would arise and it would be good to get the help of your provider as soon as possible to fix the issue.
There are Internet providers that offer no contracts. This is a good option as you are not tied with them in case you're not happy with the service or you need to end it for some reason.
