The Internet continues to be a fundamental requirement amongst modern businesses. Internet banking, digital marketing, e-commerce sites, and online casinos are just a few of the industry sectors transformed by the Internet. It has facilitated innovations and continues to be beneficial to most Miami businesses, whether big or small.
Having a reliable Internet connection can enable you to beat your competitors, connect with clients, improve sales, among other business rewards. When it comes to business Internet, you need to select the best internet service provider (ISP). Here’s a practical guide to help you choose the right ISP:
Type of Internet Connection
Technologies continue to advance. Different forms of Internet connections are available to businesses. It’s advisable to select a business internet service that can provide a reliable Internet connection. Traditional connections are much slower and have several drawbacks. The following are some of the types of Internet connections that you are likely to encounter in Miami:
1. Cable
This technology involves transferring data through television cable lines. Cable connections, in most cases, require bandwidth sharing. The downside to this model is that Internet speeds fluctuate, depending on whether nearby businesses are connected to the same line.
2. Fiber Optics
Fiber optics transmit the Internet in the form of light pulses through a tube. It offers high download and upload speeds. This connection is also not affected by outside interference like the weather. It’s the perfect connection for large businesses with heavy Internet usage.
3. Satellite
Satellite is another mode of Internet connection. Since it’s not grounded, it can suffer from interferences.
Businesses’ Need for Speed
Make sure you determine your business’s Internet speed needs before approaching an ISP. Internet speed selection is no way attached to the size of your business. If your business involves transferring large files, video conferencing, cloud storage, web hosting, and other heavy usages, then you need an ISP provider capable of providing lots of bandwidth.
For businesses with basic Internet usage like emailing and surfing, a 10-25 Mbs Internet connection should be comfortable.
Customer Care Service
Whenever possible, choose an ISP with a 24/7 customer care service. Your business might not be on operation round the clock, but sometimes, businesses’ Internet connections experience downtime. A good ISP usually has an expert team of IT technicians to tackle such issues in the shortest time possible. The technicians should be willing to travel on-site in case your Internet issues escalate.
Bandwidth Limits
Some ISP providers put data caps on Internet plans then demand a higher rate for the exceeded bandwidth. Others even throttle your Internet speeds upon reaching the bandwidth limit. Knowledge of such actions is very critical to a business. Your organization can be adversely affected by these caps and can result in massive Internet costs.
Before settling on an ISP for your business, it’s a good practice to read their TOS. Such terms cover their rules, user policies, bandwidth caps, and even legal issues. These rules and policies can have an impact on your business once you decide to accept them.