What Business Broadband Speed Is Fast Enough In 2022?

by | Jul 8, 2022 | Business Broadband

Businesses of all shapes and sizes are reliant in some capacity on business broadband to conduct their operations.

Thanks largely to the global pandemic, more and more business interactions and activities are taking place virtually. This increased online demand has led to greater pressure on network infrastructure resulting in slower upload and download times.

Working with a slow broadband connection can be frustrating for employees and customers alike which in turn can negatively impact the business. In a previous article, we looked at ways to improve internet speed, whether working from home or in the office.

In this article, we are going to look at broadband speeds in Ireland and what business broadband speed you should be striving for.

 

Why are broadband networks under so much pressure?

Broadband network infrastructure across the globe is under immense pressure and it’s no surprise when we consider the sheer volume of users online and the scale of data being uploaded, downloaded and streamed every second of every day.

With more teams working remotely than ever before, video conferencing through apps such as Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams has become increasingly popular for communicating. Virtual Desktop solutions with screen-sharing capabilities have also proved to be a powerful tool for teams to work and collaborate from various locations.

Stepping outside the office, we don’t need to look too far to see what other services are adding to the pressure on the bandwidth.

Online music and video streaming services as well as online gaming in 4K resolution are a huge drain on a network, not to mention the increased number of smart appliances in homes and businesses that require a reliable connection to the internet to operate.

 

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What does this mean for businesses?

Simply put, if your broadband connection is too slow, it directly impacts your employee’s ability to do their job. For you and your team to work efficiently, you need a fast and reliable broadband connection.

When choosing the type of broadband, it’s also important to consider the needs of the business.

Offering free Wi-Fi to guests and customers is now an expectation rather than a bonus. Having a fast internet connection plays a key role in maintaining the continuity of your business operations. The network connection has to allow for the multiple devices that facilitate your team to communicate with each other and customers.

 

What business broadband speed is fast enough to handle the needs of your operations?

As each business will have different needs in terms of internet connection, it can be difficult to outline exactly how much is enough for your business.

Broadband speed can vary depending on the provider and in Ireland, the majority of broadband speeds range between 24Mbps to 100Mbps.

Before we go further, however, we should distinguish between download and upload speeds.

 

Downloading and Uploading

A broadband connection has two different types of speeds that can be measured.

Download speed refers to how quickly you can download content such as websites, and files and stream videos and music.

Upload speed is how fast you can upload data – sending emails or uploading files to a file-sharing app such as Google Drive, for example.

For the majority of users, download speed is more important as we tend to receive more data than we send.

 

Video Conferencing using Business Broadband

The speed required for video conferencing depends on the app that you are using, the definition you require, and the number of people using the platform at the same time. You also need to consider that a video call works in two directions so you are uploading and downloading at the same time.

While Zoom remains one of the most popular choices for video calls, it can also be the most demanding on the network. The highest quality calls on Zoom require an upload speed of up to 3.8Mbps, however standard definition calls require just 600Kbps.

Another popular choice is Microsoft Teams, while HD calls on this platform have a required upload speed of 4Mbps, their minimum requirement on standard definition calls is just 150Kbps, a quarter of the Zoom minimum requirement, so it really comes down to the resolution you require.

 

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Emails

Sending and receiving emails requires very little speed unless you are also exchanging files. If you do need to share files such as images and documents, you can send them via email however there can often be a limit on the size. 1-5Mb is a sufficient speed for your email usage.

 

Sharing Files

An alternative option to sending and receiving files via email is to use a file-sharing app such as Dropbox or Google Drive. If your business requires consistent file downloading, then you will need a reasonable internet speed.

 

Internet Browsing

When it comes to browsing the internet, even the most high-powered websites will require an internet speed of 5Mb. However, you will need to consider how many team members will be browsing the internet at the same time in the workplace as this will directly impact network speed.

 

Our Business Broadband is the solution

Is your broadband speed struggling to keep up with the demands of your business requirements? Then One Contact can offer you the solution to all your needs in the form of our strong, stable and secure Business Broadband.

Our Business Broadband offers your business a strong and secure internet connection with incredible speeds. So whether it’s zooming with team members working from home or getting a dozen devices online at the office – you’re covered with us.

Contact us today to hear more and make sure to check out our blog and resources pages for more industry insights.

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