Understanding Internet Speeds for Your Business
From the series: When You Need 'Em, Ask Needham
Introduction
Hey guys, on this week of When You Need 'Em, Ask Neadom, we're gonna talk about speeds of your internet service provider. What kind of speed do you need for your business? Make sure you tune in and we'll see you this week.
Why Internet Speed Matters
Welcome to the week of When You Need 'Em, Ask Neadom Today we're gonna talk about internet service providers and their speeds and how to really understand what that means to your business.
Last week we talked about the different types—cable versus fiber. This week we're gonna talk about their speeds and why it really matters to your business.
Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical Speeds
There are really two different types of speeds: symmetrical and asymmetrical.
- Symmetrical means that the upload and download speeds are the same.
- Asymmetrical means the download and upload speeds are different.
Most coax providers that provide cable internet service offer an asymmetrical service. They may give you 100 megabytes of internet coming down, but only 10 to 15, maybe even 25 megabytes going up.
A fiber provider is going to give you symmetrical speeds—100 megs down and 100 megs up, or 200 down and 200 up. Whatever you get down, you get up.
Real-World Impact on Business
Why is that important to your business? Think about a traditional phone call. When you talk to me, that's me downloading. When I talk to you, that's me uploading.
Now take that same phone scenario and put it in an office with 10 or 15 users, all on the phone sending data. It gets crowded—like a subway car. When person number 10 or 11 picks up the phone, but there's not enough bandwidth, they can hear but they can't talk. The other side can't hear them.
That’s why it’s important to understand what you need for your business.
Recommendations by Office Size
We have phone systems that work with coax providers, but only for a low number of users—five or six. When you get into 15, 16, or 24 users in an office, you really want to make sure you've got fiber service with 50 to 100 megabytes of internet.
Other Bandwidth Considerations
Also consider people downloading YouTube videos, watching training, or doing GoToMeeting or WebEx sessions. There's a lot happening nowadays, and people want it now. You need enough bandwidth to support that.
If you're using cloud applications, you may be downloading a lot, but if you're pushing video content or images, you need good upload speed. You don't want to spend hours uploading to your service provider.
Types of Internet Services
If you have coax service or DSL, they offer asymmetrical internet—more down than up. If you have fiber, Ethernet, or even a legacy T1, you have symmetrical service—same down and up.
Most of the time, those providers guarantee bandwidth and offer compensation if they don't deliver. Cable providers typically offer best effort—whatever they can provide in the area. If there are a thousand people in the neighborhood, your business might not get the bandwidth it needs.
Conclusion
That sums up this week of When You Need 'Em, Ask Neadom. Make sure you like us, hit the thumbs up or thumbs down, and subscribe to our videos. Hit the bell icon to get notified when we release a new video. Drop your questions in the comments—there are no dumb questions. We'll see you again next week. Thanks! Contact Kotori Technologies today!
