If you’ve been managing any scale of business operations, I’m sure you’ve asked around (and googled around) for better internet connectivity options. But chances are, all you found were mountains of marketing buzzwords and tech-jargon.
Wouldn’t it be great if internet providers could just explain their offering in clear, simple language? That’s what I’m going to attempt to do here, while also clearing away some of the confusion and common assumptions about internet connections. In fact, let’s make it interesting and play a little game of TRUE or FALSE. I’ll test out (and hopefully break) some common misunderstandings about business-grade internet.
I’ll also share a few facts about business-grade plans from Superloop for comparison.
Let's get into it.
1. Every internet connection has the same download and upload speeds
FALSE.
You've probably heard about 'asymmetrical' and 'symmetrical' in business internet plans. Symmetrical connections are the ones where the download speed is the same as the upload speed, but in asymmetrical connections, upload speeds and download speeds can be very different. Typically, download speeds are much faster than upload speeds in asymmetrical connections.
Now for an ordinary user, asymmetrical internet connection can work just fine. They’ll let you do typical comms-related tasks like send emails, share small files and documents, etc. But anything more intensive and you’ll hit a speed bottleneck with interruptions, slowdowns and congestion. We don’t realise how much modern businesses rely on fast upload speeds, especially when dealing with data-heavy uses like cloud applications and video conferencing. That’s why a symmetrical internet connection is often the better option for mid to large businesses.
FACT: Superloop business-grade fibre connections are noteworthy for their symmetrical plans – up to 2Gbps download/upload for Superloop Probiz.
2. Some internet connections can be affected by adverse weather events and accidents
TRUE.
Even with all the advances in technology, Mother Nature still rules the world and can interfere with even the most robust internet connections.
Natural weather events and accidents are an unavoidable fact of life, and no internet provider can provide 100% certainty in all scenarios. If they do, then they’ve either made a technology breakthrough no one has ever heard of, or they’re stretching the truth a bit too much.
The important thing is how your internet provider bounces back from unforeseen events. Always ask any prospective provider what kind of measures they have in place for resilience and recovery. Ask questions that would directly impact your business:
What are your numbers when it comes to outages? What are your average recovery times for getting back online? What's your recovery process? Can you share some info about your network, the technologies you use, redundancies you have in place? Can you share an example of how you recovered from an adverse weather event or incident?
FACT: Superloop business-grade fibre internet connections are super-resilient, thanks to our NBN-enabled, fibre-to-the-premises and Enterprise Ethernet technologies. So, when a crisis hits, Superloop can recover faster.
3. Internet speed is the only thing that matters
KIND OF FALSE.
Yes, speed is important. But most of the marketing out there talks almost exclusively about speed, not the reliability of their service – and, by reliability, I mean the user’s experience.
Are internet speeds stable, even during peak times? Is there a lot of lag or stuttering or buffering? Even the fastest internet connection can be frustrating to use if it's inconsistent.
FACT: Superloop business-grade fibre internet connections are built with reliability as the end-goal. For example, Superloop Probiz offers Service Availability of 99.95%, and while Probiz Ethernet Access comes with 4G broadband backup.
4. All business Internet providers provide the same kind of support.
FALSE.
Most internet providers are famous for bad customer service, but you’ll be pleased to know, not all providers are created equal. The pain that businesses feel when dumped in a customer service pool can be skipped entirely if you choose a provider who can support you with a dedicated account manager.
Considering what’s at stake when there are problems with your business internet, having your own account manager means you get a faster, better resolution to your concerns. Your account manager will know your organisation, your business
requirements, and be fully across your connectivity history. You don’t have to start your story from the beginning every time you call, which, as we all know, is frustrating and a complete waste of precious time. Not only that, but you actually get to talk to a real human, which is always better than trying to get your point across to an unempathetic chatbot.
FACT: Superloop is proud to provide you with a dedicated account manager for priority support on all our Probiz internet plans who gets what you’re about.
5. IP addresses are a technicality – a net connection is a net connection
FALSE.
To be fair, only those dealing with the technical side of a business get into the nitty-gritty of IP addresses. But those who do can appreciate the strengths of static vs dynamic.
A static IP is particularly exciting if you’re hosting your own servers on premises, because it will make it much easier for your servers to be located and to communicate with them. The speed of a static IP can also be much faster than a device with a dynamic IP – it just depends on your network
It’s not necessary to have a static IP address, but it can make a world of difference, especially if you want a third-party to administer your servers. For the uninitiated, IP addresses are a string of characters that act like your internet-enabled device’s digital address. It means any device – whether a phone, computer, security camera or server – that uses Internet Protocol (IP) to communicate can have an identifier, or ‘address’, in the network.
The IP address of your device is dynamic (i.e. it keeps changing) by default. Dynamic IP addresses don’t require additional network configuration or setup, and they’re easy to manage. Residential areas or small-scale organizations always use dynamic IP addresses.
FACT: All Superloop business-grade internet connections come with a free public, static IP address, so you get the best possible performance with the least amount of hassle when setting up.
Turn your business internet connection into a business asset
So, there we have it – five assumptions – one proven true, three false and one kind of false. But one very important fact that underscores the whole lot: Superloop business nbn is the optimal solution for high-speed, high-quality internet connectivity, and for powering your business.
