Business Broadband vs Residential Broadband

By Lucy Wayment on Small Business UK - Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

The reason for this is the same reason that specialist business providers exist in many services, for example business solicitors or business cars. Although the product is the same, businesses have different needs to the average consumer.

That’s why business broadband exists; businesses need to be online and available in a way which matches their needs. Here’s the advantages of business broadband to your firm:

Made for businesses

Whether you need monthly billing, payments or invoices, a business broadband provider will have everything you need. They have experience in handling business related problems and issues which are unique to business users.

If you are moving to other premises for example, the business provider will be able to handle a change for your business quickly.

Faults and repair services

Residential broadband customers also have a fault report service, but the main difference between business and residential support is speed. Frustrating as it is losing an internet connection at home, the worst that will generally happen is your kids complaining because they can’t get on Fortnite. For your business, however, a loss of connection even for a short time can be a disaster.

Missed emails or a non-functioning website will almost certainly result in angry customers and missed opportunities. If this ever happens, the last thing you want is to be stuck in a queue trying to get through to customer service, only to be told it can’t be fixed for 2 weeks.

Likewise, your employees will need to communicate with suppliers, customers and each other and any delays can cost your business a great deal. A business broadband provider will understand and react to any faults far quicker than a residential connection.

Reliability and speed

Internet connections have different speeds according to the package they have bought, but there are other factors that contribute to the speed or lack of speed in a broadband connection.

One factor is contention ratio. This is the number of people sharing bandwidth (i.e. in an office) or a line into the exchange (i.e. an area). Lower contention ratios mean faster speeds because less people are using bandwidth or exchange. This can be very dependent on time of day when there are more users at peak times for instance.

Broadband speed is also affected by the medium over which information is transmitted. Most businesses are now choosing faster broadband connections using fibre optic cables rather than traditional copper telephone wires (which used to be the standard).

Internet use is another factor. Domestic connections are set to give good performance for online browsing and domestic applications like Netflix or Spotify. Some business connections, on the other hand, can prioritise business applications like email and transferring large files.

The speeds you might get in your area will be determined by the local telephone exchange. Speaking to broadband suppliers directly and enquiring about the speeds you can achieve in your area is the best idea. You can also find out what broadband connection is available to you by using the Openreach postcode search service.

Value for money

Finally, business broadband providers can often offer better value for money to a business account compared with residential packages. The focus of business broadband is to provide businesses with cheap and reliable broadband with the fastest possible connection, while also offering services such as a static IP address, backup connectivity via 4G and improved online security.

Related: Business broadband options for small companies

See also:

Finding superfast broadband for your business – Finding superfast broadband for your business can be difficult – but there are ways of securing better speeds.

Why choosing the right broadband is essential for small businesses – Here, we look at the importance of choosing the right internet connection for business owners and how you can get started if you’re looking to buy or upgrade your business broadband.

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