Does your office internet connection feel too slow? Your internet service provider (ISP) may already provide you your exact bandwidth needs. However, there’s nothing wrong with asking, “how much bandwidth do I need in actuality?”
Below is a guide on how to compute your bandwidth requirements. We also discuss how you find out how fast your current internet speed is. Keep reading to find out if you’ve got enough bandwidth for your small business or if you need more.
What Is Bandwidth?
No matter the size of your business, internet connectivity is important. Today, it’s even considered a part of the basic needs of modern human beings. It may not be as vital as breathable air, food, or shelter, but it somewhere in that pyramid for sure.
When you get your business connected, bandwidth is one thing you must consider. Before we talk about how much bandwidth you need, let’s discuss what it is first.
Bandwidth is the measurement of how fast data gets sent over a wireless or wired connection.
You often see bandwidth measured in bits per second. For example, video calling needs about 300 kilobits per second (kbps). However, if you want high-definition video calling, you need at least 1 megabit per second (Mbps) to have a one-on-one conversation in HD.
The lower your bandwidth, the slower your connection. If you want to get a faster connection, you need to increase your bandwidth. However, more bandwidth can be expensive.
Thus, you need to estimate your business’ bandwidth requirements in the right way.
How to Measure Your Business’ Current Speed
Before we compute how much bandwidth you need, let’s compute how much you have. Every business has a unique bandwidth need. A call center needs more bandwidth than a barbershop, for example.
Tools like an internet speed test can give you a quick check of your real-world speeds. Look online for speed tests or use Google’s speed test. Try to test at different times of the day.
Also, if possible, try to test your speed under different situations. For example, a speed test result during a busy time will differ from a speed test result by clock-out time. Check speed test results every time before you get a new connection and after.
Factors That Affect Your Connection
What if you’re already getting the perfect bandwidth from ISPs like Shentel Business? You also need to know what other things can affect your connection. Overlooking these factors can give you a different connection speed than what you’d expect from an ISP.
First, the type of internet you choose can make or break the speed of your connection. Cable internet slows down when more people go online. If you have fiber-optic internet, the speed doesn’t get affected by how many devices are online.
Line congestion also affects the speed of your internet connection. If a lot of users are on the network at one time, everything slows down. Think traffic at a small road where everyone’s trying to cut the line.
Speaking of devices, the devices you’re using also limit your connection speed. A device that only supports 100 Mbps can’t give you the full experience of the 250 Mbps service you paid for. Often, you can find this issue in older equipment like routers and laptops.
It’s also important to consider the size and shape of your office. Wi-Fi signal has problems getting around walls and closed-off areas. Finally, don’t forget to update any out-dated software to reduce lags.
How Much Bandwidth Do I Need?
Let’s take a look at basic activities and how much bandwidth they often consume. Here’s a basic breakdown to help you determine how much bandwidth you should get in your Internet plan.
Below are common business activities and their bandwidth estimates:
- Cloud backup: 2 Mbps
- Cloud computing: 2 Mbps
- Cloud-based services: 5 Mbps
- Data transfer: 2 Mbps
- Email with attachments: 15 Mbps
- Email without attachments: 1 Mbps
- File sharing: 5 Mbps/500 Kbps
- General Wi-Fi use: 1 Mbps
- HD Video: 4 Mbps
- Instant messaging: 5 Mbps/500 Kbps
- Online research: 33 Mbps/333 Kbps
- Social media scheduling: 2 Mbps/200 Kbps
- Uploading large files: 2 Mbps
- Uploading photos: 5 Mbps
- Video conferencing: 4 Mbps
- VoIP calls: 1 Mbps/100 Kbps
- VoIP video calls: 28 Mbps
- Web browsing: 0.33 Mbps/333 Kbps
- Webinar streaming: 5 Mbps or more
How to Compute Your Office Speed Requirements
Start by making a list of all the online activities you often do at your business. Don’t forget to consider future tasks like uploading large files. If you feel you’ll be doing a job that needs more video calls than usual, consider that too.
Next, estimate how much bandwidth each activity will need. Above, we’ve got a list of the common business activities. Refer to the list to get their bandwidth estimates.
The next step is to determine how many people will do these tasks at one time. Add two more to that number, in case the affecting factors take effect. Multiply this number with the bandwidth for each activity.
For example, you have three employees. To get the total bandwidth for sending emails with attachments, multiply 5 and 15. In total, you may need up to 75 Mbps for sending emails alone.
Remember to add 2 to the total number of people using the connection. This creates a small buffer for the connection. Paying for a little more bandwidth is better than paying for less and coming up short.
Finally, add all the totals. The final number is the estimated speed you need for the office. Compare your office speed needs to your speed test results.
If you feel that your internet connection is too slow, you may need a higher speed for your office. If you don’t feel that it’s slow, you may have other issues. This can include having outdated equipment or a small Wi-Fi range.
Get Business Done Faster
A faster internet connection can do your business miracles. For one, it takes out the frustrations of failed email sending and slow loading screens. If anything, a better internet connection can boost employee productivity.
That’s it for this guide on bandwidth needs for small businesses. Now, you need not be clueless the next time you ask yourself, “how much bandwidth do I need?”
If you liked this post, check out our other guides on internet connectivity today!
