By: John Shepler

In contrast to consumer internet access, business internet service has a history of being overly expensive and difficult to obtain, particularly in less populated areas. This perception largely stems from when traditional telephone companies held a monopoly on internet service, resulting in limited choices and exorbitant prices. Thankfully, today’s deregulated market offers a different reality. Any business requiring an internet connection can now get one at budget-friendly prices.

Ideal Choices for SOHO, Small Office, Home Office

Sole proprietorships often represent the smallest businesses. These are frequently individual consultants, telecommuters, “gig” workers, or web designers operating from home offices. When meeting clients, they rely on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. With limited budgets, they seek the most affordable internet access that meets their needs.

For bootstrapped operations, the most cost-effective option is residential cable broadband at the home office combined with 4G LTE cellular service for mobility. Tablets and laptops can connect to smartphones when WiFi is unavailable, providing a very budget-friendly solution. Note: Reach out to your local cable company for residential broadband.

If your business requires static IP addresses, servers, or symmetrical bandwidth, you’ll need internet services tailored for commercial use.

Professional Offices

Businesses operating from commercial offices typically support multiple individuals. This category includes insurance agents, medical practices, and any business that receives walk-in clients. While residential broadband is not an option for commercial addresses, a comparable service called “business broadband” is available. Cable internet remains a strong choice, offering sufficient bandwidth up to 100 Mbps to support small teams. You might even consider setting up guest WiFi or bundling television service for waiting areas.

Technology-Focused Offices

Tech-oriented businesses often require amenities like in-house servers, call centers, and business-critical cloud applications. If your business uploads as much as or more data than it downloads, or if you operate a server, shared bandwidth cable broadband might be insufficient. Dedicated internet access via Ethernet over Copper (10-50 Mbps) or Ethernet over Fiber (10 Mbps to 10 Gbps) offers a better solution. Fiber provides more options but may not be universally available, even with added construction costs. Though significantly more expensive than cable, fiber delivers robust performance for applications like VoIP telephony and cloud access.

Retail Businesses

Many restaurants and bars find the bundled business cable packages combining internet, television, and phone service to be a convenient and cost-effective option. Unique situations, like pop-up retail stores operating seasonally or during special events, benefit from wireless 4G. This service operates similarly to a smartphone but uses a dedicated access point with a high-performance antenna for a strong signal. Wired network or WiFi router connections are possible depending on your requirements.

Remote Locations

Businesses in rural areas, such as retail stores, agribusinesses, machine shops, farms, ranches, and gas stations, often have needs comparable to their urban counterparts but lack access to wired or fiber internet. Wireless 4G is a possibility if usage limits, which are similar to phone plans, are acceptable. If not, high-speed satellite internet may be a better alternative. Bandwidths up to 100 Mbps are readily available, with 1 Gbps on the horizon. As long as there is a clear line of sight to the southern sky for the satellite dish, location is not a barrier. Modern satellites have increased capacity, offering significantly higher usage limits suitable for many businesses. Pricing is comparable to cable and lower-tier fiber internet.

Is T1 Still Relevant?

Since T1 technology uses existing telephone lines, it remains accessible wherever landline phone service is available. While offering only 1.5 Mbps bandwidth, T1 connections are known for their stability and reliability. This makes T1 suitable for credit card processing, email, and basic web browsing. Performance is comparable to 3G cellular service. Due to significant price reductions in recent years, this legacy service remains a viable choice in certain situations.

More Choices Than You Might Expect

If you’re a small business owner or an IT consultant working with small businesses, you might be surprised by the wide range of Business Internet Service Options now accessible in your desired locations.