There’s no doubt that broadband is an essential part of any business telephone system, and whilst the UK’s average internet speeds have steadily improved over the years, there remain numerous parts of the rural UK suffering from poor internet connections. More recently, conversation has been held about whether or not BT should be given further public money to ensure rural communities have access to superfast broadband. Superfast, for the unfamiliar, has been defined by the UK government as speeds of 24Mbps or above. Whilst we’re not going to delve into that particular argument, we thought it would insightful to discuss the consequences of poor connectivity for businesses in these areas.
1. File Size Limitations
If you’ve got superfast internet, you’re probably blissfully unaware of this benefit but it’s one of the most important in modern day business. Creative agencies will be all too familiar with the difficulties slow internet connections can create and as they’ll tell you, it’s not just e-mail file size that presents problems. Sites such as yousendit.com take pressure away from e-mail platforms, but with a slow Internet connection, even using these sites can cause a problem.
2. Limited Communication Options
Video conferencing, such as Skype and Google+, has been one of the more rapidly growing areas in the business communication industry, but a slow internet connection can prevent video from being practical. We’ve all been on a video, or indeed conference call, with somebody suffering a poor connection, it can be distracting and certainly doesn’t create the kind of impression you would want to be leaving. Equally, if you’re using a VoIP based business telephone system, you may experience poor quality of service and dropped calls.
3. Difficulty Using Latest Technology
Many companies are benefiting from using cloud based technology, such as storage and software as a service (SaaS). Such services often present a cheaper alternative than their non-cloud counterparts, but those with slower internet connections find cloud services harder to use and have therefore not experienced the savings they may otherwise have had.
4. General internet usage
Whether it’s watching a how-to guide for a project or researching a potential customer, there’s no doubt that we use the internet more than ever before. The slower speeds of a poor internet connection can add up over time to cost the company in question thousands in lost time. Web collaboration tools such as demonstration software are also far harder to use with a poor internet connection.
5. Lifestyle Challenges
It’s also right to consider the effect a poor internet connection has upon staff. Video streaming has never been more popular and people’s preference to remain connected at all times requires a good level of internet connectivity. If staff are relocating, they will invariably now research what internet connection they can receive before committing to move; a bad internet connection could cost the company a valuable member of staff.
When you consider the above, there’s no doubt that having a superfast internet connection brings countless benefits to businesses across the UK. If you would like to talk to us about broadband as part of a new business phone system please contact us.
