Exactly how fast your business WiFi should be is a hot topic amongst broadband experts. For most small businesses and startups, Verizon recommends 100Mbps, covering up to ten users at a time within fairly basic tasks such as emailing and collaborating on documents.
Anything less than this will slow down your business operations and damage your ability to work agilely. Discover below the five best ways to speed up your business’ WiFi so that your staff can exercise their full capacities.
Security
The most obvious means to speed up your WiFi network is to remove unwanted traffic. If you have failed to secure your network with encryption and a strong password, your business will have to deal with freeloaders who log onto your WiFi and benefit from your open network. To further secure your network, ask your provider how to use their highest level of encryption and hack prevention.
Staff Discipline and Limit Usages
Similarly, your network will slow down if your staff uses bandwidth-intensive functions that are unnecessary for doing their job. This could include watching Netflix or downloading games. Reiterating the necessity of network discipline or restricting what can be done on your network will ensure that business activity is always prioritized.
Router Positioning
Small businesses will often spend in excess of £400 on their business WiFi. However, this investment is wasted if they do not position their router appropriately. If your signal has to travel through a wall, microwave, or television, it will be interrupted.
Furthermore, most routers are designed to spread their signal downwards. Therefore, placing your router as high as possible may be an effective way for your staff to capture as much of the signal as possible without it being interrupted.
Firmware Updates
A way to improve your business’s WiFi speed is to ensure that the programs it is running to deliver the connection are up to date. WiFi providers are constantly improving their firmware, so keep it updated to achieve the best speeds. Making these updates will also pay dividends in improving the security of your network.
Provider Choice
If these four key steps fail to improve your network speed adequately, it might be time to shop around to find WiFi that offers a higher Mbps rate. Choosing a faster provider will likely require an investment from your business, but your staff will likely earn money back several times with their improved work rate.
To minimise the burden of your investment, it is a great idea to get on a business broadband price comparison website such as MoneySuperMarket, Go Compare, or Compare the Market. They can help you keep up to date with the best deals and save your business from getting stuck in an overpriced WiFi contract.
Fast Business WiFi for Agile Workplaces
You will have no doubt experienced slow internet even when you’re paying premium rates for “superfast” internet. The speed delivery provided by established telecommunication companies very rarely fulfil the speeds stated in your broadband contract.
One reason for that is because the existing infrastructure of these companies is insufficient to support a large number of users. The alternative is to switch an IT support service provider that delivers hi-speed internet with a 99.999% availability.
IT companies that manage broadband channels themselves implement an infrastructure that ensures you get the wi-fi speeds your employees need to operate at full capacity. Moreover, these companies deliver the speeds you pay for.
