How to Choose a Fiber Broadband for Business Provider
When it comes to evaluating fiber broadband providers, there’s no shortage of options to choose from. It’s also easy to get caught up in terminology, like “fastest broadband,” “broadband internet” and others without truly understanding the terminology.
To help small business owners and managers better evaluate how to choose what’s right for their business, the following guidelines are provided to assist in decision making.
Evaluating Speed
While it’s commonly known that fiber broadband speeds are faster than traditional DSL lines, fiber speeds can vary significantly. Most business broadband connections will range from up to 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps, although slower or faster speeds may be available in certain areas of the country depending on fiber availability.
To test your current speed, Sparklight Business offers a speed test you can conduct yourself to see if you have fast broadband. Once you know your speed you’ll be better prepared to evaluate how it compares to fiber-optic broadband so that you can find the fastest broadband in your area.
Availability of Fiber
It pays to think of fiber availability like any other municipal service: If it’s already in your area, it’s easy to tap into. If not, construction may be required. While most metropolitan areas already have fiber-optic internet availability, some rural areas may not yet have widely available fiber internet to all buildings.
To find out whether your area offers fiber internet service, input these terms into your search engine, followed by your city name or ZIP code: “Can I get fiber optic broadband” or “Get Fiber optic internet in my area.” The results should point you in the direction of one or more fiber internet providers that can help you learn about fast fiber broadband options in your area.
Cost of Fiber
If your business location is in an area with optic fiber broadband availability, your cost will typically be comprised of a monthly fee for service and any installation costs. Your provider can give you an accurate assessment of the total expense after carefully considering your service needs.
If you’re connecting fiber-optic broadband in a new construction, it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact price since every installation is different. However, for the sake of ballpark estimating, the average fiber-optic cable costs from one to six dollars per foot depending on the fiber count. A building with 100 drops—or end user connections—can run upwards of $15,000 if you want fiber connectivity to each user versus standard Ethernet cabling. This does not include the cost of bringing fiber optic cable to the site from the service provider. For an accurate cost assessment for business broadband, Sparklight Business can provide an estimate to bring fiber internet to your business and check fiber broadband availability in your area.
Determining What’s Right
The best way to determine which fiber broadband deals are right for your business is to discuss your needs with your business broadband provider. They’ll do a thorough assessment of your needs and usage and help you decide on the best broadband for your business.
Get Superfast Broadband
To review Sparklight Business Fiber services, please contact a representative at 855.603.4237, or learn more by following the information provided below.
