Small Business Guide to Internet Services (Sparklight)

2 How to C hoo s e t h e R i gh t B u s i n e s s I n t e r n e t S e rv i c e Choosing the best internet service for your small or medium-sized business basically comes down to one measurement – speed. When Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use the term “speed” they are really referring to bandwidth, which governs the amount of data your internet connection can transfer between two computers in one second. For example, 50 Mbps is 50 megabits per second. If your internet connection is 50 Mbps, you have the capacity to achieve that level of performance. However, your actual internet speed can be limited by other variables, such as your server, computer network or Wi-Fi connection. The other factors that can affect your speed are the number of employees using the internet at the same time – and the amount of data they are sending or receiving. If the amount of data being transferred exceeds your bandwidth at any given time, it will require more time to transfer. This will decrease your actual speed. cha pt e r 1 : F i gu r i ng Out What You N e e d Figuring Out What You Need G e t t i n g Sta r t e d Chapter 1