4 Tips to Ensure Your Business Broadband Can Support Peak Usage

https://consolidated.com/blog/tips-maximize-business-broadband

Author: Kelley Donald - MarCom/Tuesday, October 20, 2020/Categories: Business Internet

Understand Peak Usage Times to Prepare for Them

To better manage your business WiFi service during peak usage times, you have to understand when they occur.

Prior to the pandemic, peak internet usage times for home internet plans ran from 7 PM until 9 or 11 PM at night. Of course, this didn’t affect business broadband service, which got the most usage from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Now, with children learning remotely and people telecommuting, peak internet usage times have shifted. Since March and April, when coronavirus first surged across the U.S., peak internet usage shifted to daytime hours, according to an article by NCTA, The Internet & Television Association. That abated during the summer, but with students distance learning throughout the 2020–2021 school year, business owners should expect a similar pattern of peak internet usage as we saw in the spring.

Know Which Online Activities Use the Most Bandwidth

To better manage your business broadband, whether you are using one of our home internet plans or a business WiFi and unified communications package, it’s important to know the bandwidth-heavy activities to avoid during peak times.

Not surprisingly, streaming videos, streaming music, and using internet-based video chat — whether through a provider like Zoom or a unified communications platform — use the most bandwidth.

Consider asking employees to play music from playlists stored on their phones to minimize using bandwidth on this non-work-related activity. If you’re working from home, try to stagger video calls so only one person is using the service at a time.

Similarly, be considerate and avoid streaming video while others are working from home and using the home WiFi service. Family members can catch many of their favorite shows on cable TV, instead.

Use High-speed, Hard-wired Business Broadband vs. Business WiFi Service When Possible

Business WiFi service comes with incredible convenience to log in from your smartphone, laptop, or mobile device from anywhere in your home or office.

But during the pandemic, many people spent the time and money to create a dedicated home office space suitable for Zoom calls and maximum productivity with minimum disruption. If you can do this, ensure your home office has a hard-wired internet connection. Consolidated Communication small business internet plans offer faster, more reliable service than our home internet plans, so you can better face the challenges of remote work.

Similarly, corporate offices should plan their workspace so employees have hard-wired internet at their desks to make the most of your business ISP connection.

Upgrade Your Business Broadband for the Best Service

To ensure you always have the business broadband you need for video calls and unified communications, consider upgrading your business broadband service to accommodate your “need for speed.”

Consolidated Communications internet service for business can help. Connect with us today

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