Earlier in the week the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) published a report on the internet connectivity needs of small businesses in the UK. The Broadband Stakeholder Group are the leading advisory body to the Government on broadband and have advised on next generation broadband for the past several years.
The report revealed that the median required downstream rate for small businesses will rise from 5Mb/s to 8.1Mb/s, though for a small percentage, the required rate will increase to over 40Mb/s. For upstream rate, it was revealed that current capabilities will serve the majority of businesses, though for a substantial about of users current rates will be insufficient. It highlighted file upload and transfer as having the greatest impact on business bandwidth demand. The study estimates the average media-using employee uploads and downloads 1 GB of data, and that this will increase steadily over the next few years.
One factor driving up businesses’ connection needs are the customers’ requirements. More and more customers expect Wi-Fi, often for free, at shops, restaurants and hotels. As more people switch to using their mobiles to browse online, the need for Wi-Fi availability only increases.
The study has revealed that already ADSL connections provide insufficient upstream for a large proportion of businesses, and that by 2025 users may find they are unable to use some applications critical to their business. Superfast technologies FFTC and DOCSIS 3.0 connections appear sufficient for the majority both currently and in 2025, according to the model, and upcoming next generation technologies such as G.fast will be more than sufficient once they are deployed. The Broadband Stakeholder Group therefore recommends the Government continue to work with industry to ensure that all small businesses have access to superfast connections as quickly as possible, by for example continuing successful schemes such as the SME Connection Voucher Scheme, and working to lower the cost of infrastructure deployment across the country.
Businesses have diverse broadband connection needs. Whatever your requirements, Midland Networks may be able to help. We are part of the Connection Voucher Scheme and offer a range of broadband packages to suit you.