Business Internet Providers: How to Choose One for Your Company

In 2020, it’s impossible to run a successful business without using a high-speed internet service. You and your employees won’t be able to do things like send and receive emails, put together presentations, and videoconference with clients if you don’t have a high-speed ISP package.

From the moment you first set up your business, you should make it a point to give yourself and your employees access to the best internet service around. You can do this by working with one of the best business internet providers in your general area.

It’s not always easy to track down top-notch commercial internet service providers. It’s going to take a decent amount of work on your part to conduct the necessary research when searching for internet service providers for business purposes.

But you can get the job done by taking certain steps while looking for the best business ISP provider. Here is how to go about doing it so that you’re able to find the provider that will work best for you.

Begin by Thinking About How Your Business Will Use the Internet

First things first: Before you start looking around at different business internet providers and trying to pick one for your company, think about how exactly your business is going to be using the internet.

Businesses use the internet for so many things these days. Your business might utilize the internet to:

• Communicate with those both inside and outside of your office through the use of email, videoconferencing, etc.
• Keep your business website up to date
• Research your competition to find ways in which you can keep up with them

The more that you and your employees plan on using the internet, the more bandwidth you’re ultimately going to need. Bandwidth refers to the speed at which your company is going to be able to connect to the internet and use it.

Make Sure You’re Familiar With the Different Kinds of Internet Connections

In addition to considering how you and your employees will use the internet once you have a connection set up, there is another thing you’ll want to do prior to perusing through the different commercial internet providers and picking one. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the various types of internet connections.

The most common types of internet connections available today are:

• Dialup, which is (by far!) the slowest type of internet and the last one that your small business should choose
• DSL, which is faster than dialup but still only capable of providing a bandwidth of about 10 to 15 Megabytes per second
• Cable, which is a huge step up from dialup and DSL and one of the fastest internet connections around
• Fiber, which is easily the fast internet connection of the bunch with some fiber internet providers delivering speeds over 100 Megabytes per second

If you’re in the market for high speed internet for business purposes, cable and fiber are going to be your best bets.

Take a Look at the Business Internet Providers in Your Area

Once you reach this point, you should know how you plan to use your business internet connection and what kind of internet connection will work best for you. It’ll officially be time to launch your search for the best business internet providers in your area.

There are well over 2,500 internet providers throughout the U.S. as of right now. And as the internet becomes more and more important to everyone’s daily life, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that number continue to go up.

Depending on where your business is located, you might have anywhere from two or three business internet provider options all the way up to half a dozen options or more. You should compile a list of your options so that you can look into each of them further before making a final decision.

See Which Business Internet Packages These Providers Can Offer to You

After you have a running list of commercial internet providers that operate in your area, you can begin to dig a little deeper into the packages that they each have to offer. Most of them should have at least three or four packages that you can pick from based on your specific needs.

Go through each of these packages with a fine-tooth comb to see what separates one from the next. Oftentimes, the amount of bandwidth that you’ll receive is what’s going to be the biggest difference between packages.

You’re not going to want to work with a business internet provider if they only have a single package that doesn’t offer much. In fact, you should look for one that’ll allow you to customize a package that is tailor-made just for you, if possible.

Consider the Costs Associated With the Packages From Each Local ISP

While you’re flipping through the different packages that business internet providers have to offer, you’ll obviously want to keep a very close eye on price. The last thing you want to do is pay a small fortune every month to connect to the internet.

The good news is that most commercial internet providers have prices that fall into the same basic range. You can usually expect to pay somewhere between $100 and $200 in most cases for internet access.

But still, it never hurts to shop around to see the prices that different providers have to offer. Some will set new customers up with special introductory rates that you might want to take advantage of when you first sign up for internet service.

Find Out What Other Businesses Have to Say About These Providers

On paper, almost all of the business internet providers in your area are going to look like they would be a great fit for you. These providers will rave about their internet packages and tell you all about how fast their internet service will be.

But what do their past and current customers have to say about their packages and service? That is a question that you should attempt to answer before choosing one business internet provider over all the rest.

In this day and age, it’s simple enough to hop online and find reviews for almost any company in the world. That includes commercial internet providers, who are among the most reviewed companies in the country.

Skim through as many reviews for business internet providers as you can when you’re hunting around for one. Try to take in both positive and negative reviews so that you get a balanced look at what providers will bring to the table.

You may be able to knock a couple of options off your list based on the reviews that have been left for them over time.

Test the Customer Service Departments for Business Internet Providers

Once you commit to working with one of the business internet providers in your area, you’re typically going to have to sign a contract with them. This will tie you to them for at least a year or two, during which time you’ll work with them early and often whenever you have an internet problem.

With this in mind, your business internet provider needs to have an excellent customer service department that will be there to meet your every need. You don’t want to end up working with a company that offers awful customer service to their clients.

Put different commercial internet providers’ customer service teams to the test by calling on them to help you with a basic internet problem. When you do it, pay attention to:

• How long it takes for you to get an actual human being on the phone
• What approach that person takes to communicate with you about your issue
• How effective that person is when it comes to answering your questions and solving your issue

You’re going to have to do this for real at some point. It’ll be nice to know that you’ll have a reliable customer service department by your side to walk you through any issues you might have.

Pick the Commercial Internet Provider That Checks All the Boxes for You

After everything else here is complete, you should be ready to pick the right internet provider for your business. Take a step back and evaluate each of your options to see which one fits the bill for you.

This will usually take at least a few days, if not a few weeks, to figure out. But it’ll be well worth all the effort that you put into it.

Bringing the Right Internet Provider on Board Will Give Your Business a Boost

With so many business internet providers to choose from, many business owners get overwhelmed by their options. It forces some of them to randomly pick the first one they find and go with them.

This is not the right way to go about choosing a business internet provider. It could lead to you working with a provider that’s going to charge you way too much for substandard service. Use the tips found here to search for a business ISP instead.

Learn more about running a successful business by browsing around on our blog.