This page has been updated to reflect the most recent plans and prices. While our top picks stayed the same, we added another recommendation for businesses in New York: Optimum. That’s because Spectrum’s parent company has been fighting legal battles in the state, may withdraw its service there, and has been falling in its customer service rankings. We’re keeping an eye on the situation; while Spectrum still takes the lead for cable availability, speed, and affordability, future customer service troubles could cause us to reconsider. Do you have the right broadband internet connection for your business? And what does “broadband” mean anyway? If you’re like us, you’ve asked yourself these questions, maybe because you just started up or bought a new business or decided your office needed a change.Broadband is an umbrella term that refers to just about any type of residential or business internet that is faster than dusty, old dial-up connections.
Jul 6, 2017 - DSL vs. Cable, what's the difference? Learn about how DSL stacks up against cable. Get a comparison of two leading internet service options. The Internet is an opportunist. It can travel by radio waves, phone line, cable networks, and even the electrical wiring in your house. For the most part, data travels between computers using physical wires.
Broadband connections are typically “wireline,” which means you get connected to your high-speed Internet Service Provider (ISP) through a complex chain of cables. But there’s also wireless broadband, most notably in the form of satellite internet that is broadcast from stations orbiting the planet.But that doesn’t answer which internet service is best for your business. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t as simple as picking a winner—each type has its own benefits, flaws, and quirks.On this page, we cover all the major types of internet connections and compare them in one-on-one matches so you can find the right connection to boost your business.
DSL: Low-tech but high-speed internetDigital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a type of fixed wireline broadband internet that travels along existing copper telephone lines. In the late 1990s, DSL became one of the first widely available broadband connections after the dial-up access age. Fast facts. Download speeds from 1 to 500 Mbps.
Upload speeds from 384 Kbps to 8 Mbps. Prices from $20 to $300 per monthAlthough DSL uses telephone lines like dial-up connections do, DSL’s “two-wire” technology allows you to get broadband internet without interfering with your phone services.
Your business gets connected via a DSL modem that in turn connects to your devices using local or wireless internet connections. There are a couple different types of DSL internet, the main two being ADSL and SDSL. The A and S stand for “asymmetric” and “symmetric,” respectively. ADSL connections tend to have faster download speeds than upload speeds, which is fine for businesses that don’t do a ton of upload-heavy file sharing. SDSL typically has matching upload and download speeds, which is great for video conferencing, but it’s not as widely available as ADSL.
Two other DSL types—VDSL (very high speed digital subscriber line) and HDSL (high-bit-rate digital subscriber line)—offer faster speeds than ADSL or SDSL.DSL speeds often don’t reach what ISPs advertise.DSL is more reliable than dial-up access. But according to the FCC, DSL speeds often don’t reach what ISPs advertise. 2 The availability of DSL broadband is high thanks to the widespread installation of required lines. However, your ability to get DSL internet may depend on how close your office is to a phone line facility.
Your cable ISP will equip your office with a cable modem that attaches to a wall outlet. The cable modem then connects to your computer and devices via ethernet cables or through a Wi-Fi router’s network. You can also set up a local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN) to keep your devices connected and in sync.A downside of cable internet is that the copper coaxial cables are susceptible to electrical surges or heat damage. The fastest and most reliable cable connections use HFC cables—which aren’t as prone to electrical surges—and DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem technology. According to a 2016 FCC study, cable plans reached advertised speeds more reliably than DSL plans did. 3 Yet a potential risk stems from traditional cable internet sharing connections with other subscribers in the area. That means that during peak times, you could experience lagging speeds as your neighbors drink from the same well of internet juice.Some ISPs offer dedicated cable internet access to avoid this problem.
A dedicated line is what it sounds like: a connection dedicated to only transmit from the ISP to your business. Dedicated lines provide much faster and more reliable internet for cable subscribers but cost a premium.
Runner-up: OptimumOptimum’s business internet plans are similar to Spectrum’s in speed and pricing—in fact, they offer speeds up to 500 Mbps, just higher than Spectrum. Right now, we recommend Spectrum over Optimum as a cable provider because of availability. Optimum is only available in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, while Spectrum is available in 46 states.However, Spectrum’s parent company, Charter, has been going through some legal troubles—particularly in New York. As of February 2019, the government still hasn’t determined whether it will require Charter Spectrum to remove service from the state.We think the legal and customer service issues are troubling enough to include an alternate cable recommendation for businesses in the New York area. If you’re out of state, we still recommend Spectrum, but we’ll keep our eye on its customer service ratings and update our ranking accordingly. Tiny fibers the size of a width of hair transmit data with beams of light (that’s the “optic” part), which means the cables can carry higher bandwidth at higher speeds and with higher reliability than DSL or cable.
And many fiber internet plans are “symmetrical,” which means your upload speeds match or nearly meet download speeds.Fiber-optic internet isn’t as prone to problems from distance, frequency interference, and heat damage because glass and plastic don’t easily conduct electricity. But note that the actual speeds and reliability you get from your ISP can depend on things like the exact type of fiber network you’re connected to and the plan you purchase.
For businesses in rural or remote areas without access to landline internet like DSL, cable, or fiber, satellite technology is a lifesaver. Fast facts. Download speeds from 1 to 100 Mbps.
Upload speeds from 1 to 4 Mbps. Prices from $50 to $500 per monthIf you’re a satellite internet subscriber, your office will be equipped with a receiver dish pointed to the southern skies. You’ll get your data from earth-orbiting stations operated by ISPs. The satellites transmit data to the dish using radio frequencies that are converted into internet signals by a modem inside your office.Current satellite internet technology can’t deliver connection speeds as fast as DSL or cable, and it’s nowhere near as fast as fiber. The stations orbit Earth at distances reaching 23,000 miles away—nearly 10 times the width of the continental United States. Data taking such a massive trip simply can’t travel fast enough. Plus, Viasat—one of just two satellite internet options across the country and by far the best provider—is working on bringing satellite up to speed.
Viasat’s tech support is available 24/7, they’ve eliminated hard data caps (“soft” data caps can still slow your speeds, but you won’t lose internet access entirely), and speeds range from 35 Mbps (more than enough for two to three employees) to 100 Mbps in some areas.Some Viasat internet plans start out at an incredibly reasonable $50 per month. Bear in mind, though, that the initial $50 cost likely jumps up in price after a few months; plan costs with Viasat can reach up to $500 per month. In case it wasn’t crystal clear, fiber is fast. If you’re looking for a connection that can move at lightning speeds, fiber is your best option.Although new technologies are pushing some DSL and cable speeds into the several-hundred-megabits-per-second range, nothing compares to the unadulterated pace of a pure-fiber connection.With ISPs like Verizon and AT&T offering gigabit plans, you can connect your office to fiber for lightning-fast downloads and uploads. Internet speeds at this pace are great for complex cloud computing and near-seamless file sharing and backups—which can boost your small business into the future.