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Internet Service Features: What to Look for in an ISP
When you’re searching for a business internet service provider, these are the key features and services you should look for.
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Reliable business internet service is vital for all companies today. Without it, work grinds to a halt. Unlike residential internet, a business internet service provider (ISP) usually offers improved performance that is designed to enhance how companies communicate with clients or customers. And with an always-on, high-speed ISP, your business can save time and money.
Therefore, it is essential to know what to look for when you’re choosing a business internet service. Learn more about the features and services offered by the best internet service providers.
Basic business internet features
All of the best business internet service providers include these basic features.
High-speed access
Perhaps the most important factor in any internet plan is speed. High-speed internet plans, which are typically available via business fiber-optic internet, let your team do more in less time, even as your company grows and uses more bandwidth.
There are several options for high-speed internet, but unlike residential customers, businesses don’t have to contend with speed throttling, especially when uploading large files. Business broadband offers similar upload and download speeds to help your team share files and view content throughout any project’s life cycle.
With speeds of up to 10 Gbps, business ISPs can be up to 10 times faster than residential internet connections, although most businesses won’t actually see transfer rates that fast. You may think you don’t need that kind of speed, but those high-speed internet connections can help your business. Business ISPs support multistream workflows, so you can have more employees using the same connection without hurting network stability. [Read related: What Is the Best Internet Speed for Your Business?]
Redundancy or failover options
Suppose the power in your area is working just fine, but suddenly, your internet cuts out. You’ve probably experienced this issue before, but maybe it’s happened far less frequently in recent years. That’s because redundancy and failover options have become standard in business internet plans. In fact, in separate interviews for this article, two business internet experts independently named failover and redundancy options as key basic features.
“For basic business internet features, network redundancy is essential,” said Deepak Shukla, CEO of Pearl Lemon Group, who advises clients on choosing, optimizing and customizing business internet service providers for e-commerce, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and scalability solutions. “This feature ensures businesses maintain uninterrupted connectivity during outages, which is crucial for operations dependent on real-time data or e-commerce platforms. Redundancy often comes through backup lines or failover systems, and it matters because downtime translates to lost revenue and customer trust.”
Lori Stout, chief marketing officer at the multisite network and cloud connectivity provider Bigleaf, also emphasized these features.
“To improve a business’s internet experience, I’d recommend using ISPs that offer some type of redundancy or failover options,” Stout said. “This way, your business doesn’t encounter downtime and revenue loss during outages.”
Business email accounts
Many business ISPs provide business email accounts, which help to promote your organization and add credibility. Although business email accounts may be an added cost compared with free email services such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail, they offer a large return on investment.
Self-service mobile apps
Mobile apps are more popular than ever, including for self-service tech support. Business ISPs that offer mobile self-service apps usually have that software integrated throughout their entire system, thereby providing painless support and quick solutions when technical problems occur.
Self-service mobile apps tend to focus on clerical functions, like paying bills, resetting passwords and updating profile details. However, they can also be used to send notifications about new features or promotions. More sophisticated mobile apps support cloud backup to help your team members save invoices and customer history while they are in the field; access the best customer relationship management (CRM) software, with features such as analytics and order archives; and tap into documents stored on the corporate intranet.
Advanced business internet features
In addition to the basics, there are other features, tools and services you may want to look for when shopping for an ISP.
Managed router service
Internet service providers that offer managed router service configure and oversee your company’s routers on your behalf. In doing so, they relieve your team of tasks that are often time-consuming.
“Investing in this service ensures optimal performance of a business’s routers and keeps them updated,” Stout said, “while also reducing the workload of its IT department.”
Domain name registration
If you don’t already have a domain name for your company, your business ISP can set that up for you. Although it doesn’t provide the tools to build your website, a business ISP does offer domain name registration and hosting services. Having an ISP that can search for available domain names and ultimately reserve and process the one you want can be a very valuable service if you’re a new business that’s just getting started. [Read related: The 7 Biggest Challenges of Starting a Business (and How to Overcome Them)]
If your business has a website, you’ll need domain registration services anyway to manage, transfer and reserve any domain name. And if you’re already using your business ISP to manage your business emails, it’s easy to add your company’s domain name selection and registration to your bundle.
Dedicated bandwidth allocation
Your ISP is serving more businesses than yours, so theoretically, there’s competition for bandwidth between you and other businesses. This also means, in theory, that as other businesses use more of your ISP’s bandwidth, there’s less available for you. Dedicated bandwidth allocation is an advanced feature that ensures businesses don’t compete for internet access.
“Unlike shared bandwidth,” Shukla said, dedicated bandwidth allocation “ensures consistent speeds regardless of other users on the network, a critical need for businesses managing high traffic, VoIP systems, or remote workforces. Reliable bandwidth directly impacts productivity and client-facing services.”
Web hosting
A web hosting plan is another necessity for website building. A web host is the repository of all your files and content, although it doesn’t necessarily offer the tools or functionality to build the website itself. There are many types of highly rated web hosts, including a dedicated web server, a virtual private server and a service tailored to web hosting, like WordPress or GoDaddy. [Read related: 10 Tips for Choosing the Right Web Hosting Company]
Many business ISPs offer cloud-based web hosting. The benefits of using a cloud-based solution are that it’s easy to scale as your business grows and you’re better prepared for multiuser surges that may tax your web server. The pricing with cloud-based web hosting is fairly flexible, with plenty of options, so you pay only for what you use.
What else to look for in a business internet provider
You should also make sure your business ISP provides the services your business requires. When you’re considering an ISP, assess the following categories as well.
Customer service
When you’re evaluating a business ISP, see how much customer support it offers. Network stability and uptime are key considerations, but the average time spent on support calls and technical support are other metrics worth investigating.
Scalability
Your business’s internet needs today might not be the same as its needs years — or even just months — down the line. After all, many businesses take on more clients or customers, or start providing more products or services, over time. With that comes a greater strain on the business’s existing resources — unless those resources can scale to accommodate the influx.
“Businesses grow, and so do their internet needs,” Shukla said. “A provider offering flexible contracts and scalable solutions, such as adjustable bandwidth or bundled services, allows companies to adapt without disruption or excessive costs.”
Phone/internet/cable bundles
You’ll often find the best value when you include additional services, like a business phone service, whether it’s through promotional pricing or negotiated rates on a larger bundle. Many ISPs want to get you into their ecosystem and often provide deep discounts on bundled services. This makes it easy to manage your entire service suite from a single provider.
Wi-Fi and hot spots
Setting up a Wi-Fi connection for a business is no small feat, and if it’s not done correctly, it can do more harm than good. If you’re getting help from a reputable business ISP, you won’t have much to worry about; the company will help you find the right equipment and service package.
A high-speed Wi-Fi network can help improve efficiency in your office by giving employees access to the information they need. Further, information is sent through an encrypted connection, so it’s safe and secure. Your business ISP can also set up a hot spot, particularly an encrypted Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) hot spot, to give guests protected access to your network. [Learn whether satellite internet or a mobile hot spot is better for your business.]
Automatic traffic prioritization
Your internet connection enables a plethora of services, including traditional web usage and business phone connectivity. Automatic traffic prioritization ensures that each service gets the proper routing.
Automatic traffic prioritization “ensures that the types of internet traffic that matter most to your business get priority routing across the best possible circuit to prevent any disruption or delay,” Stout said, adding that these types might include VoIP calls, emails, chats or something else.
360-degree insights
Automatic traffic prioritization is especially important for multilocation businesses, since these companies likely use many internet-based services. This is also why such businesses benefit tremendously from 360-degree insights.
“Businesses with multiple locations should ensure their provider can provide 360-degree insights into your network and the performance of your circuits,” Stout said. “This relieves strain on your IT department, allows you to pinpoint any issues quickly, and gives you visibility into how much data you use for each internet traffic type per month.”
Choosing an internet service provider
Once you have determined which business internet features and services you need, it’s time to look for an ISP. Follow these steps:
1. Figure out your exact needs.
In their separate interviews, both Stout and Shukla said businesses should decide exactly what they’re seeking from an ISP before they begin looking into specific providers.
“Start by identifying your bandwidth, reliability and latency requirements to ensure the service meets your current and future operational demands,” Stout said.
“To choose the right ISP, businesses should evaluate their operational demands thoroughly,” Shukla said. “This includes assessing bandwidth usage, identifying critical online activities, and forecasting future growth. Matching these needs to an ISP’s offerings ensures long-term satisfaction and avoids the pitfalls of underpowered or overpriced plans.”
2. Determine which ISPs serve your area.
Not all ISPs, not even the very large national companies, provide service in all areas. To find the ones that do, start with a simple internet search for “business internet service in [area].”
From there, Stout said, “You’ll want to evaluate location options to check available ISPs and service types [such as fiber-optic and satellite] to determine viable providers based on geographic availability.”
When you visit the website of an ISP from the search results, navigate to a page where you can check availability. You will be prompted to type in your address and told whether that ISP can serve your location. Repeat this search process two to four times so that you find three to five potential providers for internet service.
Source: AT&T
3. Evaluate each internet service provider’s applicable plans.
ISPs offer various plans with different speeds, features and prices. Stout suggested that businesses prioritize reliability and uptime when comparing features across plans and providers to “minimize disruption and downtime of your business operations.”
Identify the plans that meet your needs, and note each plan’s initial and monthly cost. Take into account specials and discounts, but also note when those promotions end and what the cost will be from that point forward.
4. Research each provider’s service level.
Ask other business owners about their experiences with different ISPs. Have they had connection problems or slow speeds? How responsive is the customer service? Is it easy to get in touch with the company, and were the problems resolved quickly? Have the business owners had issues with security breaches recently? Is the service easily scalable? You can also get answers to these questions by reading online reviews.
5. Choose the internet service provider that meets your needs the best.
Now that you have all of the information, choose the ISP that fulfills your company’s needs for the best price. Find out how long it will take to get the router and other equipment delivered and installed so you know when your internet service will be live.
Getting online the right way
Finding the right ISP isn’t a complicated process, but you should take your time to ensure you select the right provider. After all, without high-quality internet connectivity, your usual business infrastructure could become inaccessible, resulting in downtime that reduces your revenue. Use this guide to find the right ISP, and before long, you’ll land on the perfect ISP for your needs.
Max Freedman contributed to this article.
