What you actually need.
WHY START HERE
Connections are usually bought on advertised speed, which is rarely the thing that matters.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
How many people use it simultaneously What they do What must never stop What an hour offline costs
WHAT DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES DEMAND
- Email and documents: very little
- Video calls: moderate, but sensitive to stability
- Large file transfers: sustained bandwidth
- Video streaming: sustained bandwidth
- Hosted business systems: modest bandwidth, high sensitivity to interruption
WHY STABILITY MATTERS MORE THAN SPEED FOR MOST BUSINESSES
A steady modest connection outperforms a fast erratic one for almost all work.
WHAT TO MEASURE ABOUT YOUR CURRENT CONNECTION
Actual speed at different times of day How often it drops How long drops last Latency, and whether it varies
WHY TIME OF DAY MATTERS
Contended connections slow markedly at peak periods.
WHAT UPLOAD SPEED AFFECTS
Video calls Sending files Backups to cloud storage Anything you host yourself
WHY IT IS FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED
Advertised packages emphasise download.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT UPLOAD
What you actually send, and how often.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
The requirement, before speaking to any provider.
WHY
It is what makes quotations comparable.
