As new research from Virgin Media Business reveals the amount of time that SMEs are losing due to slow internet speeds, perhaps it is time that companies look at their broadband packages and decide whether it is time for an upgrade.
According to the survey, conducted alongside YouGov with 1,103 decision-makers, 57 percent of SMEs believe that the internet is critical to their business and that they couldn’t function without it.
In addition, 34 percent of businesses believe that a faster internet connection would speed up their overall growth.
Most concerning was the finding that the average SME employee loses 15 minutes of work time every day due to poor internet speeds. Extrapolated to a business with eight employees, this equates to a full day’s work every week.
With this in mind, CBR has rounded up five of the fastest broadband packages for small businesses available now.
1. Hyperoptic
Hyperoptic achieves high speeds by installing fibre directly into the building. Business Broadband is designed for SMEs in multi-occupied commercial buildings or business parks as well as home workers. With the fastest package offering speeds of 1 Gbps, the product is available on contracts of up to 12 months, as opposed to the usual 24-month contracts.
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The package costs £300 per month excluding VAT; included is unlimited usage, 1 static IP address and the option to lease more. The price to connect a building varies according to the size and number of businesses.
Customers will also get access to real-time network monitoring and customer support at all times, as well as receiving a service level agreement with money back guarantees.
Hyperoptic offers its product in Greater London, Cardiff, Bristol, Reading, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Nottingham.
2. Virgin Media Business
First announced in November, the provider is launching a new package next week that it claims is nearly four times faster than competing products.
It clocks in at 300 Mbps for downloads, which is fast enough to download an HD movie with 1080p in about four seconds. The upload speed is 15Mbps.
Buying the broadband as a standalone service will cost £80 a month. The package can be bought with phone services included; on top of the high broadband speed there is a phone line with unlimited calls, unlimited internet and fixed IP. This costs £75 a month with £15 line rental and £50 install.
3. BT Premium Infinity
BT‘s fastest deal provides 76 Mbps speeds for download and 19 Mbps download. It provides for unlimited usage, costing £40 per month.
Included as standard in the package is the BT Business Hub wireless router, as well as Microsoft Office 365 with 1TB of cloud storage. Customers will also gain access to BT’s 5 million wi-fi hotspots throughout the country, providing free and unlimited data whenever the user connects to one.
Customers will get 24 hours per day technical support for the broadband and up to 3 PCs or Macs.
Optional extras include upgrading to a faster router for areas without fibre, as well as full technical support for all IT hardware. Businesses can also purchase a static IP address.
4. TalkTalk Simply with Fibre
TalkTalk’s package can provide up to 76 Mbps downstream speeds and up to 20 Mbps upstream. It costs £23 a month for 24 months, with £15.50 line rental on top of that.
The package provides for unlimited use and includes a Super router, with free new line installation available if required.
TalkTalk’s offering has a range of added extras built in, including a static IP on request, Pay as you go calls and Worksafe providing network security. The Talk2Go app also allows you to access the landline plan from a mobile phone, allowing you to keep up with important calls when on the go.
Businesses will also benefit from 7-day customer support.
5. Plusnet Unlimited Business Fibre Broadband and Phone
Plusnet‘s package, available in a 24-month contract, provides up to 76 Mbps download speeds and 19.5 Mbps upload speeds for unlimited monthly usage.
It is available from £35 a month. On top of this comes line rental at £10.50.
Thrown in is a Plusnet Hub One router, as well as unlimited email addresses, two free .co.uk and 500 Mb of web space. Customers will receive access to support which is always available.
Dynamic IPs are assigned by default, but you can also get a Static IP once you have created your account. Plusnet SafeGuard is included with all broadband packages, filtering inappropriate web content for businesses.
