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Scalability for business broadband
In today’s fast-moving digital world, a scalable broadband connection is essential. Whether growing, expanding, or handling seasonal spikes, your internet should keep up without costly upgrades or restrictive contract lock-ins.
But here’s the problem: most business broadband contracts are rigid, with long terms and expensive exit fees. Choose the wrong package, and you could end up stuck with slow speeds or overpaying for bandwidth you don’t need.
This guide explains the best scalable business broadband solutions, helping you find a provider that grows with your business. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What is business broadband scalability?
- How scalable business broadband works
- Best connections for business broadband scalability
- How to choose a flexible business broadband provider
- Planning for a scalable solution for your business broadband
What is business broadband scalability?
Business broadband scalability refers to the ability of a broadband internet service to grow and adapt to a business’s changing needs.
As a business grows, its internet usage typically increases due to more employees, additional devices, and greater reliance on cloud-based applications and services.
Scalable broadband solutions can accommodate this growth by offering flexible speed upgrades, enabling businesses to increase their internet speed and capacity without significant downtime. This ensures optimal performance and productivity as their requirements evolve.
How scalable business broadband works
Scalable business broadband solutions are internet services that can increase or decrease their speed based on demand, providing the right bandwidth without paying for unused resources.
This section explains the most popular solutions for scalable business broadband.
Flexible bandwidth allocation
The best business broadband providers offer contracts that can scale up or down based on the changing needs of their customers.
Some fibre optic business broadband connections support a maximum speed that is higher than the speed guaranteed in a business broadband contract. This allows a provider to increase the speed of a service without requiring additional engineering work.
See our table below for the scalability of different types of broadband connections.
Some providers allow cloud-based controls, where businesses can log in to a portal to adjust their speed settings.
On-demand bandwidth control
Some business broadband providers offer temporary ‘burst’ options, allowing your business to temporarily increase speed on a leased line broadband connection to handle unexpected increases in demand.
Vodafone business broadband includes the burstable bandwidth option as standard on its dedicated internet access service.
Network load balancing
Network load balancing aggregates the speed of separate broadband connections to create a single high-performance connection. It allows businesses to increase their internet speed by adding additional connections.
Most locations have business broadband availability from multiple network providers. Adding another business broadband installation from a different network with load balancing increases the speed of an internet connection, as each new connection enhances overall bandwidth.
Similarly, unused bandwidth can be removed by disconnecting redundant connections from the network.
Best connections for business broadband scalability
The scalability of a business broadband connection is determined by the technology used to provide the service.
The table below shows the scalability of different types of business broadband connections available.
| Broadband Type | Description | Bandwidth Range | Scalability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leased line broadband | Uncontended, private connection for high-speed internet access. | 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps | Highly flexible, as a bearer line can typically support large increases in speed. |
| Full fibre business broadband | Uses fibre optic cables for extremely fast internet speeds. | 100 Mbps to 1.6 Gbps | Provides good scalability for small businesses to upgrade during a contract. |
| Cable broadband | Uses coaxial cables for internet access. | 50 Mbps to 1 Gbps | Provides good scalability for small businesses to upgrade during a contract. |
| 5G business broadband | Uses the 5G cellular network to provide extremely fast internet speeds but with higher latency. | 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps | No scalability. Speed depends on proximity to local antennae. |
| SoGEA broadband | Fibre to the cabinet with copper cables to the premises. | 30 Mbps to 80 Mbps | Limited scalability, as maximum speed is highly restrictive. |
| Satelitte business internet | Uses satellites for internet access in remote areas. | 10 Mbps to 150 Mbps | Limited scalability, as maximum speed is highly restrictive. |
How to choose a flexible business broadband provider
A business broadband provider can offer a scalable broadband solution by providing flexibility in how their broadband plans are structured.
Here are the key points to consider:
- Connection types – Does your provider offer a scalable broadband connection at your business location?
- Flexible plans – Does your package allow your business to upgrade or downgrade your speed SLA during your contract?
- Burstable bandwidth – Is it possible to temporarily boost speeds during peak demand?
- Contract length – Short-term contracts are inherently more flexible, so consider the minimum term.
- Early termination charges – Check the fees in your contract if you need to cancel before the end of the minimum term.
- Multi-site packages – Virgin and BT Business Broadband offer multi-site packages, allowing large businesses to add new locations into a single broadband contract.
Our business broadband experts are on hand to help you find a flexible broadband solution for your company.
Visit our compare business broadband deals page to explore the best options for your business.
Planning for a scalable solution for your business broadband
A key part of obtaining a scalable broadband solution for your business is anticipating future bandwidth requirements and selecting an option that meets both current and future needs.
We recommend taking the following steps to implement a scalable solution for your business broadband.
1. Assess current usage
Use network monitoring tools to track current internet usage. These tools provide insights into peak usage times, identify which applications consume the most bandwidth, and highlight daily peak requirements.
Understanding the state of your network is crucial for making informed decisions about future needs. Regularly monitoring usage ensures you have up-to-date information, allowing you to adjust your bandwidth requirements as necessary.
2. Evaluate current network infrastructure
Conduct a thorough local area network audit to review all hardware and software. Assess your network topology to identify inefficiencies or bottlenecks, and analyse network performance by measuring bandwidth utilisation, latency, and speed.
Often, Wi-Fi performance can be improved by extending the range of a mesh network without the need for expensive broadband upgrades.
3. Estimate future growth
Consider various growth factors to project potential increases in bandwidth needs. These include anticipated rises in employee numbers, the adoption of new technologies, and business expansion plans.
Adopting new cloud-based software, such as business VoIP phone systems, can increase bandwidth requirements.
4. Plan for peak times
Planning bandwidth requirements for business broadband based on peak usage periods is important.
Periods of increased internet usage, such as during product launches, sales events, or specific times of the day, may cause a drop in performance across all devices.
Ensuring sufficient bandwidth to cover peak periods helps keep business operations smooth and efficient.
5. Network security considerations
Evaluate your network security by assessing firewalls and access controls and conducting regular vulnerability scans. Implement cybersecurity essentials and consider using zero-trust network access.
Proper security measures help maintain the integrity and reliability of your network, safeguarding it from common cybersecurity threats.
6. Choose the right provider
Select a broadband provider that offers flexible plans and easy upgrades. Leased line broadband providers offer the best scalability; this connection type has the largest bandwidth range.
Ensure your broadband plan allows you to scale bandwidth up or down based on your business’s needs without incurring excessive costs or downtime.
7. Implement redundancy
Set up a business broadband redundancy solution to provide a backup, ensuring business continuity during internet outages.
A leased line failover solution is the ultimate redundancy option for businesses where a reliable business broadband connection is critical.
Small business broadband customers can achieve redundancy with a backup mobile business broadband router.
8. Quality of Service (QoS) and traffic management
Implement Quality of Service (QoS) protocols to prioritise critical applications and manage network traffic efficiently.
QoS ensures that important tasks receive the necessary bandwidth, improving network performance and reliability.
Effective traffic management helps maintain VoIP call quality on a digital business phone line, which can be critical for business operations.
9. Budgeting and cost analysis
It’s essential to consider the additional costs that may be involved in scaling your business broadband connection:
- Upgrade costs – This may involve a new business broadband router and engineering work if new cables are required.
- Termination fees – Some contracts include non-negotiable termination fees, especially if the upgrade involves switching business broadband providers.
- Redundant connection – You may temporarily pay for two connections simultaneously when only one is needed.
These potential costs are typically offset by the vastly improved business productivity that comes with a faster, more reliable internet connection.
10. Regular review and adaptation
Continuously monitor your network performance and business broadband speed to ensure they meet your business needs. Regularly review your bandwidth plans based on actual usage data and adjust them as necessary.
Collect feedback from employees to identify any performance issues or areas for improvement. This proactive approach allows you to adapt to changing needs and maintain efficient, reliable internet connectivity.
Business broadband scalability – FAQs
Our business broadband experts answer commonly asked questions about business broadband scalability in the UK.
How can we improve network scalability?
A business can improve its network scalability by using fibre optic connections, implementing redundancy and load balancing, adopting cloud services, regularly monitoring and adjusting network performance, choosing flexible providers, and implementing Quality of Service (QoS) protocols.
The bandwidth of multi-site networks can be optimised with Software-Defined Networking (SD-WAN).
See our section on planning for business growth for a step-by-step guide.
Can businesses increase broadband speeds instantly?
It depends. Some providers can support instant speed increases on a business broadband connection, but this requires both:
- A broadband connection type that can support additional speed without engineering work.
- A broadband provider that offers on-demand scaling of its broadband connections.
We recommend contacting your business broadband provider’s customer service department to determine your options.
How much does scalable business broadband cost?
The cost of a scalable business broadband solution depends on your provider, connection type, and package.
Visit our business broadband prices page for the latest business broadband pricing in the UK.
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