Something that business owners and tech decision makers can't stand is unanticipated costs. Can I get an amen? No one wants to be surprised by the cost of a service, especially if it's fiber internet in 2021. Ample connectivity at fixed, known cost is something that every business needs and few businesses can survive without it. Getting dedicated Internet connectivity using fiber-optics is now the norm and not having it or paying too much for it can severely impact your productivity and efficiency.
Copper wiring isn’t viable anymore. The speeds are too slow and the ILECs are, rightly or wrongly, retiring the copper wired network. With fiber-optic internet, you can get faster internet speeds more reliably than with copper connections. And though the cost may seem daunting, it can be broken down fairly quickly to assist you and your business in gaining Internet access quicker and more reliably than ever before.
Fiber Internet Prices in 2021: What Affects the Cost?
Getting a reliable fiber internet connection may not be cheap. There are a few variables that can affect how much fiber internet will cost you and your company.
On the plus side, many of these costs can be flexible. If one of these categories is significantly more important to you and your business, it may be wise to invest upfront to ensure you have the connection you need.
What’s important for your business is to ensure that a secure, reliable and affordable Internet connection is there when you need it.
1. Bandwidth
One of the most crucial factors in understanding the actual cost of fiber-optic internet connections is your bandwidth speeds. Sure, $60 a month from a national brand you recognize may sound appealing, but is it meeting the network connectivity that your business needs?
For example, Atlantech offers fiber-optic business internet beginning at $500 a month for an all-inclusive package. This gives you 100 Mbps of upload AND download speeds... at the same time with a full Service Level Agreement (SLA).
What does this mean? Cable modem companies offer asymmetrical services like 150/20 Mbps. While they may advertise low prices, sometimes even under $100 a month, these are "best effort" services that do not come with SLAs.
This might be fine for you if you’re a small business, maybe even only with one or two computers on your network. However, the more computers you have competing for internet connection and performance on your network, the less appealing these cheaper plans are as a solution.
2. Reliability
Your internet needs to be reliable first and foremost. For each hour without an internet connection, a small or medium-sized business could lose between $8,580 to $74,000. The amount you could potentially lose without an internet connection would pay for a reliable internet connection.
Think about it: it could cost you $8,580 to lose your internet connection due to lack of reliability. A reliable and stable connection with Atlantech starts at only $6,000 for an entire year. Your one hour of lost internet would pay for an entire year of reliable connection.
Some larger companies are known for semi-regular regional outages, which could cost you thousands. The fiber-optic internet provider you choose must have a secondary connection plan if something goes wrong with the primary connection.
The last thing you want is for a network outage to prevent your business from moving for days or weeks. You need to make sure you have a clear answer from your potential provider that there are secondary connections in place.
3. Installation
Getting a building ready for fiber-optic installation can be extremely expensive. While the physical fiber’s actual cost is easy enough to be quantified at $1 to $6 per foot, the cost of installation can vary.
The most significant factor is the distance you need to cover with fiber. If you aren’t fiber-lit, your business will need to be connected to a nearby fiber. If the nearest connection is a mile away, for example, be prepared to pay substantial rates to get connected.
Other challenges include physical obstacles between your building and the nearest connection point. Historical sites, graveyards, and rivers all pose challenges to installing fiber-optic cables.
You also have to think about the cost of physically installing the cables into your building. If your building’s infrastructure isn’t prepared for the installation process, you will pay significantly more in your installation costs.
Weighing the Cost of Fiber Internet
While this article may have convinced you to give up the idea of fiber-optic internet altogether, the benefits and cost-saving measures that could affect you down the line make this an investment well worth it.
Having a reliable connection, fast speeds, and an easy-to-contact customer service team can make your internet connection a business asset rather than the cause for all of your work-related headaches.
