Business

Getting the best business connection: Four reasons why you might need Ethernet

Zen Dec 9 2022

Broadband has changed.

If you’ve been in business long enough to remember even the last ten years, you’ll appreciate that comment. Because our connections are now faster than ever before and we’re now able to do far more online than we were ever able to.

But as our internet connections have become more capable, we’re now also demanding ever more of them. We’re working remotely, dialling into video calls all day, taking cashless payments, using digital communications, and keeping more of our files and applications in the cloud.

As broadband capability has increased, so too has our ability to fill all that available bandwidth.

So the answer’s full fibre?

For many businesses, the answer is clear.

You want more bandwidth to keep all your people connected smoothly. You need the increased reliability that full fibre brings to keep you better connected.

If you’re in a full fibre area, up to 900Mbps broadband is enough to keep lots of businesses ticking along nicely. It makes connecting multiple users and working in the cloud a cinch, and it’s a great platform for advanced voice communications like CloudComms even.

But for some businesses, full fibre isn’t always the best solution. Here are a few reasons why you might prefer an Ethernet leased line (or just Ethernet) connection instead.

1) You’re not in a full fibre area

As impressive as full fibre is, with the rollout continuing it isn’t yet available in every location. If you’re looking for an ultrafast connection and full fibre isn’t an option, Ethernet from Zen offers connection speeds up 1Gbps.

2) You need guaranteed reliability

Fibre is generally much more reliable than copper broadband and for many businesses it will certainly be reliable enough.

But what if you need an absolutely guaranteed connection? You might be continually handling time-sensitive data or need a rock-solid connection to keep your business moving.

Depending on the industry you’re working in, you’ll know how badly you’ll be affected by down time. Ethernet from Zen comes with a 99.9% availability SLA as standard and when taken with optional resiliency options you can boost this figure to 100%.

That’s certainly peace of mind when being offline just isn’t an option.

Ethernet line green

3) You need a guaranteed consistent connection

At Zen we don’t believe in ‘shaping’ your traffic. We won’t throttle your connection if we think you’re using too much or because we think it’s a busy time of day.

But when it comes to broadband, there’s always the chance that the connection that’s serving your office is also providing internet to other premises too. And when everyone’s online, busily uploading or downloading large files you might not always get your full available bandwidth.

With Ethernet, that will never be a problem, because the connection into your office is yours and yours alone. It’s your dedicated link to the internet, and that means nothing can slow you down.

4) You’re working in the cloud or video calling every day

If upload speed is just as important to you as download speed, a huge advantage of Ethernet is that it is symmetrical.

That’s just a way of saying that your upload speed is as fast as your download speed. Although full fibre still offers rapid uploads, if you’re backing up files all day or sending lots of data, the extra upload speed offered by Ethernet can be crucially important.

If you’re collaborating in Microsoft Office all day, regularly backing up to cloud storage or hosting applications in a cloud service like AWS, you’ll understand the importance of a fast upload speed.