For many businesses, broadband has gradually become as important as electricity. Cloud accounting, video meetings, online backups, customer management systems and increasingly artificial intelligence applications all depend on reliable connectivity.
The Government’s latest Project Gigabit progress report, published on 22 September, says gigabit-capable broadband is now available to more than 88% of UK homes and businesses. Around four million premises remain without coverage, while the Government has a target of reaching 99% by 2032.
For businesses, however, the question is not simply whether faster broadband is available. It is whether better connectivity could allow the business to work differently.
A business that has tolerated a slow connection for several years may have adapted its working practices around that limitation without realising it. Large files may be stored locally, backups carried out overnight and staff discouraged from working remotely. Video meetings may be unreliable and cloud-based applications frustratingly slow.
If substantially faster broadband is now available, some of those assumptions may be worth reconsidering.
Start by looking at what your business actually needs rather than simply buying the fastest package available. How many people use the connection simultaneously? Which systems depend upon it? How disruptive would an outage be? Do you need a backup connection?
There may also be opportunities to reduce other costs. Improved connectivity could make cloud-based software more practical, support flexible working or reduce dependence on locally maintained servers and other equipment.
The latest Government figures also mean businesses previously unable to obtain a satisfactory connection should periodically check availability. Infrastructure is continuing to expand, so an answer received a year or two ago may no longer apply.
Broadband is easily treated as another monthly overhead. Increasingly, however, it is part of the infrastructure on which the whole business depends.
It may therefore deserve the same periodic review as insurance, banking, software and other essential business services.
