Five good reasons to switch to business-grade fibre

For SMEs wanting to enhance productivity and streamline operations, upgrading to business-grade fibre can be a real game-changer. Here’s why.

A research-backed link to productivity gains

At the heart of any business’s digital infrastructure is its internet connection. And at a time when customer interactions, data transfers, and collaborative work rely heavily on online connectivity, a high-quality internet service can make a real difference to your bottom line.

In fact, recent research by the Australian Government confirms what common sense suggests—that upgrading to high-speed broadband has a positive impact on business productivity. Meanwhile, the same study also found that, compared to all other broadband types, businesses with fibre-based broadband reported the largest productivity gains.

Once a luxury reserved for big-name brands, business-grade fibre is now much more widely available. This gives SMEs an opportunity to tap into the unparalleled speed and network quality that can help improve productivity, customer experience and team efficiency.

Learn more about how Telstra’s Business Grade Fibre can boost your business productivity by visiting a Telstra Business Technology Centre.

What’s different about business-grade fibre?

Depending on which plan you choose, business-grade fibre connections come with options for the following enhanced capabilities:

1. Low latency basically means the fast transfer of data. This could translate to a smoother video conferencing experience, among other everyday benefits.
2. Higher bandwidth options help you to transmit more data at once. Again, this is crucial for improving speed and quality when using real-time video apps and during large file transfers.
3. Symmetrical speeds mean you get equally fast upload and download speeds, even at peak times.
4. Uncontended connections are dedicated connections that aren’t impacted by the activity of other users or businesses, ensuring reliability and consistent speeds.
5. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) outline how quickly your supplier will respond to issues or outages. Business-grade fibre connections usually come with higher-end SLAs, helping to give more confidence that you’ll have the support you need, in the event of any issues and to minimise impacts on business continuity.

Why internet speed and reliability are key

As you’re no doubt aware, even a single, one-off instance of internet downtime could result in lost data and revenue for your business. So, clearly, reliability is a very important factor when considering or reviewing workplace internet connections. 

Speed should be an equally high priority, since suboptimal internet response rates can be such a drain on time, productivity, and collaboration, particularly in hybrid workplaces. 

Ultimately, the cumulative effect of these seemingly minor daily frustrations could contribute to increased employee stress, disengagement and higher turnover. All of which might, in turn, negatively impact your customer experience. 

Consistent, quality digital experiences, on the other hand, can help you connect with your staff and customers, and business-grade fibre is built for both reliability and speed. For example, Telstra’s network target availability—that is, the percentage of the time when the network service is available—is 99.95% for solutions supported by Telstra Fibre and nbn EE services. 

Is business-grade fibre right for you?

If you’re wondering whether business-grade fibre might be right for you, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does your business rely on high-bandwidth applications, such as video conferencing or cloud services?
• Do you have multiple users accessing your internet service at the same time?
• Does slow or unreliable internet disrupt your daily operations?
• Would faster internet speeds positively impact workflow, efficiency and productivity within your team?

While the advantages of business-grade fibre are clear, it’s best to consult a Telstra consultant for more information, tailored advice and to find out which services and speeds are available in your area.

Ever since the pandemic, businesses have relied even more heavily on the internet, making now the perfect time to switch to business-grade fibre. It might seem like a small change, but the overall impact to the way you work could be huge, especially if it allows you to adopt new digital tools and apps that further enhance efficiency, productivity and growth.

Things you need to know

• Service Availability: Services, access types and bandwidth options not available to all areas or premises.

• Internet speeds: Actual speeds experienced may vary due to various factors including, but not limited to, your access service type, the maximum line speed at your premises, your hardware and software capabilities and configurations, and the type and source of content your business downloads.