Business Internet Solutions

Bandwidth needs depend on three things: how many people are connected at once, what they're doing (video conferencing, cloud apps, large file transfers, VoIP), and how many concurrent uploads vs. downloads you have. As rough starting points: a small office of 5–10 employees doing email, web browsing, and occasional cloud work typically runs well at 100–300 Mbps symmetric.

A 20–50 person office using cloud productivity suites, video conferencing, and VoIP usually needs 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps. Operations that move large files (engineering, architecture, healthcare imaging, video production) or run real-time applications often start at 1 Gbps and scale up. Because business traffic is bursty, look for symmetric speeds and dedicated bandwidth, not advertised "up to" rates shared with other customers.

For most small businesses with 5–25 employees, the recommended internet speed is between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps symmetric, enough to support cloud-based productivity apps (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce), HD video conferencing, VoIP phones, and routine file sharing without slowdowns.

The exact number depends on simultaneous users and how many of them are doing bandwidth-heavy tasks at once. The bigger question for small businesses isn't peak speed, it's whether the connection is dedicated (your bandwidth is guaranteed) or shared (your speed drops when neighbors are online). A dedicated 200 Mbps connection often outperforms an "up to 1 Gbps" shared one during business hours.

Residential internet is built for households: shared bandwidth, asymmetric speeds (fast downloads, slower uploads), best-effort service, and consumer-grade support. Business internet, especially dedicated internet access (DIA), is built for organizations that lose money when the connection slows or fails.

The differences that matter: symmetric upload and download speeds, guaranteed bandwidth (not "up to"), a written SLA covering uptime, latency, and jitter, prioritized business-grade support, and a static IP option for hosting services or VPNs. Running VoIP, video conferencing, point-of-sale systems, or cloud apps on a residential plan usually means tolerating dropped calls and unpredictable performance, both of which cost more than upgrading to business service.

Dedicated internet access (DIA) is a business internet service where the bandwidth you purchase is reserved exclusively for your location, it isn't shared with other customers in your area. With shared business internet, typically delivered over cable or coax, advertised speeds are best-effort and slow down during peak hours.

With DIA over fiber, you get the bandwidth you bought, all day, every day, with symmetric upload and download speeds and a written SLA covering uptime, latency, and packet loss. DIA is the standard choice for organizations that rely on real-time applications, VoIP, video conferencing, cloud ERPs, hosted phone systems, or that can't tolerate the variability of residential-style "up to" plans.

Business internet pricing in the U.S. ranges widely based on connection type, speed, and location. Shared cable business plans typically start around $70–$200 per month for entry-level speeds. Dedicated fiber internet (DIA) is priced based on the bandwidth tier, the distance from the nearest on-net fiber location, the contract length, and whether installation requires new construction.

Because DIA guarantees the bandwidth and includes an SLA, monthly pricing reflects dedicated capacity rather than oversubscribed shared service. Fatbeam quotes DIA per location after assessing route availability and your bandwidth requirements, request a quote for a price specific to your address.

A practical business internet checklist covers six things: (1) symmetric upload and download speeds matched to your workload, (2) enough bandwidth to support peak simultaneous users without throttling, (3) a written SLA with measurable commitments on uptime, latency, and jitter, (4) low and predictable latency for VoIP and real-time applications, under 60 ms is a common benchmark, (5) the ability to scale bandwidth without renegotiating contracts, and (6) responsive business-grade support with named contacts rather than residential call queues.

If your business runs VoIP, video conferencing, cloud applications, hosted phone systems, or any service that customers or employees depend on in real time, all six matter, not just raw speed.