To answer the question as to how fast your business’s bandwidth will be, we have this simple calculator ready to use for when starting up your company.
A good internet connection is now much needed in the office. Most companies operate digitally. Even more use the internet to communicate with each other and the world. Thus you will have to invest in an internet connection through a service provider. Service providers usually offer different packages based on how much data you will be able to download and advertise their speed of download, also known as bandwidth.
What is the meaning of bandwidth?
Bandwidth is another term for “information carrying capacity”. It refers to how fast you can download and upload information (in the form of files) to the internet, which acts as a common communication space between individuals.
The unit of bandwidth is megabits per second (“MBps. Sometimes it is also expressed in kilobits per second (“kbps”). It is important not to confuse bits with bytes. 1 bit is equal to 8 bytes. And most files are measured in bytes. So you may have to multiply or divide by 8 to convert bits to bytes or vice versa.
What is bandwidth requirement?
A bandwidth requirement is usually a minimum amount of bandwidth speed required to download a large file, or stream a video or interactive video game. Bandwidth requirements are often imposed by a host who does not wish a slow connection to impede an action they are undertaking live on the internet.
How much bandwidth do I need for my business?
The bandwidth of your business depends on the number of employees they have and the amount of bandwidth they use individually. The latter figure will depend on their tasks online and whether they imply high data use. Reducing bandwidth though can also help reduce costs and your net income.
Our calculator asks you to tally the amount of employees using a specific internet-based service and calculates, based on the following parameters :
- using video conferencing : Add how many employees are using video conferencing regularly as part of their work.
- downloading and uploading heavy non-media files : Add how many employees download or upload file sizes larger than 1 GB on a regular.
- using mail : Add the amount of employees using mail.
- online video software : Add the amount of employees using video software that requires online usage.
- media sharing cloud software : Add the amount of employees using media sharing cloud software as part of their work. This can include OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox as platforms to share media. Do not include those employees that use it just for download and uploading.
- streaming music : Some of your employees might want to stream music while they work on their computers. Factor this in by adding those that will.
