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GREAT
Connections
SUMMER 2017
7
Defining the Terms
Shared bandwidth means you share the same uplink to your
ISP as many other customers. This is most likely the type of
connection you use at home. With shared bandwidth, you sign
up for a plan that provides speeds that are advertised as some-
thing like “up to 15 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.” These
speeds are the fastest you can expect, but there may be other
limiting factors, like the number of other users online at any
given time.
Consider the analogy of a busy highway. During rush hour, all
four lanes are congested with heavy traffic. You can get where
you’re going, but it may take longer than at other times. During
non-peak times, there are fewer cars on the road, so you can
move faster. As with shared bandwidth, the less traffic, the
faster your speed.
By contrast, dedicated bandwidth is reserved for use by your
business only, and your Internet speeds aren’t affected by other
users and won’t fluctuate. If you choose dedicated bandwidth
with 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload, for example,
those are the speeds you will consistently experience.
A lane on the highway designated only for your personal use
is like dedicated bandwidth. Without anyone else in the lane to
encumber movement, you can travel quickly at all times.
Questions to Consider
Before making a decision about which type of bandwidth is
best for your company, ask yourself the following questions:
•
How problematic is it if your Internet speed slows down
sometimes?
If you have a small business with relatively light
Internet usage, it’s probably not an issue; in which case, the
less expensive option of shared bandwidth might be the right
choice. However, if your business is larger and uses video,
regularly uploads large files or performs other functions
requiring faster speeds, you may be better served by the
guaranteed speeds of dedicated bandwidth.
•
Do you offer Wi-Fi to customers and visitors?
If so, you
might want to consider a combination of dedicated band-
width for use by employees and shared bandwidth for your
customer Wi-Fi.
•
Do you use web-based applications?
The 100 percent reli-
ability of a dedicated connection is best for businesses that
use web-based applications such as Microsoft CRM.
It’s not that one type of bandwidth is better than the
other. One may just be more appropriate for your busi-
ness. Call Great Plains Communications at 402-456-6467
to discuss which type of bandwidth would best meet
your needs.
A consideration commonly overlooked when businesses make decisions about Internet service is
whether to use shared bandwidth, dedicated bandwidth or a combination of the two.
What’s the difference
between them and when
should each one be used?
Shared
Bandwidth
vs.
Dedicated
Bandwidth