Choosing the right Internet Service Provider (ISP) is crucial for business success, considering factors like up-time commitments, downstream and upstream speeds, technical support responsiveness, and pricing. Businesses should rigorously assess ISPs for real performance metrics and support availability, particularly if they operate around the clock. Price considerations should take a backseat to service reliability and capacity, ensuring the ISP matches organizational requirements.

1. 5
S A V E Y O U R M O N E Y W I T H E V E R Y D E A L
THINGSTO
CONSIDERWHEN
CHOOSING AN
ISP
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2. W H A T I S A N I S P
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" An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides
services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. "
Internet service providers (ISPs) are critical IT infrastructure partners
in support of any company’s email, internet connectivity, commerce
and overall business success.
Consider these 5 key factors when making the final decision on choosing the
right ISP.

3. U P - T I M E
C O M M I T M E N T S
Up-time commitment is key. ISP
downtime will impact your business
from the first second the system fails.
Look for service level agreements that
provide real and measurable targets for
up-time, not just 99.9% operational
guarantees.

4. DOWNSTREAM SPEED
Customers rate an ISP on its advertised
downstream speeds. While ISPs may promote a
service speed of say 10 Mbps or faster service to
businesses, these claims need to be tested. If
possible, test all new circuits’ downstream speeds
the day they’re installed and on a regular basis
thereafter. If possible, do your due diligence and
speak to neighbouring businesses that may are
utilizing the ISP and service package.

5. UPSTREAM
CAPACITY
As with downstream speeds, upstream speed claims must also be tested. The
increasing popularity of VPNs, remote access, and automated offsite backups place
great premiums on an ISP’s upstream capacities. As organizations need to push more
and more data to mobile users in the field and to offsite cloud services, upstream
bandwidth capacity will only grow in importance.

6. T E C H N I C A L
A N D
F I E L D
S U P P O R T
If a failure occurs, how quickly does the ISP commit
to resolving the outage? How responsive and
accessible is technical support? If you are running a
business 24/7/365, then 9 a/m-5 p/m technical
support from your ISP may not work for your
business. Be sure you know the ISP’s field response
policies, and be sure they match your organization’s
requirements, before signing a contract.

7. P R I C I N G
Price is the last factor that should be considered
when selecting an ISP. Uptime, capacity, service
accessibility and field support are much more
critical, especially considering the importance of
Internet circuits to businesses today.
When factoring price, however, be sure to
compare apples to apples including but not
limited to; installation cost, equipment cost,
length of contract term, annual inflation
increases, volume caps.

8. G E T T H E B E S T
O F F E R S
N E V E R M I S S T H E B E S T
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