4.3 billion people use the internet regularly. As the access to network services expands into developing countries, that number is expected to continue ticking upwards.
When most people think about internet usage, they think about streaming video, and networking with their friends. As it turns out though, there’s a whole other class of internet consumers that are focused on business.
Business owners need reliable internet infrastructure not only to access the world wide web but to communicate with other people within their building. The best way to facilitate both of those ends is through network cabling.
As WIFI becomes more prolific, many small to medium-sized businesses are forgoing the benefits that having a cabled network offers. Our goal with this piece is to remind readers what network cabling can bring to their operations that WIFI can’t.
1. Speed
There are a lot of new wireless routers that claim to offer lightning-fast connection speeds. Even the best of these routers, ones sporting the latest “Wireless AC” technology, rarely if ever hit their advertised benchmarks.
Falling short usually comes about due to interference and limits to computer’s wireless receivers. Still, as a business owner, you need to be aware that your office won’t likely be conducive to the best router’s abilities.
On the other hand, network cabling transmits data through hardwire. That means of transmission circumvents over the air transmissions and tunnels data directly into your computer’s network card creating conditions where you can enjoy however much speed your internet service provider is willing to give you.
2. Consistency
We’ve all dealt with WIFI issues in business and in our personal lives. There are too many variables that go into transmitting and receiving data over the air which can hamper data rates or fully stop a router’s ability to function.
Rather than having to move your router constantly or unplug and plug it back in, network cabling makes it so you can enjoy your internet connection consistently with a much lower chance of running into outages.
The worst-case scenario is that one of your network cables will go bad which would prompt you to replace it and enjoy more years of uninhibited usage.
3. Security
Data breaches are becoming increasingly common. Government entities thwart as many as 300 million data breach attempts on a daily basis.
Seeing as how the average cost of a data breach runs small businesses in the vicinity of 4 million dollars to remedy, it’s in your best interest to be as proactive as possible when it comes to keeping bad actors off of your company’s network.
Using network cabling as opposed to wireless networking aids in your ability to do just that.
A wireless network can be accessed from a parked car outside of your office. To hop onto a hard-wired network, a bad actor would need to walk into your office and plug their computer into your wall.
4. Better Scalability
Scaling a cabled network is as easy as ruining a new cable to a new desk or floor. Where that desk or floor is located and how well it can receive WIFI signals is irrelevant to your company’s ability to expand to where you need to go.
This advantage to network cabling is particularly helpful to mid-sized companies that operate out of old buildings that feature a lot of “dead zones” that WIFI signals have trouble permeating through.
5. Easier Troubleshooting
When a wireless router goes down, our first instinct is to unplug it and plug it back in. But what do you do if that doesn’t work?
As we mentioned, wireless technology is complicated and uses a variety of protocols to function including subnet masks, port forwards and more. Unless you’re prepared to troubleshoot all of those elements, we recommend calling the best network cabling agency in your area and having them hook you up with a much simpler and more reliable solution.
If you don’t, consider the amount of business that you’d lose if your wireless router failed for one day and rendered your team unable to work.
6. Lower Learning Curve
Plug-and-play network cabling is an internet medium that anybody on your team can understand. That’s a good thing because let’s face it, not everyone that you hire is going to be tech-savvy.
If one of your team members is having trouble with a WIFI connection, they’ll probably try to self troubleshoot for quite a while before flagging the problem up the chain. That’s productivity lost.
If your team is working with a wired connection, they should have no trouble making sure that their Ethernet cable is properly plugged in and if it is, can determine that they’ve done all they can, and can ask for assistance.
7. Energy Efficiency
Network cabling doesn’t use energy to transmit data. Wireless systems do. Depending on how many floors you’re trying to cover and how many wireless routers and repeaters you need to string together a functional network, your increased energy costs may be worth consideration.
Network Cabling Is an Old Solution That Functions As Good As New
In business and in life, what’s newer isn’t always better. Wired internet and Ethernet have been working well for much longer than WIFI technology and we think that the many benefits that cables carry make it so you shouldn’t be so quick to move away from them.
Talk to your local network cabling company for more information on what a cabled infrastructure can do for you and good luck getting the most out of your business.
For more advice on your entrepreneurial endeavors, check out additional content on our blog.