Does your IT system have a need for speed? State-of-the-art Internet connectivity options can promise faster speeds, greater bandwidth, and more solid uptime than ever before. But not all of these options make ideal sense for all organizations and locations, so it helps to understand which of them suit your specific needs. Here are some thoughts on the subject from your Austin IT support team at Gravity Systems.

The first question is how the choice of connection type can influence data transfer speeds. The current king of the hill, in terms of raw speed, is fiber optic connectivity. Fiber is available in Austin and other select cities, and it can handle speeds of up to 1 Gbps. Cable is still the most common option for most businesses, who find its 150 to 500 Mbps speed range perfectly suitable for their needs. Fixed wireless relays Internet signals via radio waves, with no need for wires and no data caps. But this technique can only deliver about 40 Mbps. DSL and satellite also have some painful speed limitations.

It's worth noting that Internet speed depends on more than just the “pipes.” Hardware limitations, the number of people sharing the network, and sluggishness due to adware or spyware can all affect your velocity on the Information Superhighway.

Last but not least, think about how you use the Internet. Do your employees generally stick to everyday Web browsing and email, or do they share enormous files and work with streaming video regularly? The more data you must churn through at any given moment, the faster your Internet connection needs to be.

If you're not happy with your Internet speeds, talk to Gravity Systems. We can speed-test your system, discuss your usage habits, and help you get squared away all the speed you need!

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