Working from home definitely has its perks, better coffee (no pun intended), no commute, no messing with meal prep, and, well, just being able to work from the comfort of your own house, just to name a few.
However, as more and more people are finding out, working from home definitely has its drawbacks too — especially if the work requires internet connectivity. As we are finding out from some of our clients, while they may have made the transition to a remote workforce fairly smoothly, home-grade internet service and business-grade service are different things.
Home Internet Isn’t Office Internet
Home internet service tends to be slower than the business-grade variety. But more, the internet service reaching your computer is not dedicated to you as it may have been at the office. Anytime anyone in your house uses the internet, whether to stream videos (Netflix, YouTube, etc.), to play online games, video chat or so on, it uses some of your already limited bandwidth. Tack on your smart thermostats, digital assistants, connected appliances and you can start to see a pinch.
For the remote worker, this means slower file upload and download rates, sluggish page loads, laggard web conference streaming, pokey email service and so on — not exactly conducive to performing a full day’s work.
3 Tips for Better Internet Connectivity
So how do you fix this? Three options: Limit the load on your internet service, upgrade your internet service or use your smartphone as a hotspot.
Limit the load
Do an assessment of the more essential of your internet uses. Maybe you don’t need your digital assistant sapping WiFi during working hours, or for that matter, your connected TV running old Star Trek episodes on Netflix for background noise. Also, maybe have a chat with the kids about when to use their AR/VR home gaming system.
Upgrade your service
It comes as a given, but getting faster service will most definitely help. More bandwidth means you don’t have to sacrifice productivity or or your various connected devices and services, but you may have to be ready to offer up some more cash. It may be worth it to you! Check for fiber, satellite, cable and DSL available to your area.
Use your mobile hotspot
Another option, though potentially expensive, is to use your smartphone to conduct your online business when you are in a real pinch. Check with your provider to see the data rates and fees, but it may be worth it to you.
Hopefully these tips will help you better and more productively work from home. The bright side is, at least it's not the 90s when you had to ask the kids to get off the phone so you could use your dial-up connection for online business.
About R.K. Black, Inc.
R.K. Black, Inc. is an Oklahoma City-based, family-owned leading provider of office technology solutions to small and medium-sized businesses in Oklahoma and Kansas. We specialize in everything business technology from copier, fax, printer and scanner technology to document management, onsite paper shredding services, VoIP phone systems and managed IT support to video surveillance solutions.
If you want to learn more about us, feel free to explore the website, read our other blogs or click the button below to be contacted by one of our reps and tell you! Also, be sure to keep watching our social media channels on Facebook and Twitter for more business tips from our blog.
