point-of-sale (POS) systems that require higher bandwidth to run efficiently, are putting new demands on SMB internet service. Here’s another area where fiber internet excels, providing high-speed, high-capacity and low-latency connectivity to support video content, cloud-based collaboration tools, POS systems and fast data uploads and downloads.  No business, regardless of size, can afford slow internet service. With its resilient, stable connectivity, fiber internet can support the apps your customers and employees need. Fiber is also scalable, requiring only a bandwidth upgrade instead of an expensive rewiring of a system when a company’s needs grow.

 3. Cybersecurity

Eight in 10 (80%) of small businesses experienced a cyberattack, data breach or both in the past year, according to an October 2024 report from the Identity Theft Resource Center. What’s more, the number of attacks in which SMBs incurred financial losses greater than $500,000 doubled in one year. As these figures suggest, cyber criminals have indeed shifted their sights downstream to smaller businesses, which often lack the sophisticated defenses required to thwart attacks and may be more inclined to pay up following a ransomware attack, for example.

 The more SMBs can do to fortify their defenses with multiple security layers, the better they will be able to combat the attacks that seemingly have become inevitable. To that end, their internet service should, at minimum, include an integrated firewall. Multifactor authentication provides another important layer of protection, as does an endpoint security solution.

 4. Next-generation WiFi

The ability to provide fast, reliable Wi-Fi service to customers and employees is a must for a business of any size. It enhances the customer/guest experience and offers the opportunity to capture potentially valuable information from WiFi users. An SMB’s internet service thus should include advanced management capabilities that enable them to create separate and distinct Wi-Fi networks specifically designed for employees, guests, devices, etc.

Also on the wireless front, Wi-Fi 7, otherwise known as EHT (Extremely High Throughput) Wi-Fi or IEEE 802 Wi-Fi, is making its way into the mainstream as a viable option for SMBs, enabling them to access true multi-gigabit Wi-Fi with higher speeds, ultra-low latency for wired-like responsiveness, less interference, and generally better performance to support high-bandwidth activities. While it promises to provide a significant upgrade over previous Wi-Fi generations, Wi-Fi 7 has only begun to climb the adoption curve. The Wi-Fi Alliance, a group of telecom companies, projects that Wi-Fi 7 adoption will grow from an estimated 233 million devices in 2024 to 2.1 billion devices by 2028. SMBs can expect its price to decrease as its adoption increases.

 5. Self-service capabilities to resolve simple management issues and on-demand support for help with more complex issues

Small business owners wear many hats, including those of network manager and IT troubleshooter. In those roles, it’s important they have the ability to resolve minor issues (like a manual reboot), make simple adjustments with their internet service (such as adding users), and monitor conditions and users on the network, with self-service capabilities they can easily use without their internet service provider’s help. As consumers, we’re accustomed to — and appreciate — having the ability to resolve tech issues ourselves so we don’t have to wait for a technician. That holds true for SMBs, too. All the better if those capabilities also are available in a mobile app.

 When there’s an issue or question that can’t be immediately resolved via self-service capabilities, it’s important that businesses have a trusted, accessible team in the local area to provide in-person, on-site support. When businesses can rely on and build a relationship with a local service team, the members of that team essentially become a technology partner to the business. 

With the ability to address key SMB concerns related to reliability, performance and cybersecurity, business internet has come of age. Companies of all sizes have a whole new set of tools to keep pushing the technology curve in order to stay ahead of the competition.