As demand for internet and cloud-based services continue to increase, so must the bandwidth and connection options which support it.
The internet has certainly evolved over time. When we first started as an ISP in the mid-90’s, dial-up represented the lion’s share of access we were providing our clients. Most were residential users, but we also offered commercial services to businesses in our local community. Back then, believe it or not, dial-up was what most businesses were buying. Those on the cutting edge might have ordered a 64k ISDN connection, and very few needed or could afford a $1500/mo T1 connection.
Fast forward 20 years. A T1 is now a couple hundred bucks a month and considered by many businesses too slow to support the needs of their organization. And while wired services like Metro Ethernet have replaced most wired services, that evolution pales in comparison to the advances made in wireless data access.
LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and was started in 2004 by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Increasing demand for web content and streaming services on mobile devices meant the need for more speed.
The primary goal of the LTE project is to provide high data rates, low latency, and packet optimized radio access technology. LTE evolved from an earlier 3GPP system known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS).
4G LTE speed can support up to 300 Mb/s download and 75Mb/s upload. Analysts predict that by the year 2020, it will support over 24 billion connected devices.
Benefits of 4G LTE
While the vast majority of connected devices to 4G LTE networks are cell phones, there’s a growing demand for these services in the business space.
It used to be that only the major cellular carriers offered 4G LTE services, but with increasing demand comes more competition and better pricing. In fact, in today’s provider space, there are more and more regional wireless ISPs popping up every day. Here at N2Net, we partner with a few wireless partners to help in providing wireless access services to our clients.
Unlike wired connections, 4G LTE services are extremely fast to deploy. While we use these connections in SD-WAN environments and as failover connections, there are business cases which support the use of 4G LTE as a primary connection.
Architecting a 4G LTE Solution
Whether you’re considering a 4G LTE business internet solution as a primary or backup solution, N2Net can help.
As a full-service, multi-homed internet and voice provider, N2Net knows how to properly architect a solution which will best meet the needs of your organization.
4G LTE can be used in conjunction with and alongside other data connections like DSL, cable, T1, and Metro Ethernet.
Contact a data specialist at N2Net today and learn more about 4G LTE solutions for your business!
