Member Article

Making Small Businesses Mobile

As businesses become more mobile, good connectivity is absolutely vital and the demand for mobile broadband - including 4G - will continue to grow. Whether you’re working remotely, or even from your own office, it can be incredibly frustrating if your mobile signal or internet connection drops out at a crucial time.

Unfortunately this is a problem that is cited all too often among small businesses, particularly in rural areas. In the south east, 85% of businesses surveyed by the SE LEP said they had suffered, and continue to suffer, from disruption due to mobile phone cold spots. Some quoted huge losses of up to £10,000 or more a year through lost sales, damaged reputation, and opportunities to create new jobs.

The majority of small businesses simply cannot afford to suffer these kinds of losses, especially when they are working with such tight budgets. Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that the mobile performance you get doesn’t just depend on the price of your contract and the provider you are with, but it also depends on where you are working from; you could be on the same network as a similar sized business based elsewhere and be getting a wildly different service. It’s a real life postcode lottery.

We know this better than anyone as RootMetrics tests call, text and mobile internet performance up and down the country so businesses - and consumers - can find the best service for their specific requirements, and we have found huge discrepancies. Why is it fair that a business in Hull gets average download speeds of 1.8Mbps, while in Belfast a company on the same network gets average download speeds nearly triple that? And in Sheffield, is it right that some consumers get a call failure rate of 9.7% when in Manchester customers on the same network experience just 2.6% of calls failing?

Of course, these discrepancies are not just a city-to-city problem. We have all experienced the frustration of having a seemingly perfect signal in one spot and then losing it down the road. In the digital age businesses expect a better and more consistent service, and have the right to demand good mobile coverage wherever they are based.

The better connectivity small businesses have, the more opportunities that become available to them. Now, with 4G services rolling out across the country, things like flexible working, collaboration and increased customer engagement are all possible. It shouldn’t just be something big businesses are able to take advantage of. In some areas EE’s 4G customers are already enjoying average download speeds of 24.5Mbps, which is significantly faster than the average fixed-line broadband, which Ofcom says is 14.7 Mbps. The days where companies resort to relying on a 3G dongle to boost signal to an acceptable level should be long gone.

It should be a good opportunity for businesses to take control and use the data available to them to find out which mobile operator offers the best service where they are based before they sign up to a lengthy contract. It is only when businesses have realised great connectivity that they can be truly mobile.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Greg Kleven, Managing Director, International Business, RootMetrics .