Business

Five reasons your business broadband is underperforming

Zen May 16 2025 4 minutes

When your connection isn’t up to scratch, your business pays the price. From lost productivity and missed opportunities to frustrated teams and unhappy customers, slow business broadband doesn’t just waste time, it harms your business. But your provider isn’t always to blame. Sometimes, the issue lies elsewhere.

Here are five common causes of underperforming broadband, along with practical solutions that can help your business stay fast, reliable, and connected.

1. Your equipment is outdated or poorly configured

The best connection in the world can’t perform if it’s bottlenecked by legacy equipment. Ageing routers, old user devices, and outdated WiFi hardware often cause congestion, interference, and inconsistent speeds.

This is especially common in setups where small business broadband plans are stretched across growing teams or hybrid workers. If you’re bundling internet with calls, make sure your business internet and phone systems are compatible and properly prioritised for traffic.

Tip: Read our guide on improving internal coverage with Zen Zen EveryRoom mesh WiFi mesh WiFi.

And don’t underestimate the value of a reliable router. If you’re still using home internet hardware, it may be time to reconsider business broadband and phone deals that include robust, business-ready equipment.

Take a look at Zen’s deals here.

2. You’re not getting the benefits of business broadband

Not all broadband is the same. Many businesses still operate on residential connections because they seem cheaper. But running your business on a home connection can have its drawbacks.

The benefits of business broadband can include faster response times, higher upload speeds, static IPs, priority fault resolution and better security. Unlike some other major broadband providers, you’ll already get many of those things with a Zen home broadband service. But with the best business broadband, you’re investing in reliability and long-term productivity. You’re also benefiting your long-term growth, especially if you rely on cloud tools, video calls, or remote teams.

If you’re looking to save, don’t be swayed by too-good-to-be-true offers. While the idea of cheap business broadband can sound appealing, it’s often a false economy. You might save a little upfront, but can end up paying more in downtime, frustration and lost productivity. And switching to the best business internet is easier than you think with experienced business broadband providers like Zen.

3. You’re not using business fibre broadband or SoGEA

One of the fastest ways to overcome slow business broadband is upgrading the line itself.

Traditional copper-based broadband is being phased out, and newer options like business fibre broadband and SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) offer significantly better speed, reliability, and futureproofing.

Zen provides both full fibre business full fibre business broadband and SoGEA SoGEA broadbandbroadband, helping you upgrade without hassle. If you’re currently exploring business broadband deals, check whether fibre or SoGEA is available at your address. It could be the easiest win on the list.

Explore your business business internet options options to find the best fit.

4. Your business needs leased line broadband

As your business grows, so do your bandwidth demands. When multiple systems, cloud apps, VoIP, and video calls are competing for the same line, a standard broadband connection can start to become a bottleneck.

Leased line broadband gives you a dedicated connection that’s not shared with anyone else. That means guaranteed speeds, low latency, and symmetrical upload/download, all ideal for critical operations or growing teams.

Zen offers leased line leased line services with built-in resilience and robust SLAs, making it one of the most reliable business internet options available.

5. You don’t have a 4G backup plan

Outages happen. But that doesn’t mean your business has to grind to a halt. A smart failover strategy includes cellular backup, which switches your connection to 4G if the primary service goes down.

Zen’s business business broadband can be enhanced with optional 4G backup, which is ideal for continuity and peace of mind.

If you’re comparing business internet deals or exploring new business broadband and phone deals, ask whether 4G failover is available. It’s a small add-on that can make a big difference.