How to set up a backup internet connection for your home office

For work from home, one factor that businesses must consider is the reliability of employees’ residential broadband.

In many parts of the United States, especially in remote areas, broadband can be unreliable enough to affect employee productivity. This is especially true for remote workers who must always use IP-based unified communications tools.

Let’s look at the steps businesses can take to enhance home office internet connectivity with a backup internet connection, and the various benefits and challenges that come with it.

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1. Determine if employees need a backup internet connection for home working

The first thing an organization must consider is whether or not its employees need a redundant Internet connection. This decision process should be kept simple, and if the Internet connection is hindering an employee's ability to perform daily tasks - for example, if the Internet connection frequently drops - the employee can request a second connection.

However, IT teams must also consider that while the internet connection may technically be functioning properly, the throughput required to perform bandwidth-intensive functions can overwhelm the available bandwidth. In this case, employees and employers should see if they can simply increase broadband upload and download speeds.

Alternatively, an enterprise can deploy a secondary connection and use both links simultaneously in a load-balanced manner to provide enhanced resiliency and increased throughput. That said, keep in mind that the technology required to achieve this can quickly become expensive.

2. Evaluate available alternative internet options

The employee's residential location will determine the type of alternate Internet options available. For most homes and communities, Internet connection options include fiber-to-the-home cable and digital broadband. Wireless options include 4G, LTE, 5G, and fixed wireless broadband.

Satellite internet is often an option, but keep in mind that this technology has longer latency times. Additionally, some employees may connect via a dedicated WAN link, such as metro Ethernet, fiber, or a point-to-point wireless link, depending on availability or distance from the office.

3. Learn how to deploy and manage dual Internet connections

Employees will need to install special router hardware at home to deploy a backup Internet connection that can run in load-balancing mode or active/standby mode – with automatic failover capabilities.

Modern routing hardware is often available pre-configured to make installation easy for any non-technical person. Another benefit is that the corporate IT department can access the remote router to collect and analyze performance statistics for each employee. Ultimately, this will simplify the troubleshooting process when connectivity issues arise.