Loss of internet affects 1-in-8 workers
A new study, commissioned and conducted by broadband internet service provider Glide, revealed that 5 per cent of businesses across the UK succumb to numerous internet failures regularly, with 12 per cent admitting to losing their connection on a daily basis.
The survey, which polled 1,000 office workers across the country, found that respondents on average spent 107 minutes reconnecting to the internet once the line had been dropped.
Further to this, it was reported that Glasgow was the worst city in which to establish a reliable internet network as 26 per cent of the those polled reported their connections going down at least once a day. Glasgow is closely followed by Bristol (at 20 per cent), Southampton (at 18 per cent), London (at 14 per cent) and Cardiff (at 13 per cent).
Industries were also researched. Legal workers, especially solicitors, were found to have the worst internet stability, with 14 per cent of those involved in the research stating that their connections dropped multiple times in a single day.
The chief technical officer of Glide, Ben King, commented on the report, saying: “It’s shocking to see just how many hours a year workers are losing due to the internet being down. With millions of offices across the country dependent on an internet connection to run, it really is worth investing in a fast, reliable and assured network to support your business needs.”
One weakness of the study, however, is that it fails to distinguish issues with the local network with failures on the internet connection itself. A case has been made that office workers could easily confuse the two, or not even know the difference.
Despite this, the report has raised questions as to what steps businesses ought to take to mitigate the chances of internet connections failing regularly, which ultimately hinders efficiency and productivity. While simply incorporating ultrafast fibre cables into businesses’ networks will not resolve the issue, redundant and backup connections – in the form of 4G connections or an entirely separate network – will limit the damage.
