Buying or leasing office space? Research this before you sign!

If you have been searching for office or industrial space for your business, no doubt you have considered accessibility, cost per square foot, management of the property, and of course location.   There is another consideration that I highly recommend you research before you sign a lease or purchase commercial real estate, Internet access options.

Throughout the Charlotte metro area, business Internet options vary wildly.  At one address you may find you can get a 24M circuit for $ 95 a month, go half a mile down the street and [building sold]  you may find the best you can get is $ 900 for a 4.5M circuit.  Why does this matter?  If your business already depends heavily on bandwidth hungry Internet applications, you know why.  If not, rest assured, if you continue you to run or manage a company you will.  Everyday businesses are finding productivity gains and cost savings through cloud based computing, VoIP, video streaming, and remote workers, all of which can require significantly more bandwidth than the DSL or T-1 your business may be using today.  Chances are sooner or later your business, or your tenant's business will be in the market for significantly higher Internet bandwidth and you will not want to be limited by your office address.  Even if you never need more than what you have now, you would be surprised how many Carolina business addresses in major areas cannot even get a simple DSL circuit.

So make some calls before you sign, best scenario is several competitive high bandwidth solutions will be available.  Look for FIOS products, wideband cable company offerings and scenarios where carriers can pull fiber direct to your office or building.  The right combination of Internet providers and access options could potentially save you thousands of dollars a year and keep your business moving forward as technology progresses.

Richard Hill has worked in the telecommunications field for over 20 years, 15 of those as the President and owner of SafeCall, a Charlotte, NC based company offering business telephone systems, VoIP telephone service, carrier consulting, and voice/data cabling.