How Can 4g Benefit My Business

27th September 2013

Start up and Small to Medium sized businesses should be considering the many benefits of 4g irrespective of whether they can get the coverage now as the chances are they will get coverage during their next contract term.

For example Sheffield, Leicester and Nottingham to name but a few can expect o2 4g before the end of September 2013. The main UK mobile networks have spent heavily on promoting 4g but the main slant has been around the consumer offering and promoting SKY Sports, Movie access and uploads and music streaming. Hardly business benefits and probably the last thing you want your employees to do. In a recent survey small to medium sized businesses owners expected 4g to help increase productivity, reduce costs, improve workforce flexibility and agility and improving employee well being and motivation. But How? It is 'ultrafast' The most important impact the 4G network will bring is the connection speed for mobile products. It is said that the connection is up to 10 times faster than the 3G network, which immediately increases the possibilities for business connectivity. Mobility The increased data connection speeds mean that the possibility for reliable and high-speed connection with mobile products is another of the key benefits. Construction companies have shown an example of this when working on new sites. Sites can now be up and running in a few hours, at a fraction of the cost rather than having to wait up to 6 weeks for an expensive BT connection to be installed. 4g hubs can be used to power phone systems, computers, cctv and conferencing facilities to name but a few. Data transfer will be easier Due to the massive increase in the speed of the connection, the amount of data being able to be sent virtually all at once, will also increase dramatically. If you or a client has a large file to be sent over email, you can receive or send this effortless from your 4G enables smartphone. Increase in Flexible and Agile Working Improved technology and higher and more reliable data speeds are likely to increase the number of employers who are in a flexible working environment. This in turn will offer many other benefits to businesses. Research into the benefit of flexible working showed that there was a 78% increase in productivity, 71% improvement in customer service and a 78% saving in fuel. Also, a massive 84% of employees said their work/life balance had improved giving employers more productive and happy staff, which will hopefully contribute to a reduction in staff turnover. Extra productivity The productivity of your workforce will reap the benefits, as the better connection speeds will allow for flexible and more agile working, reducing the need for employees to travel out of the office for meetings. The need for office space may also decrease as employees will now be able to work from home more effectively. Both of these things mean that businesses will experience lower running costs. In the USA 86% of businesses surveyed get more work done on the move with 4g. This is because employees can browse the mobile internet faster than before, access files in the cloud more quickly and communicate with colleagues and customers using high quality video calls while on the move. 40% reported more sales closed in the field. Cut Costs Nearly half of businesses who took part in a recent survey said 4g had saved them money. Cost efficiencies where achieved by introducing 4g devices and hot desking, then reducing office space as a result, cutting wasted employee time and cutting print costs as documents can be easily transferred between devices. Innovation Boost In countries where 4g already exists 4g have helped businesses innovate and jump ahead of the competition. The innovation boost has been realised by companies involved in construction, vehicle manufacturing and healthcare industries to name but a few. They are using 4g to introduce new ways of working, products, and services before their competitors do. For example, a German car manufacturer has launched a 4g in car hotspot that gives passengers access to superfast internet. The technology is an engine for economic growth As 4G increases the scope of businesses, it reflects well on to the country's economic situation. The benefits of 4G will help businesses to grow and will encourage more investment in businesses, from both the UK and abroad. For more information on 4g coverage, for how 4g can benefit your business and for more information on our range of 4g ready voice and data tariffs then let our team share our Knowledge About Telecoms today via enquiries@katcommunications.co.uk or 0844 474 0004.