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Internet & Connectivity

Business Internet, Ranked: What to Order (and What to Avoid)

Your phone system is only as good as the internet connection underneath it. Here's every common business connection type, ranked from best to worst for VoIP reliability.

Cannon VoIPJuly 97 min read

Not all "business internet" is created equal, and the difference matters a lot more once you're running phone calls over it. Dropped packets that a website shrugs off show up as choppy audio and dropped calls. Below, every connection type available to most U.S. businesses is ranked into five tiers, best to worst, based on reliability and how well it holds up for VoIP.

Pricing shown is estimated for 2026 and varies by location and provider promotions. Always confirm current pricing and availability at your specific address before ordering.

TIER 1: BEST

Fiber

Symmetric speeds, lowest latency, SLA-backed. The gold standard for business VoIP.

AT&T: Fiber, Dedicated
Required contract, 1–5 yr · $300–$1,800+/mo
+ Private, guaranteed bandwidth, not shared
+ Business SLA with uptime credits
+ Static IP included
− Contract with ETF required
− Slow provisioning, 7–90 days
AT&T: Fiber, Shared
Month-to-month · $110–$380/mo
+ Fast provisioning, often 1–3 business days
+ Symmetric upload/download
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Shared bandwidth, speeds vary at peak
− Verify fiber at address; AT&T still sells DSL in some markets
Frontier: Fiber, Dedicated
Required contract, 1–5 yr · $250–$1,600+/mo
+ Private guaranteed circuit
+ Business SLA available
+ Symmetric speeds
+ Static IP included
− Contract with ETF required
− Slow provisioning, 5–90 days
Frontier: Fiber, Shared
Month-to-month · $70–$285/mo
+ True fiber, not rebranded DSL
+ Competitive pricing in Frontier markets
+ Symmetric speeds, no data caps
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Very limited fiber availability
− Shared bandwidth, speeds vary at peak
Spectrum: Fiber, Dedicated
Required contract, 1–5 yr · $300–$1,800/mo
+ Private guaranteed circuit
+ Business SLA included
+ Static IP included
− Very limited fiber availability; most Spectrum locations are coax
− Contract with ETF required
− Slow provisioning, 7–90 days
Spectrum: Fiber, Shared
Month-to-month · $150–$300/mo
+ No annual contract
+ Fast provisioning
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Shared fiber very limited in Spectrum footprint
− Shared bandwidth, speeds vary at peak
Lumen / CenturyLink: Fiber, Dedicated (DIA)
Required contract, 2–5 yr · $300–$1,800+/mo
+ True dedicated bandwidth, never shared
+ Enterprise SLA with financial credits
+ Nationwide fiber backbone
+ Static IP included
− High cost, not SMB-friendly
− Designed for enterprise, not small business
− Contract with ETF required
− Slow provisioning, 14–90 days

Dedicated fiber is a private, guaranteed circuit: your bandwidth is never shared. Shared fiber is still excellent for most businesses. Always confirm fiber, not DSL, is actually available at your address before ordering.

TIER 2

Business Coax

Good download speeds, asymmetric upload, shared node. Works well for small offices with moderate call volume.

Spectrum: Business Coax
Month-to-month · $70–$165/mo
+ Fast provisioning, often 1–3 business days
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Shared node, speeds drop at peak hours
− No SLA on standard coax plans
− Aging HFC plant in some areas
Comcast / Xfinity: Business Coax
2-yr contract or month-to-month · $70–$300/mo
+ Largest US cable footprint
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Contracts lock in rates with ETF
Cox: Business Coax
Month-to-month · $70–$200/mo
+ Business SLA tiers available
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Regional, not available in all markets
− Asymmetric upload speeds
− Shared node congestion at peak hours

Pair with a cellular failover for important deployments.

TIER 3: EQUAL TO TIER 2

Cannon VoIP Cellular BYOD

Business-grade 5G/LTE on a nationwide network backbone: billed, provisioned, and supported entirely through Cannon VoIP.

Cannon VoIP Service
5G / LTE Cellular: Month-to-Month
$90/mo
+ Fast provisioning, often 1 business day
+ No long-term contracts
+ Nationwide 5G/LTE business backbone
+ All billing & support through Cannon VoIP
+ Deploy anywhere, no technician install
+ BYOD, use your existing compatible device
+ Ideal failover behind fiber or coax
+ Download speeds of 400–1,800 Mbps, upload 30–400 Mbps
+ Static IP included
+ Truly unlimited data, no throttling, no deprioritization
− Latency higher than fiber (30–60ms)
− Speeds & latency vary by tower load and distance

Cannon VoIP BYOD and business coax are roughly equal in reliability. Best for locations without coax/fiber, or as a failover circuit behind a primary connection. Cannon VoIP partners with a nationwide business-grade cellular network as the backhaul, but everything customer-facing (billing, support, provisioning) runs through us, not a third party. Unlike the residential cellular plans in Tier 5, data is truly unlimited: no throttling and no deprioritization, even when the tower is busy.

TIER 4

Fixed Wireless / Satellite

Last resort: use only when no other option exists.

Starlink (SpaceX)
Month-to-month · $140–$500/mo + $349–$599 hardware
+ Available anywhere with clear sky view
+ Best satellite latency on the market (20–150ms)
− High hardware + monthly cost
− Weather & obstructions degrade signal
− Congestion in suburban/urban areas
− High jitter, packet loss, intermittent outages
− No SLA or uptime guarantee
− No static IP available
Local WISPs: Fixed Wireless
Varies by provider · $150–$450/mo
+ Available in rural & underserved areas
+ Some offer dedicated bandwidth
+ Local support, faster resolution
+ Static IP available (add-on)
− Line of sight to tower required
− Weather interference on some bands
− Quality varies massively by provider
− Latency 10–50ms depending on distance

Use only when fiber, coax, and cellular are all unavailable. Performance varies heavily by location, weather, and tower distance, not ideal for high call volumes.

TIER 5: AVOID

DSL & Residential Cellular

Not suitable for business VoIP or internet under any circumstances.

AT&T & Frontier: Legacy DSL
Month-to-month · $50–$95/mo
+ Low monthly cost
− Upload speeds of just 1–10 Mbps
− Line quality degrades with every foot of copper
− High jitter, packet loss, intermittent outages
− Infrastructure being phased out, no upgrades
T-Mobile Home Internet
Residential, not business grade · $50–$70/mo
+ Low monthly cost
− Consumer-grade, no business SLA
− No static IP available
− Data deprioritized during congestion
− Latency 60–180ms, consumer-level support only
Verizon 5G Home Internet
Residential only · $25–$80/mo
+ Low monthly cost
− Consumer-grade, no business SLA
− No static IP available
− Data deprioritized during congestion
− Latency 60–180ms, no business priority on shared tower

DSL has insufficient upload speeds and high jitter. Residential cellular lacks static IPs, business SLAs, and priority data. Cannon VoIP Cellular BYOD delivers a business-grade cellular connection with proper business configuration, static IP, dedicated support, and no consumer deprioritization, at roughly the same price as these residential options.

How Cannon VoIP handles the carrier side

Whichever tier fits your location, you don't have to deal with the carrier yourself. We manage the process from quote to install:

1
We coordinate directly with the carrier
We check what's actually available at your address, get quotes, and place the order with the carrier on your behalf. You're not stuck on hold with a call center or chasing a sales rep.
2
Below-retail special pricing
Because we work with these carriers regularly, we can usually get below-retail special pricing across the board: Tier 1, 2, 4, and 5 above. (Tier 3 is our own service, already priced flat at $90/mo.)
3
Facilitating the install can lower your cost
Because we broker the order, installation costs are often reduced compared to what you'd pay ordering directly on your own.
4
Troubleshooting, when we manage the network
If you have another service with us and we manage your network (or have access to it), we can troubleshoot connection issues directly. Otherwise, for a standalone internet order, day-to-day billing and non-technical support are handled directly with the carrier, same as ordering on your own. Tier 3 is the exception: since it's our own service, all support runs through Cannon VoIP either way.

Not sure what's available at your address?

We'll help you figure out the best connection for your phone system, including our own cellular backup service.

Contact us

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