Choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) for your business is important — it affects productivity, customer experience, security, and costs. Below is a practical, step-by-step guide and checklist you can use to evaluate ISPs and pick the best one for your needs.

1. Define your needs first

• Primary uses: email, web browsing, cloud apps (Google Workspace/Microsoft 365), VoIP/phone, video conferencing, point-of-sale, hosting public-facing websites/services, remote access, backups.
• Bandwidth needs:
  • Small office/home-office (1–5 users): 25–100 Mbps down / 10–25 Mbps up may be enough for basic cloud apps and video calls.
  • Small-to-medium (6–25 users): 100–500 Mbps down / 50–200 Mbps up depending on concurrent video, cloud backups, VoIP.
  • Medium-to-large (25+ users) or heavy cloud/backup/hosting: 500 Mbps–1 Gbps or multiple circuits; consider symmetric 1 Gbps or greater for heavy uploads.
  • High-availability services, hosted servers, or large backup windows: prioritize high upload speeds or symmetric links (e.g., fiber).
• Performance requirements: acceptable latency for VoIP/video (generally <100 ms), jitter, packet loss tolerances.
• Availability requirements: uptime target (e.g., 99.9% vs 99.99%), acceptable outage duration.
• Future growth: plan capacity for 12–36 months.

2. Know connection types and their tradeoffs

• Fiber (FTTP/FTTH): best reliability, symmetric speeds, low latency — generally recommended when available.
• Business-grade cable (DOCSIS): high downstream, asymmetric, typically cheaper than fiber but less consistent under congestion.
• DSL / VDSL: lower speeds and higher latency; OK for small/backup/remote offices where fiber/cable absent.
• Fixed wireless / 5G / LTE: quick to deploy; variable performance and data caps possible — consider as backup or in rural areas.
• Metro Ethernet / Dedicated Ethernet: carrier-grade, scalable, good SLAs for mid/large businesses.
• MPLS / SD-WAN: useful for multi-site businesses — combine multiple links and prioritize traffic.
• Satellite: high latency; last-resort for very remote locations.

3. Prioritize SLAs and business-grade features

• Uptime SLA: request guaranteed uptime percentage and remedies (credits) for missed SLA.
• Mean time to repair (MTTR): business plans often guarantee faster response times and on-site repairs.
• Static IPs / blocks: needed if you host servers, VPNs, or require direct access.
• Symmetric speeds: important for backups, cloud-hosting, video conferencing.
• Dedicated vs shared circuits: dedicated offers consistent throughput; shared can suffer congestion.
• Service-level details: jitter, packet loss thresholds, latency caps.

4. Redundancy & continuity

• Consider dual ISPs or secondary connections (different technologies and physical paths) for failover.
• Ask about diverse routing and whether provider has physically separate fiber entry points.
• Test failover capability and plan for automatic/failover routing or SD-WAN.

5. Security & network features

• Built-in DDoS protection options.
• Managed firewall, VPN, IPsec support, and optional managed security services.
• Carrier-grade NAT vs public IPs (carrier NAT can complicate hosting services).
• Ability to isolate VLANs or provide separate circuits for sensitive traffic.

6. Support, local presence & escalation

• Business-hour vs 24/7 support availability.
• Dedicated account manager?
• Local field technicians vs remote-only support.
• Escalation paths and documented contact points for outages.
• References or case studies from similar businesses in your area.

7. Pricing, contract & terms

• Compare total cost of ownership: installation/turn-up fees, monthly recurring charge, taxes, equipment rental, bandwidth overage fees.
• Contract length tradeoffs: longer contracts often give lower rates and better SLAs — but watch termination penalties.
• Early termination fees, hardware buyout terms, and price escalators (annual increases).
• Ask for a quoted bandwidth test at installation and acceptance criteria.

8. Equipment & management

• Who supplies/owns CPE (router, modem, ONT)? Are business routers offered?
• Support for BYO equipment; do they support third-party firewalls?
• Managed router or unmanaged? Managed often includes monitoring and configuration help.

9. Test performance before committing

• If possible, request a pilot or trial period.
• Have the provider run speed/latency tests from their equipment and compare with independent tests (Speedtest, iPerf).
• Verify real-world performance during business hours.

10. Questions to ask each ISP (quick list)

• What connection types are available at my exact address?
• What are your SLAs (uptime %, MTTR) and remedies?
• Do you provide static IP(s) and how many?
• Are speeds symmetric? Is the circuit dedicated?
• What are installation lead times and typical installation costs?
• What support hours, escalation processes, and response times do you offer?
• Do you offer DDoS protection, managed firewall, or other security services?
• Can you provide references from local businesses similar to ours?
• What are contract terms, price increases, and early termination fees?
• How is redundancy handled? Can you provide a separate diverse route?

11. Compare providers with a short matrix

• Columns: Provider name, connection type, committed speed (down/up), dedicated/supported SLAs, MTTR, static IPs, contract length & monthly price, installation time & cost, support hours, security options, notes.
• Score providers on performance, cost, reliability, and support — weight the categories by importance to your business.

12. Negotiation & final tips

• Ask for promotional offers, waived installation, and equipment included.
• Negotiate volume discounts, longer promotional pricing, or included managed services.
• Avoid hidden fees: demand full breakdown of monthly charges and taxes.
• Keep proof of promised speeds/SLA in the contract or Statement of Work.
• Prepare for installation day: ensure space for equipment, power, and cable entry points, and coordinate with landlord if needed.

13. Red flags

• No SLA for business accounts or vague uptime statements.
• Long lead times with no clear schedule.
• No local tech support and only automated responses.
• Carrier uses only consumer-grade equipment or refuses to provide static IPs when requested.
• Excessive penalties for early termination with little flexibility.

Quick example recommendations (by use case)

• Remote sales team, mostly cloud apps, video calls (10–25 people): business fiber or high-tier cable with symmetric or high upstream; 100–500 Mbps depending on concurrency.
• Multi-branch retail with POS: reliable, low-latency circuit with redundant failover via LTE or separate provider; static IPs for central management.
• Hosting services, heavy backups, large uploads (media company): symmetric fiber (1 Gbps or more) with strong SLA and multiple public IPs.

Final checklist before signing

• Confirm availability at your address, exact quoted speeds, lead time.
• Get SLA and MTTR in writing.
• Verify IP addressing and routing requirements.
• Confirm equipment ownership/support and costs.
• Plan redundancy if downtime is costly.
• Get trial/pilot or conditional acceptance terms if available.

If you want, tell me your business size, primary uses, and address (or ZIP) and I’ll give more specific speed targets and a prioritized list of features to require.