These days we often hear the term ethernet in relation to something that is great for our business, and the sooner we get it the better, but what is it, and how is it beneficial to us? We will try to answer that question. Let’s start by looking at what you might have in your home. It is very likely your devices access the Internet over the airwaves by connecting to a Wi-Fi router. With ethernet, devices connect to the router by a special kind of high-quality wire. Using Wi-Fi offers a lot of flexibility, if you need to move your computer from one room to another you just pick it up and go. If you had an ethernet connection to your router you would have to rearrange the wires, not very convenient for a home user. In the case of a business connection most devices stay in place, so ethernet lets you take advantage of its inherent advantages without the fuss of moving wires you would experience at home. You are probably now wondering, just what are those advantages?

The first major benefit of ethernet is speed. In theory, using Wi-Fi isn’t really slower than using an ethernet solution on the same network, but ethernet is typically faster in practice because Wi-Fi is subject to greater latency and obstacles. Wi-Fi utilizes radio waves for transmitting data over the air, and radio waves are subject to interference, much like losing the signal to your favourite radio station when you are driving under a bridge or through a tunnel. Similarly, physical barriers like walls can prevent Wi-Fi from connecting to even nearby devices in the next room. Because the flow of information is uninterruptible through the wires, ethernet connections don’t suffer from the interference that hampers Wi-Fi connections. In addition, ethernet currently supports higher max speeds, which is the direction technology is moving in.

The next area ethernet excels is security. Wi-Fi enjoys the convenience of connecting any device in range, but bad actors can intercept Wi-Fi passwords and access your network, a real danger. Ethernet requires physical connections to your network, eliminating such risks.

Finally, there is reliability. Ethernet is more reliable than Wi-Fi because it’s faster, more secure, and isn’t subject to physical barriers and interference as long as the cable is connected properly. A stable connection is a much more reliable connection, making ethernet great for business!

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