POOR IN-PREMISES WiFi is quietly draining productivity from UK small businesses, according to new research from Zen Internet.
Half (49%) of senior business decision makers say WiFi coverage inside their premises limits the value they get from their broadband connection. Yet the same portion (50%) say their business has access to full fibre.
The findings point to a growing disconnect between infrastructure rollout and real-world experience inside business premises.
Connectivity disruption is widespread. On average, businesses experience WiFi disruption 13 times a month. Six per cent face issues every day, while more than six in 10 experience problems at least two to three days a week.
And resulting productivity losses are significant. Businesses estimate they lose an average of 11 hours per week due to WiFi issues, with 42% saying they lose between 11 and 15 hours.
The commercial impact according to senior business executives are reported as:
- 23% say it disrupts communication with customers or suppliers
- 22% say it prevents them running cloud-based tools
- 22% say it directly slows down operations
- 22% say it leads to lost sales or missed opportunities
- 21% say it stops them taking digital payments
Nearly four in 10 (39%) say they lose revenue because of poor WiFi, and 44% say they cannot afford to keep experiencing service interruptions.
Confidence is also affected. Almost half (47%) say they would feel more confident in their business success if they could ensure better connectivity. The same proportion say WiFi is as critical to their business as a good shopfront or website.
Jon Nowell, managing director of Zen’s business division, said: “Full fibre rollout is transforming UK connectivity, but speed alone isn’t enough.
“If WiFi inside the building can’t keep up, businesses won’t see the benefit. Reliable in-premises connectivity is now essential infrastructure for organisations.”
Zen has launched eero Business to address this gap. Eero Business is a WiFi system for small businesses that combines high-performance fibre with intelligent mesh WiFi to deliver reliable, consistent coverage across offices, retail spaces and hospitality venues. It offers eero’s mesh WiFi hardware Zen Internet’s Business Broadband page.
