Short answer
The SLA (service level agreement) sets what to expect on availability, response and restoration, and who is accountable. MTTR (Mean Time to Restore) shows how quickly operations actually recover from an outage. Together they show how exposed you are to downtime. They also help you put a number on the impact on productivity, customer experience and revenue.
In detail: Why SLA and MTTR matter for business internet
Connectivity cost should be weighed against that risk. Downtime can halt operations, delay transactions and billing, and erode customer trust, and its true cost includes lost opportunity, recovery effort and reputational damage. When comparing providers, check for:
- A written uptime SLA with service credits
- A backup link that can be installed on a different network
- A managed, monitored router with 24x7 monitoring
- A defined support and escalation path
FirstNet is your single, accountable escalation point across all the underlying providers. You do not coordinate several ISPs during an outage. FirstNet monitors latency, packet loss, jitter and link utilisation, not just whether the line is up. That way, a drop in performance can be picked up before users feel it. FirstNet also cuts real-world downtime through design. A diverse backup link keeps traffic flowing while a fault on the primary link, such as a fibre cut, is physically repaired.