These days we rely on the internet for business, banking, television, education, communication, social media – the list goes on. We also have more devices that we use to connect and browse. Typically, we have a smartphone, a laptop, a desktop PC and a tablet. Multiply this by the number of people at home and your internet service can be put under strain.
Video is the hungriest user of bandwidth and you know you’ve got an issue when your video stops part way through, the spinning wheel appears and you have to wait for things to catch up. This is known as buffering and it’s a sure sign that demand exceeds internet supply. The flow of internet data is known as your bit-rate and there are a number of things that can affect it, in particular:
- Your internet plan – is it ADSL, VDSL, Vodafone Coax Cable or Ultra-Fast Fibre
- Your Modem Router – is it able to push through the data fast enough
- The quality and coverage of your wifi router
- The distance from the roadside cabinet – this isn’t an issue with fibre but it is for the copper based ADSL & VDSL plans. The more users there are between your home and the roadside cabinet, then the more effected you will be when those users start browsing. It’s a lot like water pressure in a hose. The more taps upstream from you, the lower your pressure.
- The speed capacity of the device you’re using – older computers and routers may not be capable of processing the faster bit rate it’s receiving.
These are all bottlenecks that can restrict your internet speeds and limit your online enjoyment.
In the coming articles I’ll discuss these bottlenecks in more detail so that you can understand how it all works.
If you’d like to speed up your internet, get in contact with the computer repair experts.