Bandwidth throttling entails your Internet Service Provider intentionally slowing down your Internet connectivity. The measures are often taken as a way to mitigate against congested traffic. Most ISPs tend to be less prepared for increasing traffic, forcing them to adopt throttling to distribute Internet access equitably. However, that ought not to be the case.
Why you should avoid throttled Internet
It would be best to keep off ISPs that exercise Internet throttling because the practice negatively affects your Internet experience. When on a throttled Internet, you may notice that your upload and download speeds significantly reduce. Streaming videos on platforms such as Netflix and YouTube become a pain as you frequently face buffering issues. Besides, you may not have a good time using BitTorrent protocols and file-sharing options.
For those working from home and regularly need to hold video calls with colleagues, you may have a fair usage towards the first few days of the month. However, as the month draws to a close, you are likely to start having a hard time joining meetings since this is the period when most ISPs implement the throttling effect.
How throttling works
When an Internet Service Provider throttles your connectivity, they implement a filter that splits your traffic into two portions:
- Unthrottled lane – The fast lane comprises access to things such as Google, social media, and general browsing.
- Throttled lane – Slow lane, which is activated when you try to access platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and BitTorrent.
Why ISPs throttle your Internet
Unscrupulous Internet Service Providers often have tons of excuses for why they throttle Internet connections. The four most common reasons given include:
- Data caps
- Forbidden activity
- Network congestion
- Paid prioritization
This is a practice we frown upon at Nomad Internet. We believe in providing value for what you paid for.
How to detect throttled Internet
Your ISP can never make the mistake of informing you right away that they have throttled your connectivity. It is up to you to run tests to know whether or not you are a victim. Here are two common tests for this purpose:
- Internet Health Test
The free web-based application measures protocols such as p2p, video, among others, to gauge your performance on backbone networks like YouTube and Netflix. The goal here is to look for any bottlenecks. Keenly evaluate the results to spot any instances of slowing down when connecting to specific platforms. If that is the case, then there is a chance your ISP has implemented throttling effecting for that particular service.
- Manual YouTube Test
This is a simple test that involves playing a 4K video to gauge whether or not it buffers more than once. If it does, reduce the resolution and check the buffer status. Continue doing this until you arrive at a quality where there is no buffering. When successful at the test, you will have known your sufficient video quality.
How to stop Internet throttling?
You can stop Internet throttling by:
- Using a VPN
- Switching to an ISP that does not throttle