You might experience slow internet at home, even when your internet plan promises high-speed internet. Here’s what you know about regular broadband connections which at times offer poor internet performance.
Sorting fact from fiction: Exposing common internet performance myths
Differentiating between sped and bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data transmitted over a network or internet connection in each period. Bandwidth is often confused with speed, measured in bits or bytes per second.
Speed, also known as data transfer rate, is the rate at which data is transmitted over a network or internet connection. Speed can be affected by various factors like bandwidth, latency, and congestion. If the speed is high, it does not mean that you are provided with a higher bandwidth. Hence, while choosing an internet connection, enquire about bandwidth and speed individually before finalising a plan.
Understanding the realities of internet performance
Network congestion
Network congestion occurs when the traffic flowing through a site exceeds its maximum capacity. In most cases, this is a temporary issue due to a sudden increase in traffic. However, if you experience this often, you should know that there are more unidentified issues with the server or signal.
Network congestion usually happens due to the following reasons:
- Excessive bandwidth consumption – Sometimes, specific devices and users can use more data while gaming or streaming. These can suddenly alter the flow of the data transfer.
- Poor subnet management – An extensive network is divided into subnets for better resource management. However, network congestion can arise if the subnets are not arranged according to usage patterns and data requirements.
- Broadcast storms – Broadcast storms can occur, due to sudden upsurges, when there are more requests for data in a channel. As a result, network congestion occurs.
- Multicasting – Multicasting occurs when a network allows multiple computers to communicate simultaneously, where more data packets are made to carry data.
- Border gateway protocol – All traffic is put through the border gateway protocol, which can sometimes accommodate more data packets than ever.
- Outdated hardware – Network congestion can occur when data is transferred through routers, modems, and other systems which have older software. So, update the system firmware.
- Over-subscription – As a cost-cutting tactic, your internet service provider might allow too many devices to use the bandwidth simultaneously.
- Too many connected devices – There’s a limit to your bandwidth; hence, using more than two devices simultaneously can hamper the overall signal strength, leading to network congestion.
Busting internet performance myths with Excitel
We want you to understand that speed and bandwidth are significant when choosing a broadband connection for home and business. Visit our website and learn how you can benefit from our fiber broadband plans.
FAQs
- Does using a premium internet service guarantee better performance?
You can’t expect your internet connection to be better at a premium price, as you might be paying more for less bandwidth and a weak signal. - Is it true that more bandwidth always results in faster internet speeds?
Yes, more bandwidth means faster internet speed since there will be less lag and latency with higher bandwidth. - Can closing unused applications or tabs improve internet performance?
Even if you are not using a website and leave it open in one of your tabs, it keeps loading in the background till you close it. Hence, your signal will weaken until you close all the unwanted tabs, which may download large files or even load the videos and pictures on that page.
