What Is Internet Throttling? Here’s How To Avoid It

Sharing is caring!

With an increasing number of mobile service providers and Internet service providers available today, end-users believe that they are enjoying unlimited access to internet connection. Few ISPs have the practice of slowing down of data transmission or limiting the available bandwidth intentionally, which is known as internet throttling. Even if you pay the bills, they may restrict your internet access to a conspicuous extent. It is one of the common reasons behind the lagging internet speed. When you reach a particular monthly data cap, they may throttle the internet usage. As a result, you will experience slower internet connection when accessing data online.

Why Do Internet Service Providers Throttle Bandwidth?

It is true in the days where you decide to stream movies online, download videos or play games, but experience a slow connection, as these require high bandwidth usage. With the necessity of high-speed internet in this technologically advanced world, why do ISPs limit the internet connection? They throttle speeds for several reasons. If the service is being used by a large number of devices at the same time, the provider may limit the connection to maintain a stable service. As a result, it helps to avoid overloading of the network during the peak online traffic hours. Similarly internet plans come with data restrictions that limit the monthly usage. The Fair Usage Policy by ISPs states that when consumers reach a particular limit, they reduce the speed instead of cutting down the internet connection. Doing this helps them to prevent the over-usage of internet by a small percentage of users thereby making internet access fair for everyone. The process of internet throttling is legal as long as the consumer of the ISP is aware of it. Another major purpose of controlling your internet speed by a few ISPs is to let you opt for a premium plan with a high-speed connection at expensive rates.

How To Identify If Your Internet Is Being Throttled?

After a certain threshold is reached if you suspect that your ISP is throttling bandwidth, here’s what you need to do:

• Monitor your internet speed. Manually use a paper or a spreadsheet to note the time when you mostly stream online videos and download larger files. Similarly, note down when the internet connection is slow. Gathering this information can help to file a complaint against your service provider.
• Periodically run a speed test to get a detailed analysis of how your internet speed has varied. If the test shows that your internet connection is being limited, contact your ISP right away. If you’re lucky, you may even get an upgrade of a premium data plan with no additional costs.
• Check with other users of your internet service provider about the speed of the connection. If they report the same, it could be done to control the traffic.

How To Stop Throttling From Happening?

If you find that your internet service provider is throttling your internet, make sure to do one of the following.

• Browse your online activities on a VPN network so as to avoid tracking the internet usage speed by ISPs.
• Purchase a high internet data pack that does not include throttling.
• Switch to one of the best high-speed internet provider to fit all your online activities. Make sure they offer one of the best Wi-Fi plans for home.