Internet companies can slow down your internet speed, a practice known as “speed throttling.” Since this isn’t good for customers, many providers offer unlimited data plans or stop throttling altogether.
However, if your internet slows down unexpectedly, there are ways to fix it. Here’s how to find out if your internet is being slowed down and what you can do to prevent it.
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What is ISP Throttling?
ISP throttling happens when your internet service provider (ISP) deliberately slows down your internet speed without letting you know. This means your internet runs slower than it should. ISPs do this to manage the traffic on their network, reduce congestion, and enforce data limits.
Throttling isn’t always bad. If many people are using the same cell tower, throttling helps share the available internet equally among everyone. Without knowing it, you might have benefited from a throttled internet connection.
Even though there is pressure on ISPs to tell customers about throttling, it’s not always clear if your internet has been slowed down. During busy times, ISPs might throttle users who use a lot of the internet, but most people don’t fall into this category.
Why Might ISP Throttling Be Used?
To avoid internet slowdowns caused by your internet service provider (ISP), it’s important to understand why they do it. This knowledge can help you recognize if it’s happening to you. Here are the main reasons:
Reduce Network Congestion
ISPs often slow down internet speeds to reduce network congestion. This helps them manage the network better so more people can use it at the same time.
It usually happens during “high traffic” hours, between 7 PM and 10 PM, when most people are online after work or school.
Impose Data Limits
Some ISPs put limits on how much data you can use each month. If you go over your data limit, your internet speed might be slowed down to make sure other users get priority. While this isn’t ideal, it’s better than having your internet cut off completely.
Limit Specific Internet Activities
ISPs can also choose to slow down specific activities, like gaming, streaming, or downloading from torrent sites. This can be frustrating, especially if you enjoy playing online games.
For example, if you’re a mobile gamer playing competitive games like Cosmic Rewards, you might experience lag or disconnections, which can affect your gameplay and rankings.
How to Check if Your Internet is Being Throttled?
If your internet suddenly seems slow or certain websites take forever to load, it might be time to check your internet speed.
Step 1 Run a Speed Test
The easiest way to see if your internet is being throttled is by running a speed test. Do this with and without a virtual private network (VPN). If your internet is faster when using a VPN, your internet provider might be slowing down your connection.
Step 2 Try Other Tests
There are other tests you can use too, like The Internet Health Test and various M-Lab tests. These tests check if your internet speed is being slowed down when you stream movies or use torrenting sites.
Step 3 What to Do Next
If you find out that your internet provider is slowing down your service, don’t worry. In the next section, we’ll show you the best ways to stop this from happening.
How to Stop ISP Throttling?
1. Use a VPN
Does Verizon throttle data? In most cases, the reason for slow internet usage is that your ISP knows what you do online and it doesn’t consider it a priority. You can defeat Verizon data throttling by hiding what you do online.
Powerful VPN services like VeePN encrypt data before sending and hide the address where it is sent. Of course, this won’t help if Verizon’s service is slow right now, but it is effective against ISP throttling.
2. Upgrade to a Better Plan
If you often use up all your monthly internet data, consider switching to a plan with more bandwidth. Upgrading to an unlimited plan can help you avoid slow internet speeds.
3. Keep an Eye on Your Data
Monitor how much data you’re using to stay within your limit. Keeping track of your data usage or choosing a plan with more data can help you avoid extra fees. You can check over here for a VPN service that will help protect against targeted ISP throttling and will also count your traffic so you can better manage your data limit.
4. Consider a Different Provider
Not all internet providers have data limits. If your current provider is too restrictive, think about switching to one that offers more data or unlimited options.
5. Changing Your ISP
If nothing else works, you might want to think about switching your internet service provider (ISP). Look around to see what’s available.
Some ISPs don’t have data caps or bandwidth limits, so they might give you better performance. We can’t help with this part since the choice of ISPs depends on where you live.
If you’re in a country with internet restrictions like the UAE, you’ll have limited options—usually just Du and Etisalat. Still, it’s worth trying a different ISP to see if things improve. Just keep in mind that even the most popular ISPs are known for slowing down your internet!
Summary
Today, you learned about ISP throttling and how to get around it. ISPs often use tricks to keep you unaware of what they’re doing. If you don’t have a lot of experience or don’t read the terms and conditions, you might find yourself confused about why your internet is slow.
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