How to increase Bandwidth and improve Internet Quality

July 2, 2021 By Johan Curtis No Comments 6 minutes

If you arrived here looking for ways on how to increase your bandwidth, you’re already a step ahead. Nothing frustrates today’s consumers more than not getting what they paid for and a slow internet connection. However, not knowing the cause of the problem and how to fix the issue is equally frustrating. Therefore, here, we discuss for your benefit, how to increase bandwidth and improve the quality of your internet.

How To Increase Bandwidth

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What is bandwidth and why it is important

Bandwidth is the terminology used to describe a network’s capacity for data transfer and usually measured in MBs or GBs per second (MBPS or GBPS). The bandwidth determines the volume of data packets uploaded and downloaded simultaneously. In other words, your bandwidth is like a superhighway connecting your device with the internet and the data packets are cars. The more lanes in a highway, the more cars can travel back and forth at the same time without creating bottlenecks. In the same way, more bandwidth means better data transfer.

How to tell if there is a problem

Now, you might wonder how to know if there is an issue with your bandwidth. It’s simple, are web pages loading slower than they usually do? Or is a file talking far too long to download? In either case, there is probably something blocking your bandwidth.

Testing your bandwidth

For a more concrete answer, use a popular internet testing service (e.g. Ookla) to measure download and upload speed. Both download and upload speed should be within the acceptable range stipulated by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). i.e. if you subscribed to a 10MBPS connection, you should be getting the same, give or take 1-2 MBPS.

Possible causes and solutions

Given the dynamic nature of technology, there are several areas you can explore to look for an issue.

Network configuration

First and foremost, check your network configuration for issues. Sometimes, you might inadvertently limit your bandwidth by blocking certain types of data usage options. Recheck these to make sure there are no unnecessary blockages

Number of users

The more users connected simultaneously, the more traffic using your bandwidth. Check the number of devices attached to your router. If you don’t recognize any connections, try using the FastestVPN to secure your router with a VPN and protect yourself from hackers.

Neighboring Wi-Fi connections

All Wi-Fi equipment communicates over one of two channels, 2.4 GHz or 5Ghz.If there are many Wi-Fi output devices running in the same area, the signals may overlap. In that case, you should consider getting a dual-bandwidth router that broadcasts on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies.

Old equipment

On the subject of routers, equipment from different generations may not work well together. Therefore, check if your modem, router or dongle is the latest available or if it has the latest firmware updates installed.

Poor or cheap software

Poorly designed software is usually inefficient and may use more of your precious bandwidth than necessary. For example, we all know that if the software is free, most likely, you’re the product. For example, some free VPNs collect usage data and sell it to third-party agencies. Not only does this slow down your internet connection, but it’s also a breach of security. Therefore, make sure you use a reliable and trusted VPN such as FastestVPN. This service provider guarantees a ‘no-logs’ policy and limits the background process to free up bandwidth.

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Malware

Malware refers to software designed with the sole purpose of damaging your device. By damaging your system, it effectively clogs up your bandwidth. The best way of dealing with this issue is to use anti-malware software which gives you another layer of protection against malware. However, you can also use a VPN like FastestVPN which offers powerful anti-malware features built-in.

Exceeding your data limit

One of the most common yet overlooked possibilities is that you’ve simply exceeded your data limit and therefore, the ISP restricts your bandwidth. Remember that the volume of data available to you every month is often limited and watching HD videos or downloading large files can severely impact your data limit.

ISP throttling

In this case, the ISP can pull back on the bandwidth allocated to you if you happen to be on a shared connection and use far more than the average. The ISP does this to achieve a more balanced load on its services. However, this may negatively impact your work. In this case, you can try using FastestVPN again since it masks your IP and stops the ISP from tracking your usage patterns.

Using a VPN

As you may have noticed by now, a VPN is the best way that will show you how to increase bandwidth and solves most of the issues you experience. However, keep in mind that only premium, risk-free VPN services such as FastestVPN can give you the protection and features you need to appreciate the benefits of this software wholeheartedly.

FastestVPN offers features geared towards privacy, security, and online freedom. Besides the ones already mentioned, these features include:

Built-in adblocker and anti-malware protection;
Compatibility with more than 20 different devices;
Up to 10 simultaneous connections
Smart tunneling which allows you to route specific traffic through the VPN automatically without opening the app;
DNS leak protection
AES 256-bit encryption and built-in Wi-Fi Security
Automatic internet kill switch
Multiple protocols
Smart connect
P2P optimized servers
Unlimited bandwidth
99% Uptime
Unlimited server switching
Anonymous torrenting
Access to geo-restricted content
15-day money-back guarantee
24/7 support

Retesting your bandwidth

Once you determined the problem and solved the problem, test your internet connection again using the same service as last time. The results should significantly improve in terms of download speed, upload speed and ping especially if you used FastestVPN. It will secure your device and improve the overall quality of your internet connection as well.

Recommendations

So far, this article covers what bandwidth is, how to recognize that there are problems and the many issues that can negatively affect your bandwidth, and lastly, how to increase bandwidth. Suffice to say, the best option available to you is to use a VPN service like FastestVPN.