Coronavirus
Web Traffic: Tips to Stay in the Fast Lane
The coronavirus pandemic is putting a strain on many people’s internet speeds due to high web traffic, especially certain high-demand apps and websites. Let’s look at why, and what you can do to keep your internet speed up.
Why It’s Slowing Down
The larger network infrastructure is able to handle the increased internet traffic just fine. The issue lies primarily with your local ISP, and the websites you’re visiting
Though the internet can handle the increased traffic, individual ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and websites, such as Facebook and Youtube, may struggle to keep up.
When the internet slows down, the bottleneck is usually the local part of the data’s journey. Our network traffic, before moving on to the world wide web, has to pass through our local internet provider. For many of us, our ISP’s are also our cable company. These ISPs, such as Cox, use existing cable networks repurposed for broadband internet.
This means that, like a signal reaching your tv, they’re primarily designed and optimized for downloading, not uploading. With the country working online, we’re sending a lot more information over the internet, from file uploads to video calls. This puts a strain on the networks, and slows things down in both directions.
As for individual websites being slow to send information, this has a lot to do with their individual servers. Websites like Facebook and Zoom have seen their servers overwhelmed by the boost in traffic, and are adjusting their capacity to meet the increased demand.
Expect site-specific delays to get better as time goes on and companies increase their capacity.
Tips To Keep Speeds Up
Find the Right Time
You’ve likely noticed that your internet gives you more issues at certain times than others. This is due both to the local ISP bottleneck and to strain on website servers. Whether it carries cars or information, highways clog up during rush hour. The trick is to use the highway when fewer people want to.
Have an important Zoom call with an international client? Schedule it for the early morning, when local traffic will be at its lowest.
Download Through the Night
You’re probably used to streaming, but whenever possible, you should download in advance to reduce the strain on bandwidth during high-traffic times. If your house has turned into a home office during the pandemic, this probably means downloading movies and TV shows late at night or in the early morning, outside of normal office hours.
If you’re able to binge-watch during the day, fire your shows up once they’re downloaded, rather than streaming them. This frees up bandwidth for work-related things like video calls and large file transfers.
Avoid Using the Microwave
If you or a loved one needs the internet operating at peak speeds, your Hot Pocket will have to wait. The waves produced by microwave ovens can interfere with your Wifi, slowing down your connection. It may not make a huge difference, but at crucial moments such as an important video call, it’s worth waiting till after the call is over.
Upgrade Your Modem
If your modem is few years old, it may help your speeds to replace it. You can purchase a new one, or if it’s old enough, your internet provider may replace it for free.
Break out the Old Ethernet Cable
Good old fashioned Ethernet still beats out Wifi when it comes to consistent connection speeds. If you’re gaming, have a video call, or just need fast, consistent internet, consider hooking your device directly up to your modem via an Ethernet cable.
If your computer still has an Ethernet port, this is as easy as plugging it into your modem. Otherwise, you can buy an Ethernet-USB adapter online.
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