Have you ever noticed your internet slowing down at the same time every day? Or do you feel like your internet used to be faster, but it seems slower than usual? If so, you may be a victim of bandwidth throttling. But how can you combat your Internet Service Provider (ISP) by deliberately slowing down your Internet?
Virtual Private Network or VPN disguises your online activity so ISPs cannot see your traffic and reduce your bandwidths based on your online habits. Read on to find out about ISP throttling and how a VPN can reclaim your high-speed internet.
What is Internet Throttling?
Internet throttling, which is also called bandwidth throttling or data throttling, is when your ISP intentionally slows down your internet service. They limit your bandwidth on certain websites. ISPs can throttle anything you access on their network such as gaming, streaming videos, downloads, and torrents.
Oftentimes, internet service providers focus on websites or applications that use up a lot of bandwidth.
Why Do ISPs Throttle Your Internet?
ISPs slow down internet bandwidth for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it’s simply because you have met your data cap for this service cycle, or your internet plan has a bandwidth limit. Other times, your ISP may be trying to force you into upgrading to faster speeds.
Additionally, your ISP may be trying to discourage you from visiting specific websites, or apps, or using certain services.
Internet Plans
When you sign up for an internet plan, it is important to take note of your data limits. Usually, lost-cost packages have less data and slower speeds. Also, some internet service providers have data caps to help manage traffic on their networks.
The following companies have data caps:
- AT&T
- HughesNet
- Comcast Xfinity
- Viasat
- Mediacom
- Cox
- CenturyLink
- Cable ONE
- Buckeye Broadband
If you download, game, and stream online frequently, it may be worth the long-term investment to look into plans that provide faster bandwidth and unlimited data. Also, you can check out companies such as Spectrum, Frontier, and RCN that do not have data caps.
Network Congestion
Your ISP can slow internet speeds to anyone who uses their internet connection, but they usually do this disproportionately. Using your IP address, your ISP can view your internet browsing history. They know which websites or apps you frequent.
If you are noticing that Netflix starts buffering at the same time each day, this may be because you are accessing the internet during a time when there is a lot of network congestion. Your internet provider may throttle services that use high bandwidth to deal with the overload of internet traffic.
So, if you are playing games or torrenting files that take more power, your connection speed may be the one they choose to lower, even if you pay for high-speed internet. This keeps all their customers able to access the internet, even if it means some people experience slower speeds.
Bandwidth throttling may seem logical. Your internet provider needs to manage internet traffic somehow so that multiple people can access the internet at the same time. Still, if you are paying for a high-speed internet plan, it seems a bit unfair for your ISP to downgrade your speeds just because of your specific internet traffic.
Persuade You to Upgrade
If you are noticing throttling issues right as your ISP is releasing a faster plan, your ISP may be throttling your internet to get you to upgrade your speeds. Internet providers can choose to lower bandwidth speeds to their customers to get you to believe that you need faster internet to keep up with your internet traffic.
Paid Prioritization
In 2018, paid prioritization became legal when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the net neutrality laws. These laws gave people free and open internet access. The overturning of these laws has had dire implications on how internet service providers can operate.
Now, internet providers can charge companies for faster download speeds. So, ISPs can make big-name websites pay high premiums for faster speeds, while those who do not pay have slower load times. Because of this, your speeds on certain websites may be slower simply because larger companies may be paying for the “fast lane” to keep smaller websites and businesses from competing with them.
This type of price gouging makes it hard for smaller businesses to establish themselves and gives big-name companies all the power. It also discourages users from accessing those websites, influencing your behaviors because you naturally gravitate towards websites with faster speeds.
Illegal Activities
ISPs may also throttle a person’s bandwidth because they are doing something illegal. They can also throttle to discourage you from sites they may deem inappropriate, sensitive to the government, or offensive. The government can even order an ISP to slow down certain websites or the whole internet service to discourage behaviors.
This, however, leads to questions about privacy and whether or not an ISP or government should have the ability, even in the name of justice, to control your internet activity.
How Does Internet Throttling Affect You?
Internet throttling raises a question about privacy. Now, you know that your ISP watches your every internet move, so to speak. But is it right for ISPs to be able to monitor your internet browsing history and use that to make decisions about your service?
According to the Center for International Media Assistance, internet throttling is a way that governments in many countries control the flow of information to their citizens. Countries such as China, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Zimbabwe, India, and Bangladesh slow down either the entire internet network or just social media to keep people from news, voice their opinions online, and communicate with others.
In the wrong hands, the internet can lead to oppression, which at its core, is a human rights issue. Although other countries, such as the US, don’t worry as much about these extremes at this time, internet throttling can make your experience online less satisfactory. In fact, it can be downright frustrating.
Bandwidth throttling affects streaming services, download speed, and app performance. It will also add higher ping times during online gaming.
How Can You Tell If You Are a Victim of ISP Throttling?
Pay attention to when your internet slows. Is it at a certain time of day? Or when you do certain activities or visit specific websites? If you notice this, you may be a victim of ISP throttling. To be certain, run an internet speed test.
There are many free speed measuring tools online that will let you know your current download and upload speeds, as well. This will give you an idea of where your current speeds are at. Then, connect to a VPN server. This will help you test whether or not your ISP is throttling your internet.
For the test, you can access a free VPN, but be aware that free providers aren’t usually the best VPNs on the market. If you plan to switch to a VPN, choose a VPN provider such as SurfShark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or our own SekurVPN for long-term use.
After you connect to the VPN server, run the speed test again. If your speed improves, your ISP is data throttling.
What Can You Do to Bypass ISP Throttling?
To help bypass ISP throttling, make sure you look over your internet plan. If you have a data cap, try switching to an unlimited data plan. You can also switch to a provider with no data caps. If you notice your internet speeds slowing during peak hours, you can upgrade to a faster plan or try to change your internet usage to off-peak hours.
If you know network traffic picks up at about 8 or 9 p.m. on a Saturday, you may want to save your major downloads for a different time. In addition, if you can’t afford more expensive premiums, you can reduce the amount of data you use to save speed for the end of your pay cycle.
Once you’ve done these things, if you still are experiencing slow internet, you may want to contact your service provider to find out if there are any physical issues before you proceed. You may also want to check that you have completed all your modem and router firmware updates.
Slow speeds can sometimes be an indication of outdated firmware. Some people also choose to use a proxy server to bypass ISP throttling. However, although a proxy server can be used for added internet privacy, their speeds are much slower than a VPN because they cannot handle as much internet traffic.
Otherwise, you can mitigate this entire dilemma by getting a VPN. Many people are switching to VPNs not just for more security and privacy, but also to increase their internet speed.
Will a VPN Stop ISP Throttling?
A VPN protects you online and helps you to achieve higher internet speeds by improving your bandwidth. When you connect to a VPN server, you are routing your DNS requests to that server. An encryption tunnel protects your request by scrambling your data.
This prevents spying because even if your ISP tries to see what you are doing on the internet, the data will appear gibberish. This hides your IP address, so when you navigate online, it looks like you are surfing the web from the location of the VPN server.
This befuddles your ISP, making it impossible for them to see what you are doing on the internet. They may be aware you are using a VPN, but they don’t know if you are downloading, playing, games, or streaming movies. Without this knowledge, they cannot selectively throttle your internet.
It is important to note, however, that a VPN service will not prevent your ISP from capping your data.
How to Use a VPN to Stop ISP Throttling
Getting a VPN is relatively easy. Research to find the best VPNs for your specific needs. You’ll want to make sure they are compatible with all your favorite devices. There are VPN providers who support Android, iOS, gaming consoles, Windows, MacOS, and much more.
Then, download the VPN to your device. Most VPN services will help you with the process of installing a VPN on your router, but if you want to do it yourself, check out our step-by-step guide on how to install a VPN on your router. Create and sign into your account. Choose a server location to connect to.
This can be an additional advantage of VPN, by choosing a server in a different country, you can gain access to geo-restricted content. Once you’ve connected, you can feel free to surf the internet without lag time.
Sekur Offers Great VPN
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A single license works for all your devices. Our Swiss IP address will keep you anonymous online. We are a 100% company-owned infrastructure that provides encrypted Swiss-hosted email, VPN, and instant messaging for all your business and personal needs.
We do not data mine and by switching to Sekur, you can free yourself from big tech hosting. Switch to Sekur today to regain your privacy.
Conclusion
ISP throttling is an unfortunate reality in the digital age, but there are ways to improve your internet speeds. A VPN will mask your internet activity from the prying eyes of your internet service provider to keep them from selectively throttling your bandwidth.
There are many benefits to adding a VPN service. A VPN provides you with a more secure connection to the internet so you can feel safe gaming, streaming, or surfing the web on public Wi-Fi. You can also access geo-restricted content by connecting to servers around the world.
If you are tired of slower speeds and your ISP spying on your internet activity, try out a VPN and experience the difference.
