Surprising Factors Affecting Your Internet Speed – Part One

While it’s well-known that your broadband speed is one of the biggest indicators of how fast you are going to be able to browse the web, there are several factors that can stop you from benefitting from your current speeds.  No matter what speed you receive, avoiding the issues below will help you maximize your online experience.

Since there are a lot of factors that affect your Internet speed, we have broken it into three parts: wireless issues, computer issues, and website issues.  Check back soon for parts II and III.

Part I – How your wireless connection can affect your speed

• You are unwittingly providing Internet for your entire neighborhood – If you run wireless Internet in your home without securing your personal network, you run the risk of others using your network.  This additional demand on your connection can significantly reduce the speeds that you receive.

Make sure that you secure your network and use a password that isn’t easy to guess. Even if you think that your neighbors aren’t the kind to steal your connection, it’s still important to take precautions.  With so many devices enabled with wireless capability, including mobile phones and handheld gaming devices, others may not even know that they have jumped onto your network.

• You have more devices online than you know – Handheld and stationary gaming devices, computers and laptops, mobile phones; all of these use wireless Internet connections now and can slow down your overall speed.  When many devices are all getting and sending data over one connection, the total “space” on that connection available for each device shrinks.  So if you are trying to stream a movie and notice it’s buffering a lot, make sure that your connection isn’t getting too many requests.

• Your wireless router or modem is outdated – If your wireless router’s speed is low, then your high-speed Internet isn’t able to provide access to your wireless devices with optimum speed. The new standard for wireless routers is 1 GB.  This will allow you to provide the best connection to your devices.

If your modem is aging, it could also be the problem.  All electronic devices eventually wear down due to issues such as accumulated heat damage.  As your modem wears, it will also have a harder time sending and receiving information and that can significantly slow down your speed.