Boost Your Broadband Speed
To achieve lightning fast broadband speeds there are many different things you can do both in your home and on your computer.
A good first step in the quest towards speeding up your broadband is to speak to your internet service provider (ISP) to check everything is a-ok with your line. When speaking to your ISP you may want to ask what the ratio speed is. Most ISPs supply home broadband at a 50:1 contention ratio which denotes the number of people sharing the connection. The more people sharing the connection then the slower your service will be so this could be contributing to slower speeds.
If your internet package is capped then your ISP may slow down your connection speed if you exceed the set limit. Again, when speaking to your ISP you could check this point and if you have capped broadband then find out about subscribing to an unlimited service.
When it comes to your computer or laptop, have a look at the browser settings.
If you have recently switched ISP or upgraded from dial-up then your computer may still be running on the previous settings and this can interfere with your new connection, even causing it to slow down. On most computers you can check you are using the correct settings by opening Internet Explorer, navigating to the ‘Tools’ tab and then selecting ‘Internet Options’. Click on the ‘Connections’ tab, make sure ‘Never dial a connection’ is selected and then click ‘OK’. Of course, this will be different depending on which browser your computer uses.
If you use wireless broadband then you must ensure your connection is password protected. Without a password, anyone in the vicinity can use your connection to surf the internet and this will slow down connection speed significantly as well as pose a potential security risk.
Password protecting your wireless connection should be straightforward and you can usually check the documentation for your wireless router to find out how to do this.
Computer viruses can be a common culprit when it comes to slow internet connection speeds. A preventative measure you can take is to use anti-virus software and activate your firewall to prevent infection.
There is also plenty you can do in and around your home to speed up your existing internet connection. Simply ensuring there are no electrical devices that could be interfering with your connection can make all the difference. Keep your router and wiring well away from mains power cables and limit the number of electrical devices near your broadband connection.
The quality of your cables and router can make a difference to the speeds you are receiving. High capacity cables and routers can help you enjoy super fast broadband speeds so if you think your hardware is slowing you down then start shopping around for replacements.