How To Tell If Your Data Is Being Throttled

How Can I Tell If My ISP Is Throttling My Internet?

Jan 24, 2022 Share
FAQ, Internet Speed Guides

To determine if your internet service provider (ISP) is throttling your internet connection, plug a estimator into your modem and run our speed test . Later on that, open a virtual private network (VPN) client—we provide a listing of the best VPNs —and rerun the test. If your connection is significantly faster while using the VPN, your Internet service provider is likely throttling your service.

This trick works because ISPs sometimes throttle your speeds when they notice certain types of traffic, like torrenting. However, a VPN encrypts your data and connectedness , then the ISP can't see what you lot're doing online.

Of course, there are reasons for slower speeds other than Internet access provider throttling, like traffic congestion and general connectedness issues . We'll walk you through everything you lot need to know about internet bandwidth throttling to make up one's mind if that is indeed your event .

Click on the button below to test your upload and download speeds.

What is throttling?

Throttling is when your ISP intentionally limits your connection's bandwidth. Providers do this for several reasons, and it usually manifests as a sloth-similar connexion.

Why do ISPs throttle your connection?

ISPs have many reasons for throttling your internet connection . Merely these are the top 4 culprits:

Network congestion
Exceeding data caps
Paid prioritization
Forbidden activity

Network congestion

All ISPs throttle bandwidth to some extent in order to manage network traffic. For example, a single fiber backhaul that serves an entire neighborhood will throttle speeds in club to evenly distribute bandwidth amongst the neighbors who are currently using the internet. When it's done properly, you shouldn't fifty-fifty notice that your speed is existence throttled.

Issues ascend when ISPs discriminate against specific users unnecessarily. For example, in 2010, the US Court of Appeals ruled that Comcast had unfairly targeted peer-to-peer network users when there were much better and more fair ways of managing network traffic.^ane The idea that ISPs shouldn't be able to discriminate against certain kinds of users is one of the core principles of cyberspace neutrality.

Exceeding data caps

Some ISPs limit how much data y'all can send and receive during one billing wheel. They will reduce your bandwidth if your downloads exceed that limit.

Keep in mind that everything you access online requires a download, whether it's just a spider web folio, a mobile app, or streaming video. Moreover, everything you practise requires an upload, too, like requesting access to a website, sending an electronic mail, posting to social media, then on.

All this interaction with the internet uses your monthly information allotment. ISPs usually offer a manner to monitor your information usage through an online portal, so you don't get overboard throughout the month.

Any ISP that enforces a information cap must include that information in your service agreement. And so, if you're experiencing throttling, take a await at your contract or call client service.

Here'southward a list of cyberspace service providers with data caps:

AT&T
Buckeye Broadband
Cable ONE
CenturyLink
Cox
HughesNet
Mediacom
Viasat
Xfinity

A few net providers without data caps are Spectrum, Borderland, and RCN.

Paid priorization

Sometimes ISPs will throttle your speeds, not because of annihilation yous or the people around you are doing, simply because another company paid them to. Paid prioritization, often referred to as an "internet fast lane," allows companies to pay an Isp to prioritize its data over other data on the network. While often framed as benign or necessary, paid prioritization tin lead to several unfortunate scenarios:

An ISP provides its own proprietary streaming service and throttles Netflix, Hulu, and similar services, making them unable to compete.
An Internet service provider wants a specific website to pay for faster load times.
An ISP starts offer a premium "fast lane" for certain popular sites, thereby throttling speeds for everyone who doesn't pay the premium fee in addition to their normal monthly fee.

All of this is skilful for ISP but terrible for consumers. Moreover, paid prioritization used to be illegal until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the cyberspace neutrality laws in 2018.

What is internet neutrality?

Net neutrality is the idea that your ISP shouldn't control what yous tin can and tin't admission on the internet. With cyberspace neutrality, all ISPs must treat lawful net data equally.

The legislation was passed in 2015 in the US to protect net neutrality. Simply those protections were repealed in 2018, leaving command of the internet upward to corporations who greatly benefit from practices that hurt the costless internet and anybody who uses the internet—things like paid prioritization, censorship, and throttling.

In April 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Save the Cyberspace act; nonetheless, the bill never passed the senate.² The new FCC chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, has stated her back up for restoring net neutrality, arguing that it would exist the best movement for the internet economy.^three

We back up cyberspace neutrality considering a free and open internet is imperative to costless voice communication in America.

Contact your senator to support net neutrality.

Forbidden activities

ISPs can throttle internet connections when the client participates in illegal online activities.

How do I stop throttling?

Use a VPN to featherbed Internet service provider throttling. It creates a secure, encrypted tunnel between you and a dedicated server. This server and so decrypts your data and sends it to the destination in plaintext. This data does non include your IP accost or any other information that can link back to y'all.

However, some ISPs may throttle your bandwidth if they detect your VPN (some VPNs tin can ignore this). Be certain that you're using the best VPN for your needs, every bit the incorrect 1 can make your net throttling issues worse.

Data caps

Unfortunately, a VPN won't assist with throttling caused by network congestion or data cap overages. In these cases, your Isp restricts the total amount of bandwidth rather than a specific blazon of data.

If your throttling bug stalk from data cap overages, you have iv options:

Reduce your monthly usage.
Pay for more bandwidth .
Upgrade to a plan with a higher data cap or unlimited data.
Switch to a provider without data caps.

Internet access provider network congestion

If you have cablevision net and y'all feel ho-hum speeds during superlative hours, try one of the following:

Upgrade to a faster plan
Use the net during off-summit hours

For example, try downloading large files betwixt 11:00 p.1000. and 7:00 a.m. when most of your neighbors are asleep. On the flip side, if you lot're simply paying for 100 Mbps and you need more speed, a 400 Mbps plan may be a amend option.

Monitor your download speeds often —specially if you notice continuously slow speeds . Mutter to your Isp if yous don't see speeds anywhere near your plan's advertised bandwidth . You lot may not become the response you want, simply you lot could also hit the jackpot and receive a free upgrade.

Is your ISP too throttle-happy for your liking ? You should look into other options past due east ntering your zip code below .

Other reasons for tiresome cyberspace

Across Internet service provider throttling , there are plenty of reasons for slow cyberspace.

First , cheque the health of your dwelling network if you've already ruled out external factors similar Isp throttling.

Second, your program may not supply enough bandwidth to your household. As we rely on the internet more and more for everything from home security to entertainment, it'southward easy to abound out of the cyberspace program y'all signed upwards for a few years ago.

If y'all're not sure how much bandwidth you lot need, starting time with a speed test. Nosotros'll give y'all a quick, personalized speed recommendation based on how you utilize your connectedness for.

How much speed do y'all need?

Sources

Comcast five. FCC & U.S, 600 F.3d 642, 644 (D.C. Cir. 2010) Apr 6, 2010. Accessed January xix, 2022.
GovTrack, "H.R. 1644 — 116th Congress: Save the Internet Act of 2019," Accessed January xix, 2022.
Ahmad Hathout, Broadband Breakfast, "Rosenworcel Stands Firm on Net Neutrality in Confront of Lawmakers Urging Status Quo," January 4, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2022.

Writer - Rebecca Lee Armstrong

Rebecca Lee Armstrong has more than than six years of experience writing about tech and the internet, with a specialty in hands-on testing. She started writing tech product and service reviews while finishing her BFA in creative writing at the University of Evansville and has found her niche writing about home networking, routers, and internet access at HighSpeedInternet.com. Her work has also been featured on Top Ten Reviews, MacSources, Windows Cardinal, Android Central, Best Company, TechnoFAQ, and iMore.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital space for seven years, and she's edited all things cyberspace for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English language and a minor in editing from Brigham Young University. When she'due south non editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in net land and that a skillful internet connection significantly extends your life span.