January 18, 2021
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6Is Spectrum Throttling the Internet?
Let’s imagine: your long-awaited weekend is finally coming. You plan to kick back and watch some cool movies and series on Netflix. You’ve got a pile of snacks and drinks ready for the perfect relaxing weekend. You turn on your TV in 4K HDR…
But something goes wrong.
Your entertainment can also be ruined when your favorite site gets banned, like the situation with TamilRockers. If you want to use this site for watching movies, you can read our article and follow the instruction.
Instead of the download speed you need, you find much lower numbers that don’t match your chosen Spectrum internet package. How did this happen? Is it a fault in the network? Or is it that your device is not so new anymore?
Wait, though. Half of the desired movie seems to have loaded. But again, the speed just dropped from 56 Mbps to 11!
The fairy tale is over! Welcome to the amazing and unpredictable world of internet throttling.
Today, we’ll tell you why your internet connection is too slow, how to check out its speed, and what to do to prevent this internet Spectrum throttling or other service providers.
Holidays are coming! So, did you buy any gift cards? We’ve prepared an interesting article about gift card security.
What is throttling?
Throttling slows user’s online connection speed. Typically, such a method of internet slowdown is used for avoiding network paralysis.
As you know, any network includes servers and clients. A server is a computer that stores all the necessary information about users and their data. A client is a separate computer that communicates with the server to receive and transmit the necessary information.
In the context of an internet connection, a server is a machine that serves web pages and delivers online content, including videos, audio, and photos. Then, the client can access these resources and complete the internet equation.
Each internet network uses certain bandwidth restrictions. The more traffic in the network, the slower the network will load data to clients. This process can be compared to a giant traffic jam in a major city during rush hour.
For connectivity, internet service providers use a WAN to serve their customers. In other words, all small networks are connected to the same global network — the internet. After the client successfully connects to the chosen network via his provider, he can get access to the stored data within the internet.
There are 4 main types of network. You can read all about each of them in this article.
However, during a “traffic jam” on the internet, internet service providers can limit the bandwidth for users to avoid network congestion.
This process is not dangerous or bad. On the contrary, it helps to avoid network crashes. Nevertheless, it provides users with a slow internet connection.
Do you know your Wi-Fi network security key? In this article we tell you how to find and change it.
Is internet throttling legal?
In fact, yes, it is legal. In most cases, the reason for limiting the data transfer rate are related to exceeding the data transfer plan. However, the Internet service provider must always notify the client of this response.
It is worth noting that no law regulates this rule. Therefore, many internet service providers abuse it and do not notify customers of bandwidth restrictions.
Is Spectrum throttling the internet?
Spectrum is one of the most popular and rapidly growing providers in the USA. Its founder is Charter Communications, with a total customer base of more than 30 million people in 41 states, making it the second largest cable operator in America. However, the experience of using it is two-sided: some users like this provider, while some complain about the low speed.
What can be the real reason for dissatisfaction with the internet speed?
- First, internet providers do not like heavy users who consume a lot of bandwidth every month. After all, many people like to watch popular media services like Netflix, and the content on this service is designed for viewing in 4K. But the reality is, often only 1080 is available. Therefore, having an unlimited internet plan does not guarantee high download speed. You may notice the speed difference after reaching the 100GB limit.
- Second, ISPs don’t like traffic from P2P/BitTorrent connections. This means that if you are a passionate torrent user, you may also face bandwidth throttling.
Is spectrum throttling Internet? Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to prove that Spectrum restricts traffic. After all, this happens only temporarily, in waves. And even if you contact technical support, you will most likely be told that the slowdown is due to network congestion.
Am I being throttled?
The best way to find out if your provider has any restrictions on your internet connection is to run a speed test while watching Netflix.
How can you do this? First, you need to choose one of the online applications designed to test the speed of your internet connection, for example, SpeedTest.NET.
Another working method is to conduct an internet health test. It is designed to test not only the connection speed but also several other indicators.
Plus, all internet users have access to an online tool, Port Scanner, which will help you find out whether blocking your traffic is worth it or not.
How do I stop my ISP throttling?
Once you are sure that your internet provider limits your internet connection’s download speed, you are probably interested in how to avoid connection throttling.
Our team tested several ways that various articles on the internet offered us. We have prepared a list of what can help you and what can’t.
And so, let’s start with the ways that can’t resolve the problem:
- Proxy. They further slow down the internet connection. Therefore, it will be impossible to watch the movie on Netflix in 4K.
- Tor. This service does not differ in speed. Therefore, you can also forget about its help in this matter.
- Free VPNs. As a rule, such VPNs cannot provide 100% reliability and security.
- ShadowSocks. This encryption protocol uses a proxy server, so like any proxy, it slows down the connection speed.
And here is one of the methods that have shown their effectiveness:
- Paid VPNs. Paid VPNs have many different features and perks. Moreover, such services provide a 100% guarantee of the security of each client. Many of these VPNs have free trial periods that you can use to decide whether to buy the paid version or not.
We have compiled a list of such services. You can choose the appropriate one here.
*Lifehack: if you want to use fast and secure internet, use Utopia P2P.
Final word
Today, it is considered that regulating internet traffic is a necessary measure to maintain a stable network. In many ways, such measures are necessary to prevent certain heavy user of entertainment sites and download sites from hogging all the bandwidth.
However, any restrictions can be avoided if you know how.
Don’t forget to use our checklist to ensure your data’s security and privacy on the internet.
You can’t trust anyone! I hate these moments when my Internet is bad. I pay for it and hope for a high download speed. Thank you for telling us about ways to avoid Internet throttling.
Good afternoon, Bailey! Thanks a lot for your feedback! We hope that our tips will help you to get rid of Internet throttling forever.
Hey! This can’t happen! We can’t be so blatantly deceived! I’ve always considered Spectrum one of the best providers. Thank you for telling us the truth about Spectrum throttling. Now I will be more careful and look for an alternative. Could you tell me more about Utopia? Is it really provide users with online security and data privacy?
Good afternoon, Jada! Thank you for reading our blog! Utopia is a decentralized ecosystem that does not track users’ online movement and does not store their data. Registration is anonymous, so no one knows your real name and address. Everything is protected as much as possible with the help of complex encryption. You can read more here https://utopia.fans/tools/whats-better-tor-vs-vpn-vs-utopia/.
Now I can find out if my internet is being artificially slowed down. I didn’t expect this to be possible in 2021. Although, if we take into account all the world events, such as Internet censorship in China or even blocking the Internet in Belarus, we are lucky. Our Internet is just being slowed down.
Good afternoon, Mason! You’re right! We’re the lucky ones. While other countries are grappling with serious problems related to Internet freedom, we are just not using it at full capacity and fighting the Internet throttling.