Is Your ISP Throttling Your Internet Connection? How to Detect and Prevent Unfair Slowdowns

ByBruce Schneier

Internet throttling is one of the most frustrating things you can experience online. You‘re paying good money for a certain internet speed, but your ISP deliberately slows down your connection to control congestion, push you to upgrade to a pricier plan, or charge companies for "fast lanes."

Data collected by Measurement Lab foundthat ISPs throttle streaming video services like YouTube and Netflix over 65% of the time. The FCC receives hundreds of complaints about throttling every year. With the repeal of federal net neutrality protections in 2018, ISPs now have free rein to discriminate against certain types of internet traffic. Throttling is not just annoying – it‘s a growing threat to the open internet.

As a cyber security expert who has monitored networks for over a decade, I‘ve seen ISPs become increasingly sophisticated at throttling connections while evading detection. They use invasive techniques like deep packet inspection to look inside your internet traffic and identify specific activities to throttle, like streaming or gaming.

Fortunately, there are still ways to prevent throttling and keep your ISP‘s prying eyes out of your business. With the right tools and techniques, you can stop throttling in its tracks and get the speeds you pay for. Here‘s what you need to know.

How to Detect If Your ISP is Throttling Your Connection

The first step to stopping throttling is confirming your ISP is actually doing it. ISPs are required to disclose if they limit speeds for certain activities, but the details are often buried in the fine print of a contract or hidden behind confusing terminology.

The most reliable way to detect throttling is to run internet speed tests with and without a virtual private network (VPN) active:

  1. Run a speed test without a VPN and record your download and upload speeds. I recommend using Measurement Lab‘s speed test or Ookla‘s Speedtest.net.

  2. Activate your VPN and connect to a nearby server. (More on choosing a good VPN later.)

  3. Run the speed test again and compare the results.

If your speeds are significantly faster with the VPN active, you have strong evidence your ISP is throttling your regular internet traffic. A 2017 study from Northeastern University found that using a VPN improved throttled speeds by an average of 65%. In my professional experience, I‘ve seen speed improvements of over 90% for heavily throttled connections.

Why do speeds improve with a VPN? When your VPN is active, it encrypts all of your internet traffic before it leaves your device. Your ISP can see that you‘re using a VPN, but not what sites you‘re visiting or what services you‘re using. Since they can‘t selectively throttle certain activities, they have to treat all your traffic equally.

Keep in mind that all VPNs will slightly slow your connection due to the overhead from encryption. But throttling is often so severe that even with this extra step, VPN speeds are still better than throttled speeds. If the slowdown is greater than 10-15%, you may need to try a faster VPN or one with more servers in your area.

Other signs that you‘re being throttled include:

  • Certain websites, especially video streaming sites, loading slowly or timing out
  • Videos frequently buffering and playing at low resolutions, even on a fast connection
  • Web pages taking much longer than normal to load
  • Speeds being extra slow at peak usage times like evenings and weekends

If you consistently see these symptoms along with better speeds when connected to a VPN, you can be confident your ISP is throttling your internet connection.

How to Stop Your ISP from Throttling Your Internet

Now that you‘ve confirmed you‘re being throttled, how do you make it stop? Here are the five most effective techniques I‘ve found for preventing ISPs from messing with your internet speeds:

1. Use a trustworthy VPN

Using a high-quality VPN consistently is the best way to prevent your ISP from throttling your speeds. Look for a VPN that offers:

  • Widespread network of fast servers, including many in your country
  • Strict no-logging policy to prevent recording of your internet activity
  • Strong encryption standards like AES-256 to secure your data from snooping
  • Unlimited bandwidth and data so you can browse and stream as much as you want
  • Transparent privacy policy that explains what data they collect and how they use it
  • Easy-to-use apps for all your devices

Based on my testing, I recommend the following VPNs for their combination of speed, security, and user-friendliness:

  • ExpressVPN – Fastest speeds, 3000+ servers in 94 countries, unbeatable security and privacy
  • NordVPN – Excellent security, strict no-logs policy, fast speeds, 5500+ servers worldwide
  • Surfshark – Best value with unlimited devices, fast speeds, CleanWeb ad and malware blocker

A good VPN will cost you a few bucks a month, but it‘s worth it for the peace of mind and unthrottled speeds. Many also include extra security features like malware blocking and tracker prevention.

2. Use a proxy server for specific apps

Like a VPN, a proxy acts as a middleman between your device and the internet. It routes your traffic through a different server, making it seem like it‘s coming from a different IP address and encrypting its contents.

The main difference is that most proxy servers only work on an app-by-app basis. You typically set them up in your browser or torrent client settings, and they only route traffic from that app. VPNs protect all the internet traffic on your device, no matter which app it comes from.

Proxies can still be useful for preventing throttling, especially if your ISP only slows down a few specific sites or services. By routing that traffic through a proxy, you can disguise it and get around throttling. Some internet services also blockor throttle traffic they detect coming from a VPN, so a proxy can be a good backup option.

However, proxies tend to be slower than VPNs due to less advanced encryption, and they offer less comprehensive protection from snooping ISPs. Stick to reputable proxy services and avoid free ones, which can steal your data or inject ads.

3. Watch your data usage and avoid caps

Many ISPs enforce monthly data caps and throttle your speeds once you exceed the limit. They‘re usually not hard caps – your internet won‘t get cut off completely, but speeds will slow to a crawl.

Data caps are more common on mobile plans but are increasingly showing up on home internet plans as well. In the U.S., over 217 internet plans analyzed by Consumer Reports had caps ranging from 5 GB to 1 TB per month.

To avoid hitting these caps and experiencing throttling, keep a close eye on your data usage:

  • Log into your ISP account to see your current data usage and how much you have left for the month
  • Use your operating system‘s built-in tools to monitor how much data each app uses
  • Set mobile apps to "data saver" mode and limit background refreshing
  • Connect your smartphone to WiFi instead of cellular data whenever possible
  • Stream videos in SD instead of HD quality
  • Set your devices to update software and back up files overnight instead of during the day

It‘s also worth checking if your ISP offers an unlimited data plan or add-on data packages you can use to avoid overages. But beware of plans that claim to be "unlimited" but really have restrictions in the fine print, like throttling after a certain amount of high-speed data.

4. Schedule downloads for off-peak hours

During periods of peak internet usage, ISPs often throttle connections to ease congestion on their networks. Peak hours are typically weekday evenings (6-11 p.m.) and weekend afternoons when everyone is home streaming, gaming, and browsing.

If you can, schedule bandwidth-intensive activities for off-peak times. Large file downloads, HD video streams, and big software updates will often go faster and be less likely to be throttled if you start them late at night or early in the morning.

Most operating systems let you schedule software updates to run overnight so they don‘t interfere with your daytime connection. Streaming services like Netflix also let you download videos to your device over WiFi so you can watch them offline later. Taking advantage of these scheduling options can significantly reduce your bandwidth usage during peak hours and the likelihood of getting throttled.

5. Switch to a different internet provider

If you‘ve tried every trick in the book and your ISP still throttles your connection, it may be time to take your business elsewhere. When shopping for a new ISP, ask these questions to gauge their throttling practices:

  • Do you throttle any types of content, like streaming video or file-sharing traffic?
  • What are your monthly data caps, if any? What happens if I exceed them?
  • How do you manage network congestion during peak hours?
  • Can I get a plan without data caps or throttling?

Be sure to read the fine print of your contract for details on an ISP‘s network management practices. If they‘re vague or confusing, that‘s a red flag. The FCC requires ISPs to publicly disclose how they handle congestion and throttling, so you can also search provider names on the FCC‘s website for their official statements.

Of course, switching providers isn‘t always possible, especially if you live in an area with limited ISP options. In that case, it‘s worth calling your current ISP and seeing if you can negotiate a better plan without data caps or throttling. Tell them you‘re considering canceling because of throttling issues and see what they can offer. It‘s often cheaper for them to keep you as a customer than lose you to a competitor.

The Growing Threat of ISP Throttling

ISP throttling is a widespread problem that affects millions of internet users every day. It prevents you from making full use of the internet connection you pay good money for. Even worse, it gives ISPs dangerous control over which sites and services you can access.

Since the repeal of net neutrality protections, ISPs have been rapidly expanding their throttling practices. A 2019 study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Stony Brook University found that the four largest U.S. cellular carriers aggressively throttle video streaming services like YouTube and Netflix:

Wireless Throttling Stats
Source: Northeastern University / University of Massachusetts Amherst

The same carriers admit to a variety of other throttling practices:

  • Verizon throttles heaviest data users and video streaming, even on unlimited plans
  • AT&T throttles data speeds after 22 GB on unlimited plan and lowers video quality
  • T-Mobile throttles video traffic to 1.5 Mbps and hotspot traffic to 600 Kbps
  • Sprint throttles speeds after 50 GB for mobile hotspot data

Without net neutrality rules, ISPs can legally throttle any type of traffic they want, as long as they disclose it somewhere in their terms of service. In the most egregious cases, they could theoretically throttle or block content from competitors (e.g. AT&T slowing Netflix streams to push customers to its ownstreaming service).

This is a dangerous precedent that gives ISPs far too much power over the content and services you can access online. In a country with limited ISP competition, many consumers don‘t have the option to switch if their ISP starts throttling sites and services they rely on.

Widespread throttling ultimately stifles innovation and makes the internet less open and free. Startups and small businesses can‘t compete if their sites and apps load slowly. Content creators and streamers can‘t find audiences if their videos buffer constantly. Throttling is part of a troubling trend of ISPs becoming "gatekeepers" that get to decide winners and losers online.

That‘s why using anti-throttling tools like VPNs and proxies is so important. They put control back in the hands of internet users and limit the power ISPs have to discriminate against certain types of traffic. To truly solve net neutrality, the U.S. needs to restore the protections the FCC repealed in 2018. But until that happens, it‘s up to users to fight back against unfair and invasive throttling practices.

Sources

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

You May Like to Read,

Similar Posts