Preparing Your Home Internet for Increased Demand
The kids are out of school for the summer, which means your internet usage is about to increase. Unfortunately, along with the increased demand, streaming picture quality and overall reliability often decline, frequently turning what should be a relaxing evening into a frustrating experience.
Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to improve your internet connection and performance, even during the summer’s high demand.
Tip #1: Upgrade to Fiber Internet
The single best thing you can do to improve your internet speed and connection is to upgrade to fiber internet. A technological wonder, fiber internet utilizes fiber-optic cables composed of ultra-thin, tiny strands of glass and other materials that transmit internet data near the speed of light.
As a result, fiber internet’s speeds exceed cable internet, which uses older technology and copper-based materials that cannot compete with fiber’s highest speeds.
Tip #2: Select the Bandwidth to Meet Your Family’s Needs
Once you’ve upgraded to fiber, talk to our customer support specialists about which level of broadband you need. If you have multiple people in your home, you’ll need a plan that offers enough bandwidth for the whole family to use it simultaneously.
Tip #3: Consider Whole-Home Coverage
Now that you have a perfect fiber internet plan for your needs, you should consider whole-home Wi-Fi coverage. You can use Wi-Fi extenders and other technology to extend the Wi-Fi throughout your house—even in harder-to-reach rooms upstairs or even on your back porch.
With the right setup, you may even get a strong enough Wi-Fi signal in your backyard for outdoor movie nights!
Tip #4: Optimize the Position of Your Wi-Fi Router
Obstructions like too many walls and windows can interfere with and weaken the Wi-Fi signal and reduce streaming quality as it disperses through your home.
The simplest way to assess your Wi-Fi router’s placement is to run speed tests throughout your home. Speed tests let you experiment with your Wi-Fi router’s position—and making even minor adjustments, like elevating the router or separating it away from other electronic devices, can make a significant difference in streaming performance.
Tip #5: Utilize Parental Controls
Finally, don’t forget about parental controls! This is much more than limiting or even policing content your kids may use. Parental controls let you prevent your children from using online devices during certain times of day or night, which both reduce their screen time and increases the amount of bandwidth for you to enjoy
