Is your internet slow, files are not coming through, or is your image stuttering during streaming? Then you probably suffer from network congestion. How does something like this come about, and more importantly, how do you solve it? Our tech knows what to do.
The word congestion means accumulation and is often used in medical terms or in traffic congestion. If you see the internet as a highway over which data races back and forth, you understand that you do not want traffic jams to arise and the data to accumulate, as it were. With network congestion, too many transfers go over the internet at the same time, and a kind of traffic jam is created on the digital highway.
Everything you do on the internet is broken down into packets of data that are sent back and forth along the most efficient routes to reach their destination. The receiving computer then reassembles the packets into, for example, an e-mail, video, or web page. Normally this happens very quickly without you as a user noticing it.
Not enough bandwidth
Depending on the internet subscription you have taken out from your internet provider, you have a certain bandwidth that determines the number of jobs on the digital road. When all that bandwidth is used at once, the data packets take longer to get to and from their destination, slowing down your connection.
For example, if the whole family is working at home and in the meantime, videos are being streamed, and Fortnite is being played, you can certainly notice that on your internet speed.
Other reasons for network congestion
It’s not just overload that can lead to congestion. You may be using an old modem or router, or your equipment may not be set up properly. If you have equipment from your provider, you can contact them to ask whether everything is new enough and correctly configured.
There is also a chance that you have fallen prey to an outside cyber-attack. An attacker may host and transmit data on your computer over the network, putting a strain on your network. Viruses or DDoS attacks can also play a role.
This is how you make the internet fast again
If you have the idea that your internet is suddenly a lot slower or if files do not arrive even though you actually sent them, you should test your internet speed.
Another option to overcome delays is to connect devices such as game consoles, media players, and desktop PCs directly to your router with an Ethernet cable, which still provides the fastest and most stable connection.
