For Starters
Let’s look at the facts, 51% of the world’s population is online. The majority of these connections are made with mobile devices. The internet has become an integral part of our lives and in the B.V.I. almost every household has access to the internet in one form or another. Internet access in the B.V.I. is mainly used for entertainment, research and communication. The cost of internet services however is the biggest barrier that keep people offline. Today we are going to discuss ways that internet users can have a better internet experience. We’re going to also clear up some of the myths around increasing the quality and speed of internet access and discuss Information Technology from a home computing perspective and a general view.
Know What You’re Getting Into
The B.V.I. is serviced by three Internet Service Providers, who shall remain nameless. In the form of the mobile operators on the islands, each provider offers different products and different services. The delivery modes of these services differ but largely revolve around mobile technology with fiber connectivity being the fastest and LTE modems (internet boxes) being the most popular. Almost all of the providers give you a Wi-Fi capable modem, router or LTE modem. The speed of the internet service really depends on the capabilities of the service provider. Providers break down their services by the amount of data a customer can use (e.g. data bundles or unlimited subscriptions) and also the internet speed measured in megabits per second (mbps). Now that we know this, when signing up with a provider it is important that you are aware of the capabilities of their service. Having unlimited internet data does not mean you have the fastest internet speed. You might have a connection of unlimited data with 4mbps of speed but it does not compare to a limited 200 gigabyte (GB) of data connection that is not "throttled” when it comes to speed, meaning there is no restriction on the speed of the connection. You have to know what you’re getting with both, data (GB) and speed (mbps).
All Wi-Fi is Not the Same
Now let’s talk about the different ways people connect to their internet service. Wi-Fi access is the most popular way people connect devices to use the internet in the BVI. Once you get a Wi-fi device (router or modem), the type of the device you get can also impact the quality of the internet you experience. Wi-Fi modems and routers have different speeds that they offer to the devices connected to them. Though these speeds are theoretical, they are significant. The two newer main Wi-fi standards are, brace yourself, 802.11n ( N Wi-Fi) and 802.11ac (AC Wi-Fi) which have evolved from the older standards a, b and g. AC Wi-fi is the fastest offering theoretic speeds of 1300mbps. In essence, you get a better internet experience via Wi-fi on an AC Wi-fi device. What all that tech talk means is that after getting your device from your service provide, if you want a high speed Wi-Fi network in your house, you might want to invest in an AC Wi-Fi access point or AC Wi-Fi router.
Know What Hurts and What Helps
The majority of Wi-Fi routers and modems can only really handle about 16 devices being connected at the same time, with a few handling a maximum of 32 devices. In a household with about 6 users with laptops, tablets and phones, it is very easy to reach this cap and start having a hard time connecting some devices to your Wi-Fi network. The greater the number of devices connected to a Wi-Fi network, the greater the degradation of the internet speed. So, sometimes, the fact that you are not getting the speeds that you expect might not be your provider’s fault. Some issues might have more to do with the capability of the modem or router handling the simultaneous connections. To get around this, it is wise to invest in an access point or a robust wireless router which will take away the role of wi-fi connectivity from your internet box or modem. These devices are built to ensure quality Wi-Fi connectivity and can be customized with extra features that might not be available on modems and internet boxes. One feature, for example, is the ability to perform URL filtering which blocks access to certain websites either by name, category or key words. These extra features could be very helpful, especially if you have children actively using the internet.
In the next blog we will discuss other methods of connecting to the internet and extending the range of the wireless network in your house. Make sure to follow our page to keep up with our posts. Don’t settle for less when there are solutions to improve your internet access. Infinite Solutions has the tools and technicians to help you find the best options for your internet access. Leave a comment on this post and let us know what you think. If you learned anything from this post like it and share it with your friends.
