Get Faster Wi-Fi: 4 Essential Steps for Speeding Up Your Internet Connections

March 10, 2023 Floo

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

The pandemic dramatically changed how we work. Logging in at home and spending more time online became the norm. In turn, fast, reliable Wi-Fi became a necessity rather than a mere luxury. Three years later, our home internet connections are still as important as ever.

In fact, a June survey from McKinsey found that 58% of Americans still have the opportunity to work from home at least one day a week. With important team meetings and presentations happening remotely, the last thing anyone wants to have to deal with is a spotty network and a Wi-Fi signal that isn’t up to snuff.

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Fortunately, you’ve got options. Even if you don’t know much about your router’s settings or the best way to change them, there are still some easy steps you can take to ensure your speeds are as fast as possible. Let’s walk through them and see if we can’t speed up things for you. (For better internet, check out our recommendations of the best ISPs, mesh routers and Wi-Fi extenders you can buy.)

1. Run some internet speed tests

If you’re going to make changes to your home network, you’ll want to do so from an informed position. The best way to get there is to run some speed tests to get a good sense of any weak links in your Wi-Fi connection — and there are plenty of free services on the web that’ll help you do just that.

Among your options, the Ookla Speedtest is the most widely used and the one I’d recommend starting with. It features an abundance of worldwide servers, which lets you choose from several nearby options to measure the speed of your connection. And, like most speed tests, it’s also easy to use — just click the big “go” button and wait about a minute.

From there, you’ll get a look at the current upload and download speeds for whatever device you’re running the speed test on, plus the ping, which is a latency measurement of how long it takes data to travel back and forth to whatever server you’re testing with.

Start by focusing on the download and upload speeds. Run a couple of tests at a time in various spots throughout your home where you’ll be working and ballpark the average to get a sense of how your speeds hold up. If you’re seeing speeds in a room that are less than half of

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Your Wi-Fi Router Is in the Wrong Spot. Here’s Where to Move It for Faster Internet

March 7, 2023 Floo

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

A slow home internet connection can make even the simplest Google search super frustrating. If you find that your Wi-Fi is always unstable, no matter what internet service provider you have or how many devices are connected, what do you do? Sometimes having your router professionally installed might not even solve the immense problem of a slow, weak internet connection. That’s a massive headache if you work from home, if you’re trying to install smart home gadgets, or if you just want to unwind with some Netflix at the end of the day.

The good news is there’s an easy way to optimize your Wi-Fi network and address these issues — and it’ll only take you a few minutes.

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There are a lot of factors that determine internet speeds and while there are a few tricks or guidelines you can follow to improve the overall wireless speeds and coverage in your home, one of the most crucial factors is the location of your router. And the best place is not always where the technician set it up. So keep reading to learn about the best place in your home for your router and other tricks for faster Wi-Fi. You can also check out our picks for the best Wi-Fi routers, the best mesh routers and the best Wi-Fi extenders. (And if you have a mesh router, make sure you check out our guide for where and how to set that up the right way, too.)

Choose the right router for your space

First things first: It all starts with choosing the right router or other equipment. Not all routers are the same and the size and layout of your home will determine what type of wireless network you need.

For most apartments and smaller homes (under 1,500 square feet), a single wireless access point should suffice. That said, if your router is several years old, you may want to consider upgrading to a newer model with support for 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6. That’s the latest generation of Wi-Fi technology, and it’ll give you the fastest wireless speeds possible and the best overall coverage.

For bigger, multilevel homes, it’s worth considering making the upgrade to a mesh network to offer consistent coverage throughout the entire house. Once the main access point is installed, if you find a far corner of your home doesn’t have solid wireless coverage, just add another node to that area. Problem solved.

To learn more, check out our list of the best mesh routers of the year (our top pick is the TP-Link Deco W7200) and if you’re not sure where to begin in choosing your next router, consult our router buying guide.

Regardless of

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Internet in Cuba and the New Fiber Optic Cable

February 19, 2023 Floo

Map of underwater sea cables all-around Cuba. Picture: www.submarinecablemap.com

By DeFacto (El Toque)

HAVANA Situations – An agreement signed concerning Cuba and French company Orange LLC. to set up a submarine communications cable among Cuba and Martinique turned general public news on December 7, 2022.

Seven times just before, the United States Department of Justice had made a advice to the Federal Communications Fee to reject the authorization ask for made by the organizations ARCOS-1 United states Inc. and SurNet Inc., considering the fact that 2018, to connect a fiber optic cable among the US and Cuba.

The worldwide Arimao submarine cable, which commenced to be installed at the Tricontinental Port in Cienfuegos, touched land in Martinique in the French abroad Division on January 10, 2023, according to ETECSA. A branch of the Orange Group, named Orange Marine, is accountable for the specialized do the job.

The Cuban telecommunications organization also introduced that the possibility of “expanding and diversifying international capacity in the deal with of rising desire for Web and broadband services,” are some of the added benefits of putting in the second fiber optic cable to the island, which joins the cable that already exists involving Cuba and Venezuela (which requires its identify from the abbreviation of Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our The united states, ALBA-1).

Industrial relations between ETECSA and Orange LLC. appear at a time when Cubans are complaining about consistent Internet cuts and a slower relationship than usual. Having said that, statements from officials and transient posts on social media never clarify what enhancements will come with the new fiber optic cable. Nor have they provided aspects about operate designs agreed with Orange LLC. The commence day of the providers of this cable contradict one yet another.

What do we know about fiber optic cables in Cuba?

Nearly 99% of complete Web targeted visitors arrives from undersea cables, the authentic “backbone” of world-wide telecommunications. Even though Cuba is located in just one of the places with the best density of submarine fiber optic cables, it has difficulties accessing the World wide web, as most of its connections occur by way of satellites. This prospects to World-wide-web access getting a lot far more high-priced and sluggish. Therefore, information of the settlement with Orange is really critical.

Looking at the map of undersea cables, you can see that 4 fiber optic cables are at this time touching Cuban soil: Arimao (which connects the island to Martinique), ALBA-1, and anoter two that belong to the US Federal government and hook up the Guantanamo Bay Naval Foundation with Florida (GTMO-1) and Puerto Rico (GTMO PR).

Nevertheless, ALBA-1, the 1st fiber optic cable that connected Cuba to Venezuela and Jamaica, is the only a single that offers World-wide-web expert services to Cubans.

In 2007, Cuba and Venezuela announced they would set up a submarine cable which would be ready to multiply the details transmission, which include photos and voice messages, that come and leave from Cuba, in accordance

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Internet Throttling: Your ISP Might Be to Blame for Your Slow Wi-Fi Speeds

January 30, 2023 Floo

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

There are many reasons why your internet could be moving slowly. It might be because of an outdated router or a less-than-ideal router location. You might be able to solve slow speeds with an easy fix, like upgrading to a mesh network (which also has to be set up in the right spot) or simply restarting your modem and router. But if you’ve already attempted many of these tried-and-true methods and your internet speeds are still subpar, the issue might be something your internet service provider is intentionally doing: bandwidth throttling.

Yes, you read that right. Your ISP could be making your Wi-Fi slower on purpose. Because of a 2019 Supreme Court decision in which the court declined to hear an appeal on net neutrality, ISPs can still legally stifle your internet, limiting your broadband if you’re streaming more TV than they want and serving slower connections to websites owned by their competitors.

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One solution to slow Wi-Fi (if it’s caused by internet throttling) is a virtual private network
. Basically, ISPs need to see your IP address to slow down your internet, and a good VPN will shield that identity — though this comes with some limitations and downsides, which I’ll discuss below. We’ll walk you through how to tell if throttling is to blame and, if not, what to do about fixing your crummy Wi-Fi. (You can also learn more about how to get free Wi-Fi anywhere in the world.)

Step 1

First, troubleshoot your slow internet connection

So your Wi-Fi is slow and you think your service provider is throttling your connection. Before you jump to those conclusions, it’s important to run through the usual troubleshooting list: Check that your router is centrally located in your home, reposition its antennas, double-check your network security and so on. If you want to read about more ways to optimize your Wi-Fi, check out our suggestions.

If you’ve run through the laundry list and your Wi-Fi is still chugging slowly, move on to the next step.

Screenshot by David Priest/CNET

Step 2

Test your internet speed

Norton

Step 3

Find a reliable VPN

Screenshot by David Priest/CNET

Step 4

Compare your speed with the VPN

Next, test your internet speed somewhere like Fast.com or Speedtest.net. Compare the results with the same test when your VPN is active. The use of any VPN should cut your speed considerably, so the speed tests should show a discrepancy, with the VPN-active speed being notably slower than the VPN-inactive speed. But a VPN also hides the IP address that providers use to identify you, so if your speed test with the VPN is faster than without the VPN, that may mean your ISP is

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Slow Wi-Fi? Your ISP Could Be Throttling Your Internet Connection

December 30, 2022 Floo

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

Is your internet suddenly moving slowly? It could be due to an outdated router or a less-than-ideal router location. Your connection issues may need only an easy fix, like upgrading to a mesh network (which also has to be set up in the right spot) or simply restarting your modem and router. But if you’ve already attempted many of the tried-and-true methods and your internet speeds are still subpar, the issue might be something your internet service provider is intentionally doing: bandwidth throttling.

Shopping for a faster internet speed?

We’ll send you the fastest internet options, so you don’t have to find them.

Step 1

First, troubleshoot your slow internet connection

If you’ve run through the laundry list and your Wi-Fi is still chugging slowly, move on to the next step.

Screenshot by David Priest/CNET

Step 2

Test your internet speed

Norton

Step 3

Find a reliable VPN

Screenshot by David Priest/CNET

Step 4

Compare your speed with the VPN

Screenshot by

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Taiwan options for Ukraine-style again-up satellite Internet network amid chance of war

October 10, 2022 Floo

When Russian forces knocked the Ukrainian city of Irpin offline in March, Tesla chief Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite World-wide-web company arrived to the rescue.

In just two days, the town – whose electrical power lines and cellular and Online networks were broken or wrecked – was back again on the net, and people could instantly get in contact with loved ones, according to studies.

Now, Taiwan – ever contending with the risk of a Chinese invasion – is using a leaf out of that handbook by location up a comparable again-up satellite World wide web network.

“The experience of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… showed that the complete world can know what is occurring there in real time,” mentioned Taiwan’s Digital Minister Audrey Tang in new media interviews, conveying ideas to construct “digital resilience for all” in Taiwan.

In excess of the subsequent two decades, the island is set to demo a NT$550 million (S$24.67 million) satellite programme that aims to preserve Taiwan’s command systems operating if typical connections get cut, Ms Tang said.

A number of Taiwan firms are now in conversations with international satellite provider companies, she included, with no giving aspects.

New satellite World wide web products and services these types of as these presented by Starlink depend on a constellation of lower Earth orbit (LEO) satellites orbiting at an altitude of 550km that can beam the Internet into even the most distant areas from space.

Presently, intercontinental Online site visitors is mainly carried via fibre-optic cables lining the ocean flooring.

Taiwan is linked to the earth by means of 15 submarine details cables.

“The Internet made use of in Taiwan relies heavily on undersea cables, so if (attackers) cut off all the cables, they would slash off all of the Internet there,” Dr Lennon Chang, a cyber-safety researcher at Monash College, informed The Straits Situations.

“It tends to make feeling for the authorities to have alternate sorts of interaction ready for emergency cases,” he added.

Taiwan’s satellite demo programme will come amid soaring cross-strait tensions, which attained new heights in modern weeks in the wake of US Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s take a look at to the island in August. China, which views self-governing Taiwan as its own territory, deemed her excursion an infringement of its very own sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Beijing has under no circumstances renounced the use of pressure to convey Taiwan beneath its management, and responded to the visit by launching a collection of unprecedented army exercises, such as the firing of ballistic missiles about the island.

Already, some analysts say that considerations about Taiwan’s community vulnerabilities are very serious.

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