Here are some of the things you should consider when checking your broadband performance. You should think about things both inside and outside your house that could be affecting your internet speed. There could be several factors causing your internet to slow down.

Test

Take the internet speed test - https://www.chorus.co.nz/speed-test. Check that your internet speed needs improving in the first place, it might already be fast enough, but if it isn’t or you are experiencing slow-down when you need it most, then you can check some of the following things and see if changing/fixing these helps improve your broadband performance.

Hardware

• Newer modems work better than old ones.
• Put the modem higher up.
• Ensure that the modem is central to your living areas and places you will be connected to the WIFI.
• Place the modem in a place away from other appliances that might cause electrical interference and in places that don’t have thick walls nearby.
• Old devices using old WIFI standards can slow your performance.
• Check that you have a WIFI router with WAN connectivity.
• Upgrade the WIFI router connected to your modem as older routers have limited capacity.
• Even an extension cable can reduce the speed of your broadband connection – use a single short cable. 

Environment

• Your WIFI sends a signal on a certain channel, which can be disrupted when someone nearby (i.e. a neighbour), is on the same channel. You can change channels using the admins panel on your router or set it to auto and reboot.
• WIFI signals are affected by concrete walls and metal surfaces.
• Other electronic devices (i.e. a baby monitor or Bluetooth enabled devices) also can disrupt the signal.
• Consider purchasing a WIFI extender to place in your home and connect spots that have weak access to the WIFI signal.

Connection

• Cable, Wireless, ADSL, VDSL and Fibre are the types of connection available to internet users in New Zealand – you can check to see what options are available to you using the NZ Broadband Map.
• Watching videos, playing online games or downloading files uses a lot of bandwidth, so anyone else on the network will see their speed of use drop as a result.
• Data caps mean that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will start limiting your usage once you reach a certain threshold. Consider getting an unlimited plan if you consistently reach your data cap or your internet speeds are constantly limited. Speeds being limited due to a data cap being reached is known as ‘bandwidth throttling’.
• Websites that are hosted overseas will load slower than those sites that are hosted locally.
   

About us

What is TDR and what do we do?
TDR stands for ‘Telecommunications Dispute Resolution’ a free and independent service that helps consumers manage complaints about any product or service from their telecommunications provider. We resolve complaints about landline, mobile and internet issues.

Why are we sharing this?
We decided to do a blog to inform people about the trending topics happening in the telecommunications industry, as well as sharing our knowledge of disputes in the sector.