Telecom
A Guide to Boosting Your Broadband Speed
A lot turns on the strength of your broadband speed.
If you’re a business, the strength of your broadband determines how quickly you’re able to download and transfer files, how long it takes to process data, and the quality of your communication with your clients.
Faster connections will allow your team to carry out tasks efficiently, and guarantee smoother customer engagement on your contact channels. Slower connections could affect the pace of work and dampen the quality of your interaction with customers.
Unless you remedy the issues arising from slow broadband, your clients could seek better service elsewhere. This could in turn reduce your sales and shrink your revenues.
If you are struggling with less than optimal broadband speeds, you should find this article useful. Here we’ll note some of the possible causes of your slow internet speed, and present practical steps you can take to fix this problem.
First, let’s answer a few questions about broadband internet, so we get a sense of where we’re headed.
What is Broadband Speed?
Broadband speed refers to how quickly you can upload or download data with your internet connection. It’s measured in megabits per second (Mbps) and kilobits per second (Kbps). These days, we also hear talk of speeds reaching several gigabits per second (Gbps).
A kilobit is a thousand bits; a megabit is a million bits. One gigabit refers to a billion bits.
A bit is the smallest unit of data on your computer.
If your broadband speed is 20 Mbps, this means you’re able to transfer up to 20,000,000 bits of data per second over your internet connection. This is faster than a broadband speed of, say, 20 Kbps, or 20,000 bits per second.
How Fast Should Your Internet Be?
The answer to this question depends on what you’re using your internet for. If you routinely transfer heavy files between computers, you will need much faster broadband than someone who only uses their internet for simple text emails.
Some video streaming services require speeds of at least 5 Mbps. If you’re working with a speed of 50 Mbps, you could download a 2 GB file in about five minutes.
Things that May Be Slowing Down Your Broadband
Many people tend to blame their Internet Service providers (ISPs) for their slow broadband. But it’s not always the ISP’s fault; a lot of other factors could contribute to slower internet connection. Some of them are explained below.
- Quality of Your Hardware: If your cables and router are old, they may cause your broadband to slow down. It’s advisable that you check your connection hardware and replace it with new equipment if they have aged.
- Distance from Network Centralizer: The farther you are from your service provider’s broadband centralizer or access points, the slower your internet is likely to get.
- Obstructions: Network signals could weaken if there are walls or other things standing in its path.
- Spyware and Viruses: Spyware may affect your broadband speeds by interfering with your browser. Computer viruses may also multiply to weigh down computing power, and impede normal functioning.
- Router Location: Routers need to be placed in a central, elevated location, or at least at a point that lets signals travel unimpeded to your computers. When it’s not positioned this way, broadband speeds will be lower.
- Several Devices and Users: Access speeds may drop if there are several users and multiple devices using a single network.
- Heavy or Outdated Applications: Applications that have not been updated can affect internet speeds. They may also slow things down if they use a lot of bandwidth.
- Peak Time: Think about internet traffic as a stream of vehicles on a road. There’s usually more traffic during peak periods, so movement—or internet speeds –could be slower at those times. Peak period for internet connections is usually somewhere between morning and evening. Off peak periods may last between 2 AM and 7 AM, when there are fewer people using the internet.
How to Check Your Broadband Speed
You can find out what how fast or slowly your broadband is working by conducting a broadband speed test. It’s simple and takes just a few steps:
- Link your computer to your router with an Ethernet cable
- Go to your browser
- Search for a speed testing platform (examples include speedtest.net, fast.com, and speedcheck.org).
- Follow the instructions on the site you choose.
Note that the broadband speed displayed may be slightly lower or higher than what your ISP says it provides. This isn’t necessarily a problem. You only have cause to be concerned if the speed test consistently shows results that are much lower than what your ISP claims to be supplying you.
How to Speed Up Your Broadband
You could take these steps to make your broadband faster:
- Protect Your Connection
It might be that your internet connection has no password protection, and other users are linking up to it without your knowledge. As we noted earlier, having multiple users on your connection at once may affect your internet speed. By restricting access with a password, you could reduce the possibility of this happening.
- Change Your Router’s Location
Place your router in a more central location so that it achieves broad coverage. Or just make sure that the paths between it and your computers are not impeded by walls or other obstructions. Ideally, you should put it in an elevated place, like a shelf or high up a wall.
- Close or Remove Bandwidth-Consuming Applications
Some applications could start and run without your knowledge, consuming bandwidth and stifling access speeds. Make sure to shut down these applications, or remove them if they aren’t important to you. You should also delete old files and wipe your browsing history clean to free up space and allow quicker computing.
- Scan Your System with an Antivirus
Combat bandwidth-shrinking malware with up-to-date antivirus. You can set your antivirus to scan your systems for spyware or viruses on a regular basis.
- Change Your Service Provider
If other measures don’t help, the problem may well be from your service provider. In this case you will have to try some other ISP and see if they can offer you a faster connection.
Get Fast, Reliable Broadband for Your Business
If you’re looking to solve your issues with broadband speed, you can speak to the experts at Layer3. They will assess your needs and recommend changes besides the few mentioned here.
Layer3 also provides secure, stable and fast broadband service. Its broadband package guarantees low latency to the internet, routable IP addresses, and multiple connections to the internet backbone via submarine cables. It’s exactly what your business needs to maintain a high standard for its operations.
Find out how these features can benefit your organization. Get in touch with the Layer3 team and request a demo today.
Anambra State Government has begun a crackdown on illegal Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating across the state, citing concerns over data breaches, poor service quality, and environmental defacement.
The enforcement, led by the Anambra State Physical Planning Board (ANSPPB) and the Anambra State ICT Agency, follows numerous complaints about unauthorized road excavations and the indiscriminate erection of poles, which deface infrastructure.
Investigations revealed that several ISPs were operating without approval or submitting deployment plans, a violation of regulations governing telecommunications infrastructure.
Authorities stress that the objective is not exclusion but compliance, ensuring only registered ISPs approved by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) operate in the state.
Residents are urged to report unlicensed ISP activities via the dedicated hotline 02014143039.
Speaking on the development, Barr. Chike Maduekwe, Executive Chairman of ANSPPB, said: “This isn’t about shutting anyone out but about ensuring everyone follows the right process. If you want to offer internet services in Anambra, go through the proper channels. We will support those who comply, but we will not tolerate shortcuts.”
Similarly, Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata (CFA), Managing Director/CEO of the Anambra State ICT Agency, emphasized: “The internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Governor Soludo has implemented a zero right of way policy to encourage players, but the first step for any ISP must be regulatory approval. The people of Anambra deserve services from providers they can trust.”
The Anambra State Government remains committed to fostering a safe, fair, and well-regulated digital landscape where residents can enjoy secure, high-quality internet services without fear of exploitation.
The enforcement drive signals a new era of accountability in the state’s fast-growing digital space.
In a significant step towards enhancing online safety for teenagers, Meta is proud to announce the launch of Teen Accounts on Instagram in Nigeria. This initiative is part of Meta’s broader commitment to ensuring safe, private, and positive online experiences for teens across Africa.
As more Nigerian teens join Instagram, it is crucial to prioritise their safety and privacy. Parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences.
Teen Accounts were designed to better support parents and give them peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place. Teen Accounts have built-in protections that limit who can contact them and the content they see, and we’ll automatically place teens in Nigeria into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.
Key protections offered with Teen Accounts include:
Private Accounts: Teen accounts are set to private by default and teens under 16 can only change this setting with parental guidance.
Messaging Restrictions: Teens can only receive messages from people they are already connected to.
Sensitive Content Control: Teen Accounts are automatically set to see less sensitive content in search results and recommended content in Explore, Feed and Reels.
Limited Interactions: Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, and the strictest anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, is enabled by default.
Time Limit Reminders: Notifications prompt teens to exit the app after 60 minutes of daily usage.
Sleep Mode: Enabled from 10 PM to 7 AM, this feature mutes notifications and sends automatic replies to DMs overnight.
“We’re excited to bring these features to Nigeria and help families navigate online spaces safely. Teen Accounts are designed to give parents peace of mind, allowing teens to connect with friends and explore interests without worrying about unsafe experiences,” said Sylvia Musalagani, Safety Policy Manager, Africa, Middle East & Turkey (AMET) at Meta.
Since Meta started reimagining its apps for teens with Teen Accounts globally in September 2024, Meta has enrolled 54 million teens into Teen Accounts on Instagram, with 97% of those aged 13–15 remaining within the strict default protective settings.
While Teen Accounts come with built‑in safety protections, Meta understands many parents want to take a more active role in their teens’ online experiences. With the enhanced supervision tools, parents can:
See who their teen has interacted with: While message content remains private, parents can now view a list of people their teen has messaged over the past seven days.
Set daily time limits on Instagram: Parents can decide how long their teen can spend on the app each day. Once the limit is reached, Instagram will be inaccessible for the rest of the day.
Schedule downtime from Instagram: Parents can block access to Instagram during specific hours, like bedtime, with just a tap.
View the topics their teen is exploring: Parents can see which age-appropriate interest areas their teen is choosing to follow and engage with.
“Meta’s new policy aligns with several core priorities outlined in NITDA’s strategic roadmap, particularly concerning data privacy and protection for minors, now under the purview of the Nigerian Data Protection Commission, and child online protection and digital well-being, which we have collaboratively addressed with our sister agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission.
“NITDA has been a strong advocate for child online protection through various initiatives, including national strategies and proposed legislation, such as the Online Harms Protection Bill, which addresses age verification and parental controls.
“This policy reinforces the need for age-appropriate online experiences and promotes digital well-being.” commented, Barr. Emmanuel Edet – Director Regulations and Compliance Department, NITDA
To mark the launch, Meta hosted an exclusive event where parents, content creators, policy stakeholders, media and teens could engage on the available safety features and tools.
Meta remains committed to developing tools, resources and partnerships that protect teens and foster safer online experiences for families in Nigeria.
For more information about Teen Accounts and updates to parental supervision tools, visit here
Telecommunication companies have threatened to withdraw their Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD), services from banks over what they called misinformation.
MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom and 9Mobile- the telcos disclosed that the banks’ notice to their customers on the new billing system and airtime deductions for USSD services was misleading.
Also, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) also denied that the directive was from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
USSD is done via shortcodes on mobile phones and allows bank customers to make transactions in places with limited or no internet service.
Recall that banks earlier this week claimed that NCC has directed them to begin charging them from their airtime rather than from customers’ accounts.
The notice from the banks read in part: “In line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), please be informed that effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account.
“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.
“Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of ?6.98 per 120 seconds, which will be billed by your mobile network operator.
“You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfil this service.
“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel.”
Reacting, ALTON, umbrella body of telecom operators in Nigeria, said the banks’ notice is a gross misinformation deliberately hatched to suit their selfish interests.
Hence they threatened to withdraw network support to the banks’ USSD services.
Engr Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON told Vanguard: ” I don’t understand why the banks are twisting agreements and distorting information just to favour their selfish interests. In the first place, the information wasn’t a directive from the NCC but a joint regulatory agreement between the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN witnessed by the telcos and the banks. The agreement was that if the banks finally cleared all USSD debts owed to the telcos by June 2, 2025, they are free to migrate to the end-user billing method, so long as the model of migration is transparent and agreed upon by the telcos.
“The reason for that clause was because the telcos insisted that the process of migration is such that will not allow a customer to be billed twice; in other words, that a subscriber would not have his airtime deducted and also have his or her money deducted for same services from his or her bank account.
” As we speak, some of the banks have cleared their debts, but the majority are yet to do so. So, even if all the modalities of migrating to end-user billing have been perfectly carried out, the implementation cannot even begin because the banks are yet to clear the USSD debt owed to the telcos.
“Our position now is that if that is the way the banks want to treat the agreement, we may withdraw support for their USSD services. It is not a must-have. They can do without it. But, they should clear the debts as agreed,” he added.
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