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.
Telecom
Glo Felicitates Nigerians on Christmas Celebration
Nigeria’s technology company, Globacom, has extended warm felicitations to Nigerians on the occasion of the 2024 Christmas celebrations.
In a goodwill message released in Lagos, Globacom urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of love and kindness during the festive season, especially in the face of prevailing economic challenges.
The company emphasized the importance of practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the virtues of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor as well.
“Christ taught many virtues including obedience to God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself”, the company said, adding, “Now is the apt time to practise these teachings by sharing with the needy”.
Globacom also encouraged Nigerians to extend the conviviality of Christmas beyond the festive season by fostering love, peace, and harmony, as demonstrated by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Assuring its customers of uninterrupted services throughout the Yuletide period and beyond, Globacom urged them to take advantage of its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the memories of the season with loved ones.
Telecom
FG Gives Banks, Telcos Six-Month Deadline to Resolve N250Bn USSD Debt
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute before January 2, 2025.
The CBN and NCC also directed banks to pay the pre-Application Programming Interfaces (API) debt before July 2, 2025.
They also ordered that post-API debts be settled before December 31, 2024.
The directive was issued in a joint cirular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular dated December 20, 2024, was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, acting director of the Payments System Management Department, CBN, and Chizua Whyte, head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC.
The regulators said, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement.
“Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.
“DMBs must pay 85 per cent of all outstanding invoices issued after the implementation of APIs (i.e., February 2022) by December 31, 2024.
“Similarly, 85 per cent of future invoices must be liquidated within one month of service.”
According to the regulators, the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment conditions cobtained in the circular.
CBN and the NCC said they would provide further guidance on public enlightenment initiatives related to the transition.
The regulators also directed MNOs to implement the “10-seconds rule” for USSD invoicing.
This implies that any session lasting less than ten seconds will not be billable.
The regulators added, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
Telecom
NCC Launches Initiative to Combat Fraud, Spam Messaging
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled a draft regulatory framework aimed at addressing fraud, spam, and other challenges in the Application-to-Person messaging sector.
The telecom regulator made this announcement in a statement.
The proposed framework, which was introduced during a virtual Stakeholders’ Forum, is said to be a key step towards enhancing the sector’s integrity and ensuring a fair, transparent environment for all parties involved.
The draft framework, presented by Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, NCC, who was represented by Chizua Whyte, NCC’s acting head of legal and regulatory services, seeks to regulate the A2P messaging space.
The A2P messaging, used for notifications such as bank alerts, promotional campaigns, and government updates, has become a vital communication tool in Nigeria.
However, the sector faces significant challenges, including consumer protection concerns, fraud, and data privacy issues, as well as an unequal distribution of value within the ecosystem.
“The international A2P messaging space in Nigeria faces gaps that have led to issues such as fraud, spam, and data privacy concerns. These challenges threaten the sustainable growth of this communication tool,” the NCC said.
The proposed framework aims to address these challenges by protecting consumers, promoting fair competition, and holding service providers accountable.
“This forum marks a pivotal step towards addressing these challenges. We are here to engage with all stakeholders—operators, aggregators, businesses, service providers, and consumers—to refine the framework and ensure it meets the needs of the entire ecosystem.”
The NCC stressed the importance of inclusivity and collaboration in creating an effective regulatory environment.
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