Have you or your company contracted a "super-fast" internet connection, with enough speed to handle all your work or even for your entire team to work normally, but when you try to send an email with an attachment, access a website urgently, or download a document from the web, the internet doesn't respond quickly enough and leaves you waiting?
This indicates that your internet connection is slow or your network speed is being used to its limit!
We understand the impact that an internet connection has on performance in the workplace. This is especially true when your company invests in a quality connection but fails to benefit from it; instead, network malfunctions become a problem and limit the team's ability to perform their tasks.
Poor internet performance is very common in businesses, and this problem can occur for several reasons, the two main ones being:
- The operator/provider is not delivering the contracted speed;
- There is excessive data consumption by users due to downloading files, accessing videos and radio, social networks , entertainment websites, games, malware infections, among others.
Therefore, checking and monitoring whether the provider is delivering the contracted connection speed is the first step to take. For this, you can use services that test and evaluate internet connection speed.
Below is a list of five services that allow you to check the download and upload speeds your internet provider is delivering:
1 – Fast.com
Fast.com tools for those who want to quickly and easily test their download speed. Created by Netflix, simply access the page and your internet connection will be automatically evaluated, with the results displayed on the screen.
2 – Speedtest.net
Created by the company Ookla, Speedtest.net is the world leader in broadband speed testing. It is the most well-known and widely used service worldwide for monitoring internet speed. With an interface full of animated effects, Speedtest.net provides download speed, upload speed, ping, and the name of the internet service provider. The service is available on the web and also as apps for iOS and Android .
3 – Simet
With the Internet Traffic Measurement System (SIMET) from the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (NIC.br), it is possible to compare connection quality by operator and internet access quality by region. Available on iOS and Android and on the web by installing a plugin in your browser.
4 – brasilbandalarga.com.br
You can also use the website brasilbandalarga.com.br from the Quality Assessment Entity, which was created in compliance with a resolution from Anatel, as part of the process of assessing the quality indicators of telecommunications networks that support access to fixed and mobile broadband internet in Brazil.
5 – Speedcheck
Speedcheck is another option for testing internet speed. The German company has many years of experience in the internet quality and optimization market. In addition to the speed test, the Speedcheck very practical tips for improving your connection.
When testing your network, whether at your business or home, we recommend using at least two of the mentioned tools. This is to compare and validate the results, as it's important that they are equivalent. If the results are not similar, it is recommended to perform the tests again or use other options among the listed tools.
My internet service provided by my ISP is slow. What should I do?
If the reason for your slow internet speed is that your provider is not delivering the contracted speed, contact your provider, report the problem, and demand a solution. According to Brazilian law ( resolutions 574/2011 and 575/2011 ) , providers are required to deliver at least 20% of what you contracted for ; however, this only applies in the case of technical problems, meaning that the customer should be able to enjoy the full speed most of the time.
My internet speed is fine. What should I do?
If the internet connection provided by your provider is at the contracted speed, the slowness may be due to excessive consumption by users within your network. Unfortunately, it is common in corporate networks for a few users to consume practically all internet traffic, downloading files, watching videos, playing online games, among other forms of traffic consumption.
In this case, it becomes a bit more complex to identify the problem and, especially, which users or online services are consuming a lot of traffic and compromising internet performance.
You will need to use a specialized tool or service that allows you to analyze internet usage and generate customized traffic consumption reports. Some network routers have related traffic monitoring features.
An excellent solution for this is Lumiun Box , as it easily identifies how much traffic each device or user on your network is consuming, at what times, and which websites and services are generating this traffic. Furthermore, the solution also allows you to implement content filters in browsing to prevent these users or services from consuming excessive internet bandwidth.
Below are some examples of traffic consumption reports generated in Lumiun Box:
After identifying the equipment and users who are using all of your company's internet speed, it is recommended to educate users about the importance of using the network responsibly. Emphasize that it is a fundamental resource for corporate work and that the entire team depends on good internet performance to carry out their tasks.
Often, excessive traffic on some devices may be caused by a virus that, covertly and without the user's knowledge, continuously makes communication requests on the internet, potentially consuming all available traffic. Monitoring allows for the identification of these infected machines, enabling the problem to be isolated and resolved.
In conjunction with monitoring network traffic usage and consumption, a highly recommended option is to use tools to limit network consumption. For example, defining that a specific user or group of users cannot consume more than 20% of their connection allows you to ensure that departments with a higher internet dependency have this resource guaranteed. Measures like this, combined with efficient internet access management, can guarantee good internet performance and prevent employees from wasting time on websites and services outside their work scope.
If you want to delve deeper into the subject, access the Internet Access Control Guide for Businesses . In the material, you will find a step-by-step guide to better manage connections.
Finally, considering the increasing importance of the Internet in the daily work of companies and professionals, and the negative impact that poor network performance can generate, it becomes almost essential to dedicate some attention to ensuring the proper performance of all the benefits that technology and connectivity can offer to your company.
Until later!
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