How to Boost the Speed of Your Broadband Connection

First: Test Your Speed

Use a free online speed tester. Choose one or more of:

1. Speedtest. This is my favourite. Choose your test site from around the World.
2. ZDNet. I use ZDNet for a lot of things so why not speedtest? Used to be my favourite.
3. Speedguide. USA, UK, Parts of Europe (not Spain).
4. Thinkbroadband. Based in UK
5. BroadbandSpeedChecker. Another one worth a try.

Be sure to close Skype, MSN and any other software that uses your broadband connection. These sites also give advice and useful information.

The Basics

1. Ensure your micro-filters to fax machines, phones, sky boxes etc. Disconnect these devices and if your speed increases you know you have a problem and this is most likely a faulty micro-filter.
2. Check your electrical wiring, particularly if your house is an old Spanish Finca! Also, try not to use extension leads for your router : connect it directly to a socket.
3. While we're talking about cables: make sure they are securely attached, no loose wires or visible signs of damage. Don't forget to check the quality of the network cable as well as the phone cable.
4. Have your telephone company check the quality of the line. I find reporting poor telephone quality gets a better response than complaining about slow broadband!
5. Start your equipment in the correct order:
   1. Wait at least 20 seconds after turning everything off.
   2. Start the modem.
   3. Wait 60 seconds.
   4. Start the router.
   5. Start the computer.

Your Router Settings

1. Get the latest firmware for your modem and/or router. If your firmware is old then it could reduce the synchronisation rate between your house and the local exchange.
2. Check that your network card is running at 100Mbits/sec/Full Duplex. Go to Device Manager and choose properties for your network card. Go to the Advanced tab and look for the Speed/Duplex Mode setting and change it to 100Mbits/sec.
3. If you're using a WiFi network then make sure your channel is not in use by someone else's WiFi. This will affect your speed. Use Netstumbler to check what others are using and change yours accordingly.
4. Turn on QoS (Quality of Service) on your router (not your network card). Check your router's manual for instructions. This gives priority to VOIP above downloads for instance.

Software

1. If all your hardware is working well you can still improve things using software. I recommend OnSpeed. This program compresses web pages before sending them thus increasing speed. Yes, it really is quicker to take the time to compress, send and decompress rather than just send! It makes a difference up to speeds of 1Mbit.
2. I use a general tool for optimizing computers that includes an Internet Booster. This changes key settings in the registry and in browsers to optimize your download speeds. This is Advanced System Care and it is FREE.
3. Check what other programs may be accessing the Internet such as Instant Messanging software.

Internet & Web