Improving your internet connection speeds

Sometimes, surfing the web on your iPad can be a frustratingly slow process. In particular, streamed video content can often be jerky and blocky, which spoils the experience somewhat. This is usually nothing to do with the hardware itself, as the processor in the iPad is very fast indeed.  Rather, it is the speed of your internet connection that is the main factor in determining the smoothness of video streams and the speed at which web pages load. Here are some tips to help you improve matters. For Sky’s best broadband deals, visit the Sky.com web shop.

Use Wi Fi wherever possible

At the moment, most 3G networks are incapable of providing anything like their potential data speeds. The only way you might be able to get close is to stand next to a transmitter at a time when there are no other users on the network. This makes it virtually unusable for tasks such as watching streamed videos or downloading large files, and even simple tasks such as checking your email or browsing the web can take a long time. You can improve matters greatly by taking advantage of Wi Fi connections wherever they are available, such as in your home or in a café.

Upgrade your broadband package

Even if you are connecting over Wi Fi, you may still experience some of the problems associated with slow internet connections. One solution to this is to upgrade your broadband package to one that offers a higher data transfer rate and unlimited data usage. While this may be a bit more expensive, it is well worth it if you download a lot of films or watch a lot of streamed data content.

Stay within fair usage limits

Some broadband providers impose fair usage limits on their customers, in an effort to prevent people from hogging all the available network bandwidth by downloading huge files all the time. These apply even to customers who have purchased high speed broadband packages with no data limits. If the network decides that you are downloading and/or uploading more than your fair share of data, your connection will still work, but it will be much slower than usual at peak times. In most instances, you will receive no warning that this is going to happen, and when it does you will not necessarily be notified as to why your broadband connection has become sluggish all of a sudden. Therefore, it can pay to find out whether your broadband provider imposes these limits on their customers, and what these limits are, so that you can try and stay within them.