Download Speeds & Contention Ratio: What Major ISPs Don’t Want You to Know
The work day is done. You just got home and started dinner. Now it is finally time to turn on your favorite show that you have been bingeing on Netflix and relax!
…But what is this? Buffering?
…What happened to HD?
You pay for a “fast” internet connection, so why is this happening? You check your download speed right away and find that you are only getting half of what you are paying for.
What gives???
For many people who have a cable modem internet connection, this is an all-too-common occurrence, but it highlights one of the Major ISP’s most closely guarded secrets. The fact of the matter is that “fast” internet connection that you pay for is far from a guarantee. So, you may think you bought a 200mb connection, but what they don’t tell you is that you re sharing that same 200mb with over 100 different houses or apartments in your immediate area. This is often why when you try to use the internet during high traffic times like in the evening when everyone is just settling in after a long day’s work, your speeds seem to deteriorate and the buffering begins.
Yes, I know, this is frustrating. You pay for a certain speed. You should get that speed regardless of the time of day, right? So how do you fix this? If you call your ISP, they will try to sell you a faster internet connection. This has been their go-to strategy for decades so that they can squeeze more and more of your hard-earned cash into their pockets every month, and it is the reason why every one is clamoring for faster and faster speeds. But then you are just paying for a faster speed and still only getting half.
What if I told you that the average house hold of 4 does not need more than a 100mbs connection to go about their day-to-day activities? Yes, this includes multiple people streaming TV or online gaming at the same time. The truth is that faster speeds are only a band-aid for the larger problem of Contention Ratio. Instead of 100 to 1, how much more consistently reliable would a 20 to 1 connection be?
Dedicated Fiber connections from SCI solve this Contention Ratio Problem by significantly reducing the amount of people sharing the same connection, ensuring that you have a connection that is more than 5x more reliable and consistent than anything a major ISP will offer. Don’t let them make you pay for faster speeds that you do not need. Save money by making sure your apartment building offers Dedicated Fiber Internet!
Ig you’re interested, feel free to reach out anytime! We’d be happy to speak with you!
