We talk a lot in our blogs about the importance of staying on top of network performance. Whether you are a small business or residential customer working from home (often with children remote learning as well), a quality network connection is very important.

We talk about how services like JitterWorks have the tools to accurately assess network performance. We have gone over the key metrics to look for when assessing network performance. Latency, outages, throughput, bandwidth utilization, overall speed (those of you who follow our blog will recognize this as LOTUS.)

All of these metrics serve to inform you on how well your Internet Service Provider is performing their duties and delivering what you are paying for. But what do you do if a performance assessment shows that you are receiving what your ISP is promising but you are experiencing slow to no service in your home or business?

In this case, it is necessary to look at the network infrastructure within the walls of your residence or business. That is, beyond the point where Internet service enters your establishment. Look to the signal being routed to all the equipment you are using – computers, tablets, gaming consoles, cell phones, etc.

Most equipment will be accessing the Internet via a Wireless Access Point. WiFi. We’ve found that often it is the stock router/WiFi unit (sometimes it’s an all-in-one modem/router/WiFi unit) provided by the ISP that is causing the connection problem.

We try not to get anecdotal in our blogs too often, but here is a scenario we encountered that illustrates our point:

A client had an ISP provided all-in-one router/WiFi access point. JitterWorks determined the WiFi signal strength did not propagate throughout the entire house. While we were working on signal strength, we monitored bandwidth utilization to harness real time and historic utilization statistics. (We determined the homeowner was paying for more bandwidth than they were using.)

We recommended replacing the ISP’s rented equipment with a separate router and WiFi access point – the homeowner-owned Ubiquiti equipment would pay for itself in 20 months. They took our advice and the upgrade provided coverage to 100% of the house with a much better WiFi experience. They saw the speeds they were paying for throughout the house.

All that being said, you may still think the issue falls on your ISP because they are not providing the equipment necessary to meet your particular WiFi needs. But the lesson here is that there are cost-effective solutions you can implement to resolve these issues on your own.

They will save money by returning the rented equipment they no longer need. And we continue to monitor bandwidth utilization. It’s up to the homeowner if they want to save more money by changing to a plan which requires less bandwidth.