Looks like some ISPs and governments are starting to throttle internet speeds.

I can confirm this happened to me as well, because I tried to update a game on steam last night, and the speed dropped way down. Did a speed test, and I was getting less than 1/10th my internet speed.

However, I got a solution if this is happening to you that might work. It worked for me. I turned on my VPN, and I'm getting full speeds again.

I'm not sure exactly how they're throttling the traffic, or why using a VPN would bypass it, but it very well might, and if your government or ISP is throttling you, then you could give this a shot.

But! (let me put my bastion of humanity cap on for this one) How dare you use a VPN and get the full speed you were paying for if there is any possibility that there might be one person out there getting 56k internet speeds because you're using up all the bandwidth? Doesn't this make you a terrible human being?

Any input here from all the empathetic individuals on PoE forums on this? I just need to know if it's morally wrong to use a VPN to get the full speed I'm paying for, because of (potential) reasons above. I thought I would check this past you guys before you totally gut me here.

This is a HUGE concern to me since my livelihood depends on having internet, reliably. I am sorry, but I need it. I pay for it too.

As an aside, thank God I moved from Dallas. They are giving away internet to many that do NOT pay and as a result my old ISP there has been down, intermittently all week.

Glad I got the fuck out of there when I did. I would be livid by now. And yes, they are throttling in some areas. I am hearing reports from some agents in different parts of country.

There is no guarantee it will work, and I only heard this on another forums, and I was like sure, I'll give it a shot, I got a paid VPN, and sure enough it fixed the speeds. Anyone who really needs the internet should just use it, if that solves their issue.

I kinda have my doubts as to whether there is a legitimate bandwidth shortage, or if this is being done for other reasons. I really don't think governments want too many people looking around on the internet too much right now.

But, ironically, throttling my internet will encourage me to leave the house and break social distancing with people, making it more likely I spread Covid 19. What are they so afraid of me finding searching the internet at the full speeds I paid for that's more dangerous to them than me getting cabin fever, leaving the house and potentially spreading Covid 19?

Supermarkets are still open, and if they killed my internet, I might get bored enough to just go walk around in the supermarket looking at all the colorful boxes on the shelves. Staffer walks up "Sir are you here to buy anything?" Nope, I'm just every bit as fucking bored as I look, because they killed my internet speeds. But, I'll at least buy a snicker's bar on my way out....

I dunno, but what I do know is I'm going to get the speeds I paid for if it's within my ability to do so by making changes on my end. And others should do the same. Let's call their bluff on this bandwidth shortage. If worst comes to worst, I'll find a new hobby touring supermarkets, to look at colorful boxes and produce.

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MrSmiley21 wrote:

...Any input here from all the empathetic individuals on PoE forums on this?...

My input is - You need real evidence to support the statement that "ISPs and Governments are starting to throttle internet speeds."

You have no evidence.

In some cases, the reverse is true:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90480069/the-coronavirus-might-have-just-killed-isp-data-caps

IOW - ISPs are dropping data-cap policies. To be fair, they rarely enforced them anyway. But, many are "officially" dropping them in direct response to the current situation and one that may be a permanent change.

In the EU, ISPs do have that authority right now - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/coronavirus-europe-gives-isps-right-throttle-online-traffic-1285606

But, as the article points out, traffic loads are not overwhelming current resources.

Keep in mind that a great deal of internet traffic is generated by... businesses. You know, those things that are supposed to be "closed" right now. At the very least, some few large businesses may not be producing the traffic they normally do. Some of that is certainly being taken up by private users. That's a definite. But, is it enough yet for any worldwide concern for pipelines? Probably not for larger providers and systems, but may be an issue for smaller providers and relatively lightweight systems.

IOW - YMMV.

I wouldn't worry about rolling outages and draconian data-caps, though, and I would certainly not be worried about any government mandated throttle. If there are any, it will be up to the providers making decisions based on the traffic they're seeing and what is needed to keep their networks providing reasonable connectivity for users.

Check here when you're worried about it: http://www.internettrafficreport.com

Morkonan, I agree with you on the point that there is no shortage of bandwidth to go around.

And the key word I used is "some", not all. People have reported that their internet speeds are being throttled.

And speaking for myself, I know I'm being throttled, and I'm nowhere near approaching any sorta data limit, even though my ISP doesn't even officially have one.

I talked to my ISP about this, and they claim they're not throttling, and we went through a series of steps to test my connection, and they determined there was nothing wrong with it, on my end, or theirs. However, I'm still getting considerably slower speeds than I'm paying for, just not as bad as the other night. If I use a VPN, I get full speeds all the time.

Sorry, but the only conclusion I came to is that my ISP is lying to me. The guy on the phone didn't want to argue with me, so he lied. I get it, those people don't make a lot of money, and I'm probably not the only one calling and bringing up issues with speeds, so they got a blanket policy to simply lie to people and tell them there is no problem.

I just did a speed test without the VPN, and I'm getting about 55-60% of my speeds. Last night it was 30%, and the night before that I wasn't even getting 10%. The moment I use a VPN connection, I get 100% of my speed. If there is an IT tech out there who can explain to me how this is possible if my ISP is not throttling me, if I need a VPN to get full speeds, even after I had my ISP test my connection and determine that nothing is wrong, then I'm listening.

My neighbor who uses the same ISP is reporting slower speeds as well, comparable to mine without a VPN, and I told him to get a VPN account, and try that, and it worked for him too. Talking to my neighbors about their internet speeds was one way for me to determine if this was something happening to just me, or if others in my area were experiencing this as well. And they are.

Some people are having issues with their speeds, and are getting no answers from anyone else, and as long as ISPs keep lying to us, then there will be speculation. If no facts are available, then speculation is all we have. But what is a stone cold fact, is that using a VPN fixes whatever speed issues are present for me without using a VPN.

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MrSmiley21 wrote:

...I talked to my ISP about this, and they claim they're not throttling, and we went through a series of steps to test my connection, and they determined there was nothing wrong with it, on my end, or theirs.

If they were throttling and lied to you, you could sue them and, depending upon what country you live in, they could be fined a lot of monies or someone would call people who'd drive Army tanks over their face... :)

Stuff has "gotten real" with "Throttling" and such these days.

"

However, I'm still getting considerably slower speeds than I'm paying for, just not as bad as the other night. If I use a VPN, I get full speeds all the time.

Tells me nothing... "Speed" is relative. What are you trying to connect to and how are you connecting?

For instance, your ISP could be having issues somewhere along the line, or anyone else for that matter that your connection touches, from Point A to Point B.

But, a VPN directs your connection straight to what's likely a different network altogether. (Not a VPN provided by your ISP, right?) And, from that point your connection starts to be made to the destination address.

Do a traceroute for both connections and you'll see what will likely be different paths being taken along the route to the exact same IP address.

And... it doesn't have a thing to do with "throttling."

Further, since you can get higher speeds with a VPN, it's proof your ISP is not throttling you. :)

What? You thought your VPN connection was magic? Nope. It's still "data" that's being effected when your connection is "throttled." It's not your "connection."

If you were under the Heavy Hand of Government or a Throttling ISP, you could have NINE PROXIES ZOMGZ until the cows came home and every single one of them would show similar top transfer rates. Because... throttling.

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The moment I use a VPN connection, I get 100% of my speed.

If you're connecting to the same pipe that you use for your default connection, then you're not having your data transfer rates throttled.

"

If there is an IT tech out there who can explain to me how this is possible if my ISP is not throttling me, if I need a VPN to get full speeds, even after I had my ISP test my connection and determine that nothing is wrong, then I'm listening.

I'm no "tech." But, it seems to me the obvious conclusion, provided everything you've said is true and you've taken logical and reasonable steps in your testing, then it's likely a node that's on the way to whatever destination IP you're testing that is having some issues. That's common.

One thing you can do is configure your modem to use a separate DNS. Why? Well, ISPs get internal DNS issues borked up fairly regularly and have to reroute around them or just... don't and let people suffer until it's fixed.

Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 or 1.0.0.1
Google: 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4

Check your manual for how to set up a custom Domain Name Server entry that it will use to resolve ISP addresses. This can, in some cases, dramatically speed up your connection if your ISP is having DNS issues. And, guess what? It's likely that if you're using a third-party VPN then they are using their own, or at least a different set of, DNS servers. (ie: Your VPN isn't using your current ISP's DNS servers, which could be why your connection speed seems "faster" when on VPN.)

"

But what is a stone cold fact, is that using a VPN fixes whatever speed issues are present for me without using a VPN.

Then, try using Cloudflare's free DNS server. It's legit. Google if if you wish to be safe. Set your modem up to test with it and see if that resolves your issues. If it does, then give your ISP a call and ask them if they have any DNS server outages/network problems.

It's possible someone, somwewhere, along the pipe you're using is, indeed, effecting your connection speeds. It is not possible, however, to declare that to be true without more info. And... that's all I'm really saying, here. :)

TLDR: Due to your testimony, force a different DNS server to see if its your ISP's response time problems, which isn't unusual IMO. Without more info including a series of traceroutes/ping/etc to "see" your connection to the desired destination, nothing can really be said about your connection quality as of yet.

PS: IF they were throttling you and lying about it, I would stand beside you and scream just as loudly as you did. :) I just don't see that in evidence just yet.

I use a VPN for work on laptop which is just work computer for security purposes. And yes, there were severe outages in many US cities several days this week. No lie. I got reports from agents all over the country of slow speeds, shit connections, etc. So it happened (not today that I heard), and it was not isolated in US.

I am not saying it is a gov't plot mind you. I read that youtube and netflix, among others, will put caps on streaming in higher res because it eats up bandwidth. Google it.

Bandwidth Throttling may work on selective data "types"(torrents, streaming and other stuff), if VPN encrypts data, ISP cant identify the data "type", so it don't throttling.
If with VPN your speed is higher it is proof that ISP throttling

My download seems a bit slow but upload is fine. OP I recommend checking your DNS settings like that other person mentioned. I'm using 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 and/or 1.1.1.1 as a backup. The first two are google and the third one is Cloudflare.

Google your router model if you're not sure how to do this. It should be under advanced settings somewhere. Maybe screenshot or backup the default settings to be sure you can roll back if you make a mistake. Since you set up a VPN I'm assuming you'll be able to do this without much trouble.

Your VPN provider uses his own routes.

Look more for routing protocols, how routes are created and how metrics works.