Unraveling the Mystery of Our Family’s Internet Speed: A Year of Frustration

In early 2022, I left my family’s home to support a relative undergoing surgery. Upon my return five months later, I was shocked to find that our internet connection was painfully slow, making me suspect a potential issue with my personal computer. However, as I dug deeper, it became clear that the problem lay with our internet service provider (ISP) or possibly our router.

We were experiencing dismal download speeds, consistently capped at 1.8 Mbps, despite the fact that our ISP offers much higher rates. This has persisted for half a year now, even after five visits from technicians. The sequence of events has been both perplexing and frustrating:

• New Modem Installation: On the technician’s first visit, a brand new modem was installed. Unfortunately, this did not rectify the speed issue.

• Testing with Multiple Devices: To further investigate, I connected different laptops directly to the modem. The results were disappointing; we still faced sluggish speeds.

• Family Feedback: During visits, family members reported slow video download speeds, significantly impacting their ability to work online.

• Technician Insights: In the most recent visit, the technician claimed to have installed a new port at the neighborhood cable box and reassured us that the external wiring had been thoroughly checked. Despite these efforts, he couldn’t identify the source of the slowdown. He also suggested that throttling by the ISP was unlikely.

In an effort to ascertain whether the problem was localized, I took my laptop to a nearby library. There, I experienced significantly faster speeds, reinforcing the idea that the ISP connection was the culprit.

Our situation is particularly puzzling. We’re not dealing with unauthorized users or bandwidth leechers—only two computers and our mobile devices share the connection. An ISP technician had previously disconnected a T-Mobile booster that we thought might be affecting our speed, but this change had no appreciable impact.

At one point, a senior technician likened our current speeds to “dial-up from the 90s,” a stark contrast to the reliable and fast internet we used to enjoy. Although there have been intermittent issues with power and wiring in our home, they have never correlated with problems in our internet performance.

What’s even more frustrating is the discrepancy during speed tests. When conducted, the speeds appear acceptable; however, the moment we initiate any downloads or uploads, the