As families are forced to do everything from home, including working and learning, reliable access to the internet is critical.But with everyone working online at once, a reliable connection can be a challenge.KCRA 3 asked Sacramento State Chief Information Officer and Interim Vice President of Information Technology Mark Hendricks for tips you can try at home to stay connected.Hendricks said a lot of it comes down to bandwidth and location.Q: What is broadband and how does it work?Hendricks: Broadband is really a generic term for any permanent internet connection. It can use phone lines, TV cables, cellular data and some uses fiber optic cables.Q: How much bandwidth do I need?Hendricks: 25-megabit is considered basic and that’s good for one or two people. 100-megabit is considered average, and that’s good for 3 or 4 people. 200-megabit is supposedly good for four to five people and considered fast.Q: Why does the internet slow down when multiple people are using it at the same time? Hendricks: Obviously, the more data you use, the more contention there is. Q: What can you do to make the internet work better?Hendricks: The biggest thing to reduce contention is to turn off as many devices as you can, if you really don’t have enough bandwidth. If you have the ability to get more bandwidth, then you have less contention. If you had more than one option, you could certainly use the WiFi in your house for one connection and you could use your cellular hotspot for another connection. Then you just have to watch out for charges for bandwidth.Q: Can I buy more bandwidth?Hendricks: Each service provider has their own offerings depending on the type of technology and type of cables or medium they’re using to communicate. It just varies by how much you’re willing to pay and the technology you have available to you. Just remember that a lot of neighborhoods only have one or another provider. Many neighborhoods may have moderate cellular coverage, but they might not have any cable TV, cable modem coverage or phone coverage.Q: What if I can’t buy more bandwidth?Hendricks: If you don’t have enough bandwidth, you might not be able to do everything you need to do. Some say going to a place that does have some broadband or higher speed connection, like being adjacent to a Starbucks or something like that, where you can go and have access.Q: How does where you live affect your internet connection?Hendricks: Everything has to do with where you live. Where you live is going to determine what service providers are available and it’s going to determine how close you are to distribution sites that each service provider has. If you are far away or have disruptions between you and the cellular tower, you may have terrible performance.
As families are forced to do everything from home, including working and learning, reliable access to the internet is critical.
But with everyone working online at once, a reliable connection can be a challenge.
KCRA 3 asked Sacramento State Chief Information Officer and Interim Vice President of Information Technology Mark Hendricks for tips you can try at home to stay connected.
Hendricks said a lot of it comes down to bandwidth and location.
Q: What is broadband and how does it work?
Hendricks: Broadband is really a generic term for any permanent internet connection. It can use phone lines, TV cables, cellular data and some uses fiber optic cables.
Q: How much bandwidth do I need?
Hendricks: 25-megabit is considered basic and that’s good for one or two people. 100-megabit is considered average, and that’s good for 3 or 4 people. 200-megabit is supposedly good for four to five people and considered fast.
Q: Why does the internet slow down when multiple people are using it at the same time?
Hendricks: Obviously, the more data you use, the more contention there is.
Q: What can you do to make the internet work better?
Hendricks: The biggest thing to reduce contention is to turn off as many devices as you can, if you really don’t have enough bandwidth. If you have the ability to get more bandwidth, then you have less contention. If you had more than one option, you could certainly use the WiFi in your house for one connection and you could use your cellular hotspot for another connection. Then you just have to watch out for charges for bandwidth.
Q: Can I buy more bandwidth?
Hendricks: Each service provider has their own offerings depending on the type of technology and type of cables or medium they’re using to communicate. It just varies by how much you’re willing to pay and the technology you have available to you. Just remember that a lot of neighborhoods only have one or another provider. Many neighborhoods may have moderate cellular coverage, but they might not have any cable TV, cable modem coverage or phone coverage.
Q: What if I can’t buy more bandwidth?
Hendricks: If you don’t have enough bandwidth, you might not be able to do everything you need to do. Some say going to a place that does have some broadband or higher speed connection, like being adjacent to a Starbucks or something like that, where you can go and have access.
Q: How does where you live affect your internet connection?
Hendricks: Everything has to do with where you live. Where you live is going to determine what service providers are available and it’s going to determine how close you are to distribution sites that each service provider has. If you are far away or have disruptions between you and the cellular tower, you may have terrible performance.
===========
Website of source