Does Verizon Throttle Data?
“Net neutrality” and “throttling data” are terms that have come up lately that you may have heard about.
These hot-topics have made their way all the way to the Supreme Court, but surely trusty ole’ Verizon doesn’t throttle their data, right?
Does Verizon Throttle Data?
It is highly known that Verizon throttles their network speed for their data. However, you increase your connection speed just by using a VPN. With throttling becoming more common, the use of a VPN has become even more necessary in order to prevent throttling from occurring.
Because throttling is violating a practice known as net neutrality, Verizon has continued to do so even after being caught deliberately making their speeds slower for customers who were attempting to access specific websites.
A majority of the time, video streaming sites were affected the most as well as sites that Verizon owns.
After being caught throttling, Verizon was quick to apologize and put in the effort to prevent it from happening again, although this was very short-lived as many continued to experience it.
With throttling, it does not just happen on one website.
There are many other internet providers who throttle data speeds as soon as a certain data speed is exceeded.
Many may also decrease speeds if the provider senses a VPN is being used.
The thing is though, is that no real reason exists for why these speed decreases occur, outside of having control of what you connect to on the internet.
As a paying customer, it is good to know that you have a choice of whether to allow it to happen to you or not as well as several options available to help you get around it.
How can I tell if Verizon is throttling my data?
As a Verizon customer, it is highly likely that you are being throttled now or will be at some point in the future.
You will see instances where YouTube begins to lag or Netflix may seem excessively slow, or even an “HD” show appears not so hi-definition.
With many causes for this in existence, it may be difficult to really tell what is going on.
The good thing is that you can try several tests to check your internet speed.
When you check your internet speed, you will have a resource that allows you to know what your speed really is as compared to what you are currently achieving.
When you check your speed, you will be able to also check if throttling and censorship is also going on.
You have so many options to test your internet speed online.
You should keep an eye on the speed of which a page loads once you visit the site.
If you notice the page loading a lot slower than you normally see, then you should test the speed.
When the speed test is significantly different, then you will know for certain that throttling is going on.
How do I get around Verizon data throttling?
It may seem near impossible to get around the throttling that Verizon conducts, but it is not impossible when a VPN is implemented.
In fact, when a virtual private network (VPN) is used, you will have a powerful tool at your finger-tips.
They can also be running on any type of device you have including tablets, smartphones, PCs, and laptops.
The VPN you use is able to implement a lot of anonymity and privacy due to the amount of encryption used for its data, which keeps your information safe through a mix of code.
This mix of code is what allows you not to be seen by Verizon.
This means if they cannot see your activity, then how can they throttle you and your connection speed?
When throttling is more widely done by the provider, having a VPN is also able to assist you.
When a throttle episode happens, a port number is used to identify where the throttling is placed.
Your internet connection also has port numbers so all Verizon has to do is select your port number and assign throttling to it so that your connection speed decreases.
By having a VPN, you are able to connect through various other ports that are not accessible by Verizon.
This will allow you complete freedom in your internet speed.
Will Verizon throttle unlimited data?
Verizon throttles unlimited data and it is done on purpose and for many reasons and excuses that Verizon feels makes it necessary and fair for all of their users.
Below are a few of the reasons that Verizon incorporates to justify their throttling efforts.
Neutrality of the Net
Revoking a person´s ability to enjoy a neutral internet is one way to restrict the internet.
When this is done, the ISP becomes a controlling entity who allows and not allows users to access the complete amount of connection speed and data.
So, when Verizon feels like you have reached the limit of the data, then you will begin to experience throttling.
Going Over the Data Amount
Throttling will always happen when you have gone over your allotted data amount.
It can also occur if your monthly bill goes unpaid.
Throttling will stay in effect until the billing cycle ends, which can be at least a month.
Prioritizing
By prioritizing, Verizon is able to throttle known websites that use an excessive amount of data such as YouTube and Netflix for streaming videos.
Their reason behind it lies in the fact that they want to be paid for prioritizing the streaming videos.
This is in fact happening because of Verizon´s direct competition with the two video streaming providers and tries to make it seem like the streaming service is more reliable than others.
Keep the Network Running Smoothy
By throttling, Verizon is able to keep the network running smoothly.
This helps alleviate peak hours and when an excessive number of users are online at the same time.
This is their way of regulating the network so that the traffic remains as smooth as possible.
They consider this to be fair so that all users have equal access to the internet, although it may seem limited.
Excess Amount of Torrenting
With torrenting and streaming, they both eat up a lot of data.
When your bandwidth and data are slowed, it is to prevent the network from being heavily strained.
They also do not want just one person having all of the data to themselves.
This is why you will see lagging in your streaming videos and movies, and experience quality that is below high-definition standards.
Why does Verizon throttle unlimited data?
When it comes to the Get More Unlimited plan, their Play More Unlimited plan, and the Do More Unlimited plan, there are 50GBs worth of network data.
So, when a user remains below this amount, they will always experience quality data performance.
However, when the 50GB is exceeded during the month, then a slow throttling will begin.
This throttling will be temporary and affects only the line on the plan in which it is excess is occurring.
With their Start Unlimited plan, it has no access to premium service from Verizon.
So, if you have this plan, you can expect throttling to happen from the moment you access the internet to the moment you stop.
Although the data can still be used as much as necessary and there wil not be any overages, just a decreased amount of quality.