Unusual spikes in connection activity occur frequently while others are online.
Unusual spikes in connection activity occur frequently while others are online.
Australia, we’re connected via NBN, using the standard router they provided us a while back. The service is pretty basic—fixed wireless. Under ideal circumstances, when we’re alone at home during the day with no wind and everyone else away, we reach top speeds of about 5 megabytes per second, roughly 40 megabits. When no one is around, our connection stays smooth with a consistent 50ms latency for all online activities. With the family present (four people), our speed drops to around 70ms, and when streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ start, we experience sharp ping increases of 400ms or more. This makes online gaming nearly impossible. YouTube also suffers, especially at high resolutions—sometimes hitting around 150 ping. I’m puzzled by the differences between routers and modems; it seems like a simple upgrade would fix everything. We have multiple devices—phones, PCs, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections, an iPad, a PS4, Xbox One, a console, and a smart TV. Not all devices are active simultaneously. If we upgrade our router or modem, what specifications should it have? It must support connecting both our mobile phone and the wall-mounted NBN box.