In addition to tons of other drawbacks that Suddenlink entails, there are some that are not easily ignorable for anyone. Despite the fact that you are on a budge service provider, it does not mean that they have the liberty to control your network as they like. You should be getting the services that you have paid for. However, most of the domestic consumers are unaware of these technicalities and they have to suffer in terms of their bandwidth and speed.
What is throttling?
Throttling is when your ISP controls the limits and put a cap on your internet speed and bandwidth. This can be done on a large or small scale, as your whole area can be facing the throttling, or it might be limited to the package you have, or sometimes to your specific IP Address only. There is no certified way to check if your network is being throttled except checking with the ISP, but they never cease to deny the fact that they are throttling the bandwidth.
Suddenlink Throttling
Does Suddenlink Throttle?
Yes, Suddenlink has been throttling the internet according to many subscribers. They have believed to be having lesser speed than normal on crossing certain data usage limits at times or other instances. Mostly, people who have been using unlimited packages have claimed that their internet speed is being throttled to minimize their data and network usage.
However, Suddenlink does not admit to throttling and they say that the variation in speed can be depending on more network traffic in a certain area or tons of other technical reasons but not throttling. That can be true up to some extent as these can affect your network speed, but not all the time. If you are looking to check the network speed, here is how you can do that.
How to Check throttling?
The perfect way to check your throttling is through a VPN and a Speed test. You need to run a reliable speed test on your network connection to check what speed you are getting. Make sure that you run the test multiple times and calculate the average speed for accuracy.
Now, you need to enable a VPN service and then try again through the same method. If you are getting the same speed with a difference of 1 or 2 Mbps, then your ISP is not throttling the internet.
However, if you feel like after you have enabled the VPN, you are getting significantly more speed than before, which means your internet is being throttled by your ISP.
Avoid Throttling
There is a way around throttling that you can use easily. A VPN masks your IP address and all the data packets that are being sent or received on your network. Henceforth, your ISP will not be able to monitor, control or throttle those. You need to get a reliable VPN service if you are sure that your Internet connection is being throttled and enabling it will solve the issue for you so you can enjoy your internet connection at full speed.
I think Suddenlink throttles certain websites, not the entire connection.
Without a VPN, I get 50Mbps on Speedtest, which is expected. YouTube videos struggle to play at 360p.
With a VPN, I get 40Mbps on Speedtest, which is expected. But now, YouTube video auto-play at max resolution and play smoothly with no buffering.
I think the severity/existence of the throttling may depend on the speed tier you are subscribed to. I also think certain other major sites – Google and Facebook included, may be throttled.
Today 2/10/2022 I’ve been with Suddenlink for almost a decade. If only I had another wired choice. I fear satellite as we used to have horrible issues with the last one. So we are STUCK with Suddenlink. I just tested my speeds a total of 6 times 3 tests per VPN on and VPN off. I pay for 400 Mbps down and 40 Mbps up. They refuse me an upgrade, I assume because I am unlimited. So, the results of the test are VPN off averages are 417.82 Mbps down and 40.52 Mbps up. HMP! VPN on averages 274.9 Mbps up and 22.18 Mbps down. Definitely being throttled down by 142.92 Mbps down and 62.70 Mbps up.
Julie, that is not how that works. VPN connections have their own bandwidth requirements. If your connection off VPN is capable of providing max speeds, then your connection is equally able to do so on a VPN. However, the VPN you’re using has its own dedicated throughput and it may not be up to your max speed. VPNs are well known for not having massive bandwidth tunnels, because a VPN’s main purpose is to encrypt data sent and received. As a test, try any other VPN service or provider and I guarantee you’ll see completely different speeds!