Can a VPN Increase Internet Speed?

2 min

Previously on the TuxlerVPN blog, we discussed how VPNs can sometimes negatively impact your Internet speed. High Internet latency and server load are the main culprits there. But have you ever wondered if a VPN can boost your connection speed?

It’s an unusual thought, we know. But when we look at how a VPN works technically, there is indeed something that it can do to improve speed. Let’s take a quick look at how that may be possible.

How Can a VPN Boost Your Internet Speed?

The most common way that a VPN can “fix” your Internet speed is by bypassing your ISP’s speed throttling practices. In several parts of the world, including in the US, some Internet service providers may resort to shady practices where they limit or slow down traffic for some users. This is usually experienced on some popular websites that the users are more likely to visit. They claim that this is to ensure a smooth experience for their entire pool of users. From an individual paying user’s point of view, however, it doesn’t sit well.

Different factors such as location, type of traffic, and website are considered by ISPs for throttling, which is why you may experience a reduction in Internet speed. For example, if a top website hasn’t agreed to an ISP’s unofficial practices, the ISP may clamp down on the traffic that goes to that website.

When you use a VPN, your traffic is encrypted and routed through another server. This blocks the ISP from viewing your traffic and limiting it, thereby giving you cleaner connectivity. In a majority of the cases, this is the reason why you may experience an uptick in speed.

VPN Can Ensure Better Connectivity by Connecting to a Closer Server

If your ISP is a local enterprise, chances are that it may not have optimized your server routing. For example, assume that you are in Atlanta accessing a website hosted in Barbados. Ideally, your ISP should take the shortest and most efficient path to route you to the destination server. This is not as easy as it sounds, and ISPs are bound to mess up.

In such cases, a VPN can help you reach the website’s server faster by using a shorter path. This can, in turn, have a positive impact on your Internet speed.

This is also the reason why VPN experts recommend you to connect to a nearby server when anonymizing yourself. It just improves your speed by a notch as compared to when you connect to a faraway server. In such cases, opting for a VPN with maximum servers and locations can be helpful.

You should note that this speed increase is a rare outcome. In most cases, a VPN will execute encryption and connect to a proxy server to get you the privacy and security benefits. These will have some impact on your speed, and you will experience increased load times.

However, if you suspect that your ISP is throttling your speed or if you are on an inefficient network, a VPN could just be the answer.

Get rid of throttling and boost your Internet speed. Buy TuxlerVPN today!

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