3 Bandwidth Bandits You Should Restrain

Bandwidth has now become a precious commodity because of its limited availability. With the exponential increase of Internet users, online games and media available on the Internet, gone are the days when highly affordable broadband Internet services included unlimited bandwidth in their packages.

But what online activities consume the most bandwidth? You probably know already. But it pays to take another quick look at them and see how we could minimize them. Here are the three bandwidth bandits you need to keep an eye on when using an Internet service that has a fairly limited bandwidth allowed each month.

1. Video streaming

Streamed videos, especially if they are flawlessly smooth and of top quality and in high definition, are surely at the top of the list. We know you love your daily Netflix fix, crazy about the next YouTube sensation you follow and faithful to your Hulu classic series. But get ready to shell out some cash for some bandwidth upgrade if you seriously don’t want to miss them all. During primetime hours, Netflix and YouTube combined accounts for about half of North America’s total bandwidth use!

2. File sharing

BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer protocol, is another one of those bandwidth bandits you may want to keep in chains if you are strapped for some extra bandwidth for more important tasks. Because of the nature of the protocol, which simultaneously uploads and downloads chunks of the files to significantly reduce speed time, it eats up upstream and downstream bandwidth simultaneously too. Not to mention, there might be some malware and copyright risks involved too.

3. HD Video conferencing

Everybody loves video conferencing with loved ones and friends from all over the world—especially if you want to show off your most recent travel spot in high-quality, high-definition videos! But did you know that hosting your own video conferencing, particularly in HD, can eat up a lot of your bandwidth? I’m sure you do. But most of us do it anyway. It’s fun! Just make sure you track your bandwidth, though.

Netflix, YouTube, BitTorrent and HD Video conferencing. Those are the major bandwidth bandits that sneak into our Internet service providers and our homes. Make sure you keep them in check so you don’t end up paying much for additional bandwidths. Or risk affecting your more important online tasks.

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