The Factors that Affect Internet Speeds in Different Cities: What You Need to Know Before You Choose an ISP

Jul 24 2023

Canada may be one of the most economically and technologically progressive countries across the globe, but life isn’t always the same across different cities. Depending on where you live, you may not experience the same economic and technological standard that other cities may offer, especially the most populated and advanced ones. One aspect of life where these differences can be most apparent is in terms of connectivity.

As it’s often said in real estate, location is everything. While any internet service provider (ISP) can reportedly offer the fastest internet speeds, the reality is, actual speeds can vary based on where you are. There’s a good chance that the fastest internet speed—the one you want—isn’t available in your location. As a result, you may be stuck with a speed too slow.

So, before you choose an internet provider, it’s important to make sure that they can deliver. To get the best, cheapest internet, you need to choose the right ISP and get the speed you need, no matter where you are. Find out all about the different speeds across cities, and learn how you can get the best internet service, only from Comwave.

Why is my internet slow?

Factors at Home

If you’re wondering why your internet is slower than what you should be getting, the first answer is often to diagnose your current connection and look at factors inside your home that may be affecting your speed.

Some common culprits include:

• Your computer, phone, tablet, or other device used to connect to the internet may be slow and needs to be upgraded in order to support demanding applications, such as streaming videos.
• Your modem is an older model that isn’t built to handle the fastest internet speeds. If your modem can’t process them, it can’t convert these speeds so you can enjoy them on your devices.
• Similar to your modem, your router may also be older or isn’t built for faster speeds. In this case, the router can’t provide a strong Wi-Fi signal, which can cause wireless connections—such as those on your phone—to be spotty. In other cases, the router may also be too far from where you are, resulting in a weaker signal and slow speeds.
• The website or app you’re on is experiencing unusually high levels of traffic, making it hard to browse, load videos, post, and more.
• Technical factors, such as latency or the time it takes for data to travel to your device, and packet loss or the number of data packets lost in transit, can also slow down your internet connection.
• And lastly, the speed of your internet plan is simply too slow. If you’re utilizing speeds lower than 50Mbps, you’ll likely experience slow internet while doing high-bandwidth activities like streaming and gaming. It only gets slower when you’re using multiple devices and there are lots of people at home sharing the same internet connection.

Factors Outside Your Home

But what if your connection is slow even when your internet plan is the fastest, you recently upgraded your modem, router and devices, and there are no other factors inside your home that could be causing it?

Then, the answer is outside your home. There’s a very good chance that your location is the reason why your internet is slow. Where you live is one of the factors that determine whether you get the best and cheapest internet. 

The Great Internet Divide: Two Types of Internet Service in Canada

While Canada has some of the world’s fastest internet speeds, this is often only true for major urban centres. On the National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map, you can easily see that access to internet providers, a wide range of plans and fast internet speeds is concentrated in big cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. 

Higher Population Equals Demand for Infrastructure

Meanwhile, rural areas and northern provinces and territories have a much more limited choice of internet providers and plans. Due to a larger population in cities, many ISPs have invested in the necessary infrastructure to deliver the fastest internet speeds. With the population and therefore demand in rural areas smaller, there hasn’t been much incentive to set up new internet infrastructure; if there is, it often results in higher costs for residents to reach the same levels of data consumption as their urban counterparts.

Minimum Internet Speeds in Canada

Despite these differences, it’s important to remember that the Canadian government has set standards for home internet. When choosing an ISP, make sure that they meet the standard and you can get at least the basic speed.

Recently, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced that they are setting new targets for internet speeds in order to reflect growing demands for the best and cheapest internet that Canadians need to participate in the digital economy.  

According to the CRTC, homes should be able to access speeds of at least 50 Mbps for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads. Further, the CRTC also aims to ensure that 90% of homes across Canada have access to these minimum service levels. These targets are certainly encouraging, but more work certainly needs to be done in order to ensure that Canadian cities get the best, cheapest internet.

Fibre Internet: The New Best Internet in Canada

Fibre internet is the future of internet connectivity. It’s currently the best and fastest type of internet connection, but current gaps in availability persist with fibre.

The biggest factor causing this is infrastructure. Installing fibre optic cables is labour-intensive, often requiring providers to excavate streets in order to lay new lines. Because it costs a lot, many providers are inclined to start this work in big cities where demand is high and guarantees that they can recoup their costs.

For cities where fibre internet is available, upload speeds have been found to be 12 times faster than broadband and provide up to 11 times more advantage in major Canadian cities. Previously, upload speeds were known to be much lower than download speeds, essentially requiring more bandwidth to send data over the internet than receive it. But with fibre, both speeds are parallel, resulting in a massive jump in previously lagging upload speeds.

Get the Best, Cheapest Internet from Comwave

As you’ve seen, the availability—and quality—of home internet varies across cities in Canada. And while your location is a major factor in the internet speeds you get, that doesn’t mean you can’t get the best internet service.

When you choose Comwave as your ISP, you get a lot more than you bargained for. Now, you can get the best internet speed available in your area, at the cheapest prices. Start by finding out how much internet speed you need and the best way to get it. Whether you need just the minimum speeds or ultra-fast 1 Gbps speeds, Comwave lets you choose how fast you’re connected, at the best value for your budget.

Want to upgrade your speed or find out if you’re getting the best internet service in your city? Choose Comwave as your ISP. Check out our Comwave internet plans for the best and cheapest service.