A fast connection isn’t always enough. When teams rely on cloud tools and video calls, small issues add up fast. Knowing how to increase bandwidth the right way can improve day-to-day tasks without overbuilding your network.

Better network performance means fewer delays, smoother teamwork, and less time lost waiting on tech to catch up.

Learn:

• How bandwidth actually works—and why upload speeds still matter
• Spotting the real signs your network is hitting a bandwidth wall
• What’s really slowing you down: gear, congestion, or hidden usage?
• How to increase bandwidth without switching internet providers
• Proven bandwidth practices IT teams should use every quarter
• When it’s time to scale
• How Meter prevents bandwidth issues before they interrupt your work
• A smarter way to build and grow your enterprise network

What is bandwidth—and why does it matter for businesses?

Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data your network can handle at once. It’s shared across all devices. Every laptop, printer, or phone is pulling from the same pool. 

If too many apps demand data at once, your connection gets saturated—even if your internet speed looks fast on paper.

Looking at bandwidth vs. speed, speed is how fast one packet moves. Latency is the delay in sending it. Throughput is what actually arrives. Bandwidth determines how much your network can juggle at the same time.

Most businesses run on asymmetrical internet, where upload speeds are much lower than download speeds. That’s fine for browsing but causes problems for Zoom, file syncing, or cloud editing—anything that sends data in real time.

We’ve seen hybrid teams hit walls when video, storage, and analytics tools run together. Performance breaks down under load, even with a decent connection, because bandwidth was never designed to scale with their usage.

Symptoms of low bandwidth in a business network

You’re likely dealing with low bandwidth if you notice any of the following signs.

Video conferencing drops

Calls freeze, stutter, or cut out even with strong cameras and good headsets. Audio gets out of sync. Screenshare lags behind your voice. Most of the time, it’s not the platform—it’s your network hitting a bandwidth wall.

Slow cloud app performance

Apps like Google Workspace, HubSpot, or Salesforce take longer to respond. Saving a doc or loading a dashboard feels sluggish. Even typing in shared documents may lag. This happens when the network can’t keep up with all the cloud traffic.

Laggy file uploads or downloads

Uploading a folder to Drive or downloading shared media from a client drags out for minutes. Large files stall halfway. Wi-Fi users notice this the most, especially in busy offices or when sharing bandwidth with others.

Limited concurrent device support

Too many devices pull data at once and start kicking each other off. Phones drop their Wi-Fi connection. Video calls on one laptop crash when another device starts a big download. You’re maxing out your network’s capacity.

Long website or dashboard load times

Internal sites or SaaS dashboards take too long to appear—especially at peak hours. You click a report and wait several seconds before it shows. These slow internet moments often trace back to limited bandwidth, not the application itself.

Wi-Fi users typically experience this a lot, especially in busy offices or when sharing bandwidth with others. If this happens often, it may be time to revisit how to speed up internet performance across your workspace.

Common causes of low bandwidth

Before spending money on upgrades, check what might already be slowing your network down.

Legacy equipment

Old routers, switches, or access points can cap your speeds. Wi-Fi 4 and early Wi-Fi 5 hardware simply can’t support dozens of modern devices.

Worn-out ethernet cables also cause signal loss or packet errors, which add delays. Even if your internet plan is fast, outdated gear creates a bottleneck inside the building.

Network congestion

Too many users or devices online at once can overload your network. Streaming, large downloads, and cloud backups fight for space. It gets worse when everyone uses video calls or uploads at the same time.

Without traffic control, the network can’t balance the load, and everything slows down.

Poor Wi-Fi coverage or interference

Dead zones form when access points don’t reach every corner of your space. Thick walls, glass, or metal can block signals. So can nearby networks using the same channel.

Devices in weak-signal areas keep retrying connections, which eats up bandwidth and slows things down for everyone.

ISP limitations

Even on a business plan, your internet provider may limit how much data you can use at full speed. Some ISPs throttle speeds during busy hours or cap upload rates. If you’ve never checked your service tier—or if you’re using shared fiber or cable—you may be getting less than expected.

Hidden usage

Software updates, cloud sync tools, security scans, or background backups often run without warning. So can malware or unauthorized devices. These tasks consume large chunks of bandwidth while staying mostly invisible.

To catch them early, you need tools that let you measure bandwidth in real time and pinpoint what’s using it.

How to increase bandwidth: 10 effective tips

Most bandwidth problems don’t need a new internet provider. The issue usually starts inside your own network.

Here’s the way we approach how to get more bandwidth and keep things moving at Meter.

1. Upgrade your router and modem

Old hardware can slow your network down, no matter how fast your internet plan is. Many small teams still use consumer-grade routers with Wi-Fi 4 or early Wi-Fi 5, which top out quickly.

Look for gear that supports Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E. These handle more devices at once and reduce interference. If your internet comes through cable, your modem should support DOCSIS 3.1. That gives you higher throughput and better reliability under load.

Also, check your switches and cabling. If you’re still running 100 Mbps switches or Cat 5 cables, they’re blocking performance.

2. Implement QoS (Quality of Service)

Quality of Service settings help you decide which apps get priority. This is key in shared networks.

You can give more bandwidth to tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Salesforce. At the same time, you can lower priority for updates, idle browser tabs, or guest traffic.

Without QoS, every app fights equally for space—even ones that don’t need to. Meter configures QoS rules by default when setting up new networks.

3. Limit background bandwidth usage

Many apps run quietly in the background and consume bandwidth without warning.

Cloud sync tools, auto-updates, offsite backups, and idle video streams all stack up fast. If these run during work hours, they compete with live traffic.

You can take various steps to fix this, like setting rules to delay updates. Use device management tools to block certain background processes during the day. Most of our clients see big gains just from cleaning up background traffic.

4. Use wired connections for critical devices

Wi-Fi is convenient, but it can get crowded. For machines that need constant, high-quality bandwidth—like conference room gear or media editors—use wired ethernet.

Wired connections avoid interference, reduce latency, and leave more room on the Wi-Fi network for mobile devices. At Meter, we always prioritize wired drops for key machines during our installation process.

5. Expand network coverage with mesh Wi-Fi or extenders

Weak signals force devices to retry downloads or reestablish connections. That eats up bandwidth and causes random dropouts.

Use mesh access points or extenders to cover every corner of your space. Avoid using consumer Wi-Fi extenders, which often halve your available bandwidth. Go with commercial-grade mesh units instead.

We design layouts based on floor plans to avoid signal gaps and overlaps.

6. Schedule heavy tasks during off-hours

Large downloads, cloud backups, and system updates can flood your network. These jobs aren’t urgent—so don’t let them slow your team down during the day.

Set backups and updates to run overnight. Use automation tools to schedule batch data transfers or software pushes outside business hours.

It’s a simple fix, but it keeps daytime traffic open for more important work.

7. Identify and remove bandwidth hogs

Not all traffic is good traffic. One person streaming 4K video, syncing terabytes of files, or seeding torrents can drag down your whole office.

Use your router’s admin panel or a monitoring tool to track usage by device or app. Kick off unauthorized guests. Flag unknown devices.

Malware can also eat bandwidth quietly in the background. If you spot unrecognized traffic spikes, scan your network.

8. Consider a dedicated internet line or higher-tier plan

Sometimes your actual usage is more than your current plan can handle. A dedicated fiber line or enterprise service tier gives you more consistent speeds, especially during busy hours. You’ll get symmetrical upload and download speeds, which is key for real-time work like Zoom or cloud editing.

Clients get help choosing the right plan based on real usage data, not guesswork, when partnered with Meter.

9. Invest in SD-WAN or network optimization tools

SD-WAN lets you control how traffic moves across your network. It detects slow paths and reroutes traffic automatically.

You can split traffic by app or office location, making better use of your existing connection. This works especially well for hybrid teams or companies with branch offices.

Some SD-WAN tools also compress data or throttle non-essential services to protect key apps.

10. Use a managed network service

A managed network service handles all of this for you. Meter designs, installs, and manages networks that adapt in real time. We monitor bandwidth use, adjust QoS rules, patch firmware, and add access points when you grow.

Most clients don’t realize how much time they’ve been spending on Wi-Fi issues until we take it off their plate.

Bandwidth optimization best practices for IT teams

Once the basics are handled, long-term bandwidth health depends on how you monitor, plan, and segment the network. These are the operational steps we recommend at Meter.

Monitor real-time network usage

Dashboards give visibility into traffic trends, but what matters most is granularity. You need to see usage by device, app, and time of day.

Real-time visibility helps spot spikes, diagnose slowdowns, and confirm whether changes are working. If one device consistently overloads the network, you’ll know right away.

Meter’s dashboard insights show live and historical traffic patterns and flag performance issues before users complain.

Perform capacity planning quarterly

Bandwidth usage shifts fast—especially with new hires, SaaS rollouts, or growing hybrid teams. Without regular reviews, you’re flying blind.

Quarterly reviews help you plan for device growth, new floors or offices, and heavier cloud usage. Most teams wait too long to scale and pay for it with dropped calls or stalled apps.

Look for a managed network service that provides capacity planning tools that use actual traffic data, not estimates, to forecast what you'll need. Meter happens to offer exactly this.

Segment guest traffic from corporate devices

Guest users can overload your Wi-Fi or open the door to unwanted activity. Putting them on a separate SSID or VLAN isolates their traffic and keeps your business tools stable. You can also rate-limit guest access or schedule when it's available. That way, customers and visitors don’t impact internal performance.

Meter sets this up by default—your team’s traffic is protected, no matter who walks in the door.

Regularly audit firmware and hardware lifecycle

Performance doesn’t always fail with a bang. Old firmware and aging gear usually degrade network quality slowly, over weeks or months.

Regular audits keep your access points, switches, and firewalls secure, fast, and compatible with newer devices. We manage firmware updates and track hardware lifecycle across every client deployment, so nothing goes stale.

When to upgrade vs. optimize

If your network still lags after you’ve made optimizations, it’s probably time to scale. Most bandwidth issues start small but grow fast—especially with cloud tools, hybrid work, and video calls.

We use real-world benchmarks to help teams figure out when tweaking settings isn’t enough. If your team keeps growing or starts relying on heavier tools, optimization won’t keep up forever.

Here’s a breakdown to help you decide:

Upgrades don’t always mean more internet speed. Sometimes it’s new access points, more switches, or dedicated connections for core systems.

We design networks to scale early so our clients don’t hit these walls. Long-term planning also means using network automation tools that keep things flexible as you grow.

How Meter helps businesses avoid bandwidth bottlenecks

We’ve seen bandwidth issues bring entire workflows to a halt—especially when teams grow fast or shift to hybrid setups. That’s why we built Meter to prevent these bottlenecks from the start.

Our vertically integrated network combines hardware, software, and support into one managed system. That means we control how everything fits together, from access points to traffic rules.

We include:

• Modern access points, switches, and firewalls—all built for business traffic
• Built-in real-time monitoring with alerts and live usage data
• Smart bandwidth allocation that prioritizes key tools automatically
• Managed support and hardware upgrades whenever you need them

Nothing is cobbled together. You’re not juggling different vendors, warranties, or firmware updates. Everything is managed as a single system, so your team stays focused on work—not on fixing Wi-Fi during a client call.

We also use traffic shaping and live performance tuning to catch issues early. If you’re expanding or relocating, we’ll redesign and install your new setup—free of charge. It’s one of the easiest ways to solve bandwidth issues and rethink how to improve internet connection long-term.

Optimize your enterprise network with Meter

If you're trying to figure out how to increase bandwidth without rebuilding everything from scratch, we can help.

Meter’s network is built to grow as your business does. We deliver enterprise Wi-Fi solutions that include hardware, installation, and support—so you don’t have to manage any of it.

There’s no upfront cost for gear. You get strong, steady performance across every location—all covered by one simple monthly fee.

Key features of Meter Network include:

• Vertically integrated: Meter-built access points, switches, and security appliances work together to create a cohesive, stress-free network management experience.
• Managed Experience: Meter provides user support and done-with-you network management to reduce the burden on in-house networking teams.
• Hassle-free installation: Simply provide a floor plan, and Meter’s team will plan, install, and maintain your network.
• Software: Use Meter’s purpose-built dashboard for deep visibility and granular control of your network, or create custom dashboards with a prompt using Meter Command.
• OpEx pricing: Instead of investing upfront in equipment, Meter charges a simple monthly subscription fee based on your square footage. When it’s time to upgrade your network, Meter provides complimentary new equipment and installation.
• Easy migration and expansion: As you grow, Meter will expand your network with new hardware or entirely relocate your network to a new location free of charge.

To learn more, schedule a demo with Meter.