The summer television viewing season isn’t what it used to be.

Once known for endless reruns and launches of shows that studios deemed less likely to be successful, the world of streaming entertainment and the production houses it created are churning out phenomenal content you’ve just got to see.
The trouble is, lots of other people want to watch it too! And quite often, they’re streaming at the same time as you. And with kids out of school for the summer and many people heading indoors to escape the heat, internet usage increases during the dog days of summer. Unfortunately, along with the increased demand, streaming picture quality and overall reliability often decline, frequently turning what should be a relaxing evening into a frustrating experience.

So what can you do to prepare for all of this increased demand? Or maybe you’re worried about the amount of time your kids are on the screen? Or are you doomed to suffer repeated buffering, pixelation, and loading errors during the summer slowdown?

Tip #1: Upgrade to Fiber Internet

The single best thing you can do to improve your internet speed and connection is to upgrade to fiber internet. A technological wonder, fiber internet utilizes fiber-optic cables composed of ultra-thin, tiny strands of glass and other materials that transmit internet data near the speed of light.

As a result, fiber internet’s speeds exceed cable internet, which uses older technology and copper-based materials that cannot compete with fiber’s highest speeds.

Getting a dedicated fiber internet line through Northern Lights Fiber directly to your home means you no longer have to share bandwidth with your neighbors.

Since many in your community are already customers of ours, you may need to move to Tip#2.

Tip #2: Select the Bandwidth to Meet Your Family’s Needs

Once you’ve upgraded to fiber, talk to customer service at Northern Lights about which level of broadband you need.
This will vary from household to household, we can help you determine what will provide the proper amount of bandwidth. If you have multiple people in your home, work from home during the summer, or want to use technology to the max (i.e. security cameras), be sure to choose a plan that offers enough bandwidth for the whole family to use it simultaneously.
This tip will help keep the high-speed internet flowing into your home and devices and help keep the peace in your family!

Tip #3: Use the Northern WiFi App

Now that you have a perfect fiber internet plan for your needs, you should consider using our Northern WiFi App. This is the free App that many of you already have. In a few simple clicks, you can easily:

• Reset your password or SSID
• Run bandwidth tests
• Approve connected devices to use the internet
• Create guest networks (so your in-laws don’t use all your internet)!

Tip #4: Sign Up for our ExperienceIQ and ProtectIQ add-ons

The ProtectIQ and ExperienceIQ functions are not only affordable, but it will give you peace of mind on how the internet is used in your home. We want to deliver the best and safest experience possible!

ProtectIQ is an anti-virus and anti-malware software that is embedded in the WiFi router. This means that every device connected to your network is protected, giving you peace of mind. With protect IQ, you’ll receive

• Malicious website protection, anti-virus and anti-ransomeware packet inspection, and intrusion detection
• Monitoring that automatically blocks anything that looks suspicious coming into your home
• A dashboard that demonstrates how this service is working in your home

Our ExperienceIQ add on allows you to manage screen time in your home, right down to the individual device. You can even filter out YouTube content, ensuring that individual family members watch age appropriate content
Keep in mind that this is much more than limiting or even policing content your kids may use. Parental controls let you prevent your children from using online devices during certain times of day or night, which both reduce their screen time (something all parents aim to do) and increases the amount of bandwidth for you to enjoy!

Many of our Northern Lights Fiber customers have already signed up for ExperienceIQ. So if you want a tutorial on how to use it, please contact us!

By implementing these tips, you can significantly improve the picture quality and reliability of your streaming experience, even with the increased internet demand and higher usage of the summer. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a summer of streaming!

And for more helpful tips on improving your internet experience, Northern Lights Fiber’s social pages!