On the Internet, we can visit all kinds of websites, from your work or company page to pages where you can view pirated content or download large volumes of data. That is why it is possible that operators limit what we can do and what not, that they block connections both to access a specific website and to limit the speed when connecting to a streaming or video service.
There are some tips or tricks that we can follow to check if our operator blocks the connections or if the contracted speed is not according to what we are really enjoying at home or at work, whatever the reason.
Website blocking
We can find two types of locks by the operators. On the one hand, in some cases they block web pages through DNS, although it is usually easy to “skip” this block if you need to enter a specific page. But there are also new, more current methods of blocking websites at an international level that prevent us from accessing pages. Specifically, operators use these blocks to limit access to piracy pages when we are connected to our computer.
Generally, download websites and pirated content are blocked, although we may also find errors or blockages in other types of pages. One of the last to close was Daily Sport, which allowed us to watch live sports broadcasts. Just as Rojadirecta did at the time and finally stopped operating in Spain where it gathered all kinds of links for sporting events and which you have surely heard of at some time.
Error message
A message appears on the screen, indicating that the connection is not private, for example. Or a message stating “Content blocked by request of the Competent Authority , communicated to this Operator.” In all these cases it is a web page blocked by an operator for its content.
How they get blocked
Among the newer methods is the use of “packet inspection”. Since changing the DNS only takes a few seconds and we can do it to bypass the classic blocks, now we are betting on outsourced teams that analyze the traffic and block access. Vodafone uses equipment from the Allot company, Movistar uses Fortinet’s FortiGate and other operators use this packet inspection system although some still maintain the classic DNS blocking. With what pages? Generally pirated web pages with all types of downloads but the system could be used for any type of web page that is considered inappropriate, such as illegal sale, pornography, etc.
How to get around the lockdown
Generally, the blocking can be solved if we need to enter a specific page that our operator does not consider “legal”, although the methods have advanced and operators usually advance in technology to block these websites. There are several common methods and all of them legal, although it will depend on the type of page or the activity you want to carry out on the Internet. But accessing the pages is legal.
· Tor Browser
The Tor Browser browser can be used on mobile phones, on tablets, on computers. You can download it for free and it is a browser with a use similar to any other you have used before but with the advantage that it allows us to browse the Internet privately. Until a few years ago browsing using the Tor Network was complicated and required having a minimum knowledge and setting up a proxy. Now it’s as simple as downloading a browser to your device and starting to use it to search for what you want and surf the Internet.
· A VPN
Using a VPN is recommended in many cases, mainly because it improves security and privacy when we are browsing the Internet. We recommend it whenever you are browsing with a public network if you have no choice but to do it in a hotel, for example, or in a cafeteria. But using a VPN also allows us to bypass all kinds of blocks and navigate with another IP on pages that are blocked by Spanish operators or your specific country.
Speed limitation
Years ago it was very common to resort to throttling or speed limits for video streaming and that is why it is common that you see Glasnost Test recommended on many old pages and posts. What was Glasnot doing? It was a tool that allowed us to test our connection and determine how our ISP behaved to find out if the provider was blocking ports to use services such as BitTorrent, eMule or Gnutella. Glasnost is gone and vendor limitations on speed are often less prevalent.
The arrival of streaming platforms is no longer so common to download, but it is increasingly common to watch streaming video thanks to the fact that there are many websites and apps that offer it. We have Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Filmin, Disney +, Movistar +, Starzplay, Flixolé. Apple TV +, Atresplayer Premium, Mitele Plus … All of them working to broadcast video in streaming and “consuming” at the same time. That is why we always ask ourselves, does our operator limit the speed when consuming streaming ? There are a few ways to check this and some limits that the fine print on unlimited cell phone rates makes clear.
Exceptional cases
There are exceptional cases where the limitation has been the solution by the operators. For example, during the coronavirus lockdown in France, the president of the French Telecommunications Federation, Arthur Dreyfuss, raised the option of limiting traffic. Only Netflix, YouTube and Facebook managed to be 80% of the traffic of the four main operators. Very specific cases to avoid saturation, such as the 2020 coronavirus quarantine in Spain where it was decided to give gigs to users or request responsible consumption to avoid Internet congestion at a time when millions of people were staying at home .
Measure with Wehe
In case you have doubts about whether or not your operator is limiting the speed (something that is usually more common if you bet on small and cheap operators with a not too powerful infrastructure) you can use specific applications or tools. Wehe is one of them and what it does is simulate the traffic to these streaming apps as if you were actually using it.
Once done, it checks the traffic to that same app or web but with random bytes to try to deceive the operator and prevent the traffic from being classified as such. Which enables? Know if they are limiting us . And you can test it with some popular video or music apps. Specifically, it is available to try on: Disney +, Facebook Video, Hulu, NBC Sports, Netflix, Prime Video, Twitch, Vimeo, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify and a series of video calling or video conferencing apps (WhatsApp, Google Meet, Skype , Microsoft Teams, Webex and Zoom)
The application is simple, just install it on Android or iOS and accept the terms and conditions. Once you have it, you choose which apps you want to check and click on the button to start the test. Wait a few minutes for the process to complete and you will have the different results depending on the service or app.
With which operator is Netflix better?
Do you want to know which is the operator that works best with Netflix in Spain ? The Netflix ISP Speed Index website helps us to see a ranking or to measure the MBPS of each operator when connecting to Netflix with both fiber and cable, etc. The last update is from December 2020 and we can tap on the right side of the screen to see the score obtained in each of the previous six months. We will see a ranking that, as you can see in the photograph, is currently Euskaltel the one that achieves the best score but shares first place with the fiber of Jazztel, Orange, Movistar and Vodafone.
On this website you can not only measure in Spain but in any country where Netflix works. It is not a measure of overall operator performance. From the website you can also access other countries such as Portugal, France, etc.
Speed test
A quick option to check if your operator is blocking or limiting your speed or if it is according to what you have contracted is to do a speed test . You just have to go to the web testdevelocidad.es and wait a few seconds or a couple of minutes for it to complete. You will see the real speed and you can compare it with the one you pay month by month on your bill to see if it adjusts or not to what was agreed. Of course, in this case you would not be exactly measuring the speed limitation on streaming or download platforms , it would not be the aforementioned throttling but a general cut by the provider or some specific problem with the line.
Blocking and limits on unlimited rates
Although it is usually less common when using fiber in our home, the limits are quite clear when using the unlimited rates or gigs that companies offer us on mobile phones. Sure we see “unlimited gigs” or “unlimited fee” but the fine print has restrictions on almost all of them.
For example, Vodafone limits the browsing speed to 2 Mbps in its basic rate, to 10 Mbps in its intermediate rate and only Vodafone Unlimited Total offers maximum speed on the mobile network. As for streaming, we also see limits: Orange indicates that video streaming with HD quality is allowed (no more) and only the Unlimited Premium rate allows streaming in 4K. The same happens with Vodafone in terms of streaming video: 4K quality can only be enjoyed with Total Unlimited while the rest will have unlimited data, yes, but with SD and HD quality in the Unlimited and Super Unlimited rate respectively.
