Wow.. this is the million dollar question.  To deliver the Internet experience, data travels through multiple segments in your home and across the Internet.  For example, it goes from your mobile phone, to the router, to the modem (could be DSL if you’re using ATT, or Cable if you’re using Comcast for example), to the ISP, then to the destination (Netflix as an example).  Each of these segments could present a problem to the overall Internet experience and speed.

Starting from the mobile phone connection to the router, first thing to check is the wifi technology on both sides.  If your phone is old, running wi-fi 4, even if you’re router is running wifi 6, you’re still not going to enjoy the wifi 6 speed.  Even more importantly is the distance between your phone and the router.  Wifi signals go thru air, and degrade over distance and obstructions.  That’s just physics which can’t be beat.  One way to address this is to make sure there is always line of sight between the router and the phone and the distance is as short as possible.  However it’s easier said than done, as often time the placement of the router is not a choice users can make as in reality the router is usually placed close to where the modem is, which is where the ISP brings in the connection, usually in the garage, corner of the house, attic, basement, etc..  not an ideal spot for router placement.  The only convenient and sensible solution is to upgrade the router to a mesh system, where multiple router and extenders work as a system to collectively provide wifi coverage throughout the home.  The extenders can connect to the router to repeat and amplify wifi signal, and users have the freedom to decide where best to place the extenders.  ARRIS SURFboard mAX product line has different products covering different sizes of the home, and depending on the Internet service plan, customers can choose between Wi-Fi 5, WiFi 6, and various Wi-fi speeds.  When choosing wifi router or mesh system, it’s important to understand the concept of dual band, tri-band, and even quad-band.  In general, the more band there is, the faster and the more connections can be made in the home.  Some bands run faster than others due to the width of the band, or lack of interference in the band, but that’s a topic for another day.

The next thing to check is the connection between router and the modem.  This is usually done by Ethernet connection and most likely not a bottleneck to the Internet experience.  Make sure you minimally have modem and router that support 1Gbps port.  For those who pay for higher than 1Gbps service from the ISP, make sure you have modem and router that are equipped with 2.5Gbps port, otherwise your speed will be limited to 1Gbps.

Let’s talk about the modem and the connection to ISP, and use Comcast as an example.  Comcast offers various speed plans and of course the higher the speed, the more expensive the monthly price. When it comes to modem selections, you need to pay attention to the DOCSIS technology.  Similar to WiFi, various DOCSIS technology provide different speed performance.  For Comcast specifically, you will need a DOCSIS 3.1 modem equipped with 2.5Gbps port to be able to realize the top tier speed of 1.2Gbps.  Your ISP websites would have information on the technology requirement, or you can try the ARRIS product selector tool here.  https://www.surfboard.com/product-selector

Finally, when the data reaches ISP and across the Internet, there is not much you can do about speeding up the connection and in reality that segment of the connection isn’t likely to slow down your Internet experience except when the particular site you want to visit is busy or out of service, etc..  which don’t happen often.

I hope this helps.