What Is a Network Jitter and How Do You Fix It?

One of the common downsides to Unified Communications (UC) real-time applications, media streaming, and online video gaming is Network Jitter. It is nothing but a delay variation that puts stress on the receiving endpoint as it tries to figure out the right sequence of data packets. This leads to congestion and packet loss. Every network experience jitter – no network is free from it. visit here

Before we discuss how to fix network jitter, let us understand what exactly network jitter is.

Network Jitter

The information from your computer is relayed in data packets across the internet. These are sent at regular intervals over a set amount of time. Jitter happens when there is a delay in sending the data packets over your network connection. The causes for the delay could be network congestion or route changes. Regardless, the longer it takes the data packets to arrive, the higher the jitter and its negative impact on the audio and video quality.

The disruption in video and/or audio can be a great annoyance when you use the computer for recreation. Likewise, in a professional setup, jitters can be embarrassing when you try to make a conference call or connect to a team. Jitter could be the reason why you cannot enjoy a successful VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) call turning into a glitchy, disastrous call.

What are data packets and VoIP calls?

Data packets: A data packet is a tiny, fixed-size packet (package, block, or message) containing data in a specific format. Even though we aren’t aware of it, we communicate online through data packets. When one or more of the data packets fail to reach their endpoint, we experience high jitter.

VoIP: VoIP converts our voice into data to transmit it as data packets over the internet. Our voice is broken down into data packets and sent across the internet to its destination. It is advisable to opt for a VoIP provider with exceptional HD video and audio quality to give you clear, high-quality voice and video across the devices.

What is an acceptable jitter?

Low jitter levels are unlikely to impact the quality of your connection. Acceptable jitter is the level of jitter we can accept as the minimum fluctuation in transmission. Jitter is measured in milliseconds. A delay of over 30ms results in distortion and disruption and hence isn’t acceptable. For good results, the jitter should be below 30 ms. Additionally, packet loss should be less than 1% and network latency shouldn’t be over 150 ms in one direction.

A higher level of internet jitter can result in:

• Delayed calls
• Dropped calls
• Static and echo
• Distortion or choppy audio

How to fix network jitter?

Here are some ways to fix network jitters:

• Test your connection’s quality
• Use an Ethernet cable 
• Prioritise packets
• Invest in a powerful router
• Minimise unnecessary bandwidth usage
• Check your device frequency
• Use a jitter buffer
• Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider

All these troubleshooting ideas can help you reduce network jitter and enjoy high-quality online communication.