Why Internet Speed Varies Throughout the Day

If you have noticed that in the morning, your internet is as fast as lightning, but in the evening it grinds to a halt, you are not alone. Internet speed can vary greatly at different times of the day, which is a universal experience. Whether you are streaming a movie, downloading a large file, or video calling with friends, the speed you receive may not be what is advertised in your plan.

This, in fact, may not be that your service provider is unreliable, which does happen at times, but due to the way in which internet traffic, infrastructure, and environmental factors play out. We are going to look at the primary causes of changing internet speed as the day goes on and what is going on behind the scenes.

1. Off-peak Hours and Network Congestion.

At any given time there is a different set of users online. In the early morning, when most are still asleep, which also means light traffic on the network. As the day goes on, home and work computers come online, which in turn puts more demand on the network. Also, as the day progresses, we see more mobile devices coming online for use in work, school, entertainment, and social media, which in turn increases network traffic.

At the present time, we see the heaviest use in the evening, what is also referred to as “internet rush hour,” which is when people return from work or school. At this time, streaming services, online gaming, and large file downloads see their peak. Like a highway at peak hour, more users cause more congestion, which in turn slows down the data “traffic.”

2. Shared Bandwidth in Communities.

In some cases of cable and certain broadband services, your connection may be on a shared network with neighbors in your area. What we see in these types of systems is that many homes are tied into the same local structure. Also, when a great number of your neighbors are on at the same time, your speed may drop.

When at present only one home is using water, the flow is great, but should all at once put their taps on, the pressure drops.

3. From the Center of the Network.

Your proximity to the local exchange or the internet hub also plays a role in speed issues. With some connection types like DSL, as you go farther from the source, the signal strength decreases. Though this is a constant factor, it tends to be more noticeable at peak times when the weak signal has to share out the limited bandwidth.

4. Server Performance and Response Times.

Internet speed is also determined by the servers you connect to; what you see is not just your own connection speed but also that of the server. For instance, during peak hours when many are using the same server as you for streaming or download, the service may slow down due to high demand.

Even with high-speed connections, a busy server can cause delay, which is similar to a very busy restaurant where the kitchen is at its breaking point. You may place your order quickly, but getting your food out to you is a slower process because the wait staff are attending to many customers.

5. At-home Data Use.

At times, what you are experiencing as a slowdown is not the wide-scale network issue but rather activity within your home. If in your home you have several devices on at the same time, for instance, one person playing a game, another streaming a movie, and a third in a video conference — your total bandwidth is being divided between them.

Smartphones, tablets, and smart TV devices also have the ability to run updates and back up data in the background, which in turn uses some of your bandwidth.

6. Wi-Fi Interference and Signal Quality.

When you connect via Wi-Fi, your signal strength also plays a role in how the speed of your internet connects for the day. Environmental factors such as other wireless devices which may be on, thick walls, or even a microwave may interrupt your connection.

In some instances, interference is at its worst. For example, at night time, if your neighbors are using the same Wi-Fi channels as you, they may cause a jam in the wireless spectrum, which in turn will slow your speed.

7. Types of Connectivity Technology.

Different internet technologies handle traffic differently.

• Fiber optic connections report to be very reliable all day because they provide high bandwidth and do not easily experience interference.
• Cable connectivity may vary due to shared neighborhood bandwidth.
• DSL speeds may differ based on your distance from the provider’s equipment.
• Satellite Internet may see drops in speed due to weather and time, which has the data travel between the satellite and your device.

If your Internet provider has a congested system, you will see changes in speed at peak times.

8. Climate and Environmental Variables Which Include Weather.

While fiber and cable are for the most part immune to weather, what does happen is that certain types of connection, for instance, satellite or that which we have had for a while like copper, are affected by the environment. We see that heavy rain, snow, or high wind may only be the element that breaks the infrastructure physically or, in fact, that which puts out interference to the wireless signals, at which point we will see a change in performance.

These weather conditions, at the same time as high-use times, will produce a speed that is very slow.

9. ISPs’ Traffic Management Strategies.

Some internet service providers do use traffic management, or what is also known as “throttling,” to keep their networks stable at peak times. What this does is that they may slow down the speed of certain high-use activities like UHD streaming or large file downloads for a short time.

These may not be easily noticed by you, the customer, but we see in them what we call the provider’s way of guaranteeing that every customer gets a good quality connection at peak times.

10. Local Infrastructure Issues.

In regions that have not seen an upgrade to the internet infrastructure in years, we see great variation in speed. Outdated cables, worn-out routing equipment, and low capacity in network nodes are unable to handle large increases in traffic.

During slow times, the issues may go by unnoticed, but at the sign of high use, that old infrastructure becomes a bottleneck.

11. Time and Regional Issues Which Come Into Play.

In many areas which include a wide number of users that are remote from one another, you will see changes in speed based on what everyone else in that area is doing as far as their use of the network goes. Also, in some areas, we see a spike in traffic when large numbers of the population come home from work or school, which may not be at the time you go home yourself.

How to Reduce the Effect of Variable Speeds.

While it is out of your hands what the internet use is like in your area, you may do some things to improve your experience.

1. During off-peak hours, which are early in the morning or late at night, schedule your heavy downloads — at these times you will see the least traffic.
2. Improve your router or modem — we have newer models which perform better at traffic management and also provide better wireless coverage.
3. In some cases, go for wired — Ethernet connections report better performance than Wi-Fi.
4. Optimizing Wi-Fi setup — put your router in the center of your home and away from thick walls or sources of interference.
5. Reduce background use — When you need max speed, pause cloud backups and software updates.

The Bottom Line

Internet speed is a variable which also changes in real time based on a variety of issues, from present demand to what is happening in the physical network infrastructure and also to the environment. At certain times of day, what you see as a slowdown is mostly due to many people at the same time using the same resources, and also the technical issues related to the way data travels.

Through identification of what causes these fluctuations, you may make small changes which better your connection. For instance, instead of streaming at peak times, at-home device management, or improving your setup, you may remediate peak congestion and, in turn, have a smoother online experience.