Why does my internet get slower in the snow?

[Yes]

Why is it that during a snowstorm my internet (FIOS) gets slower?

[Skripka]

Why is it that during a snowstorm my internet (FIOS) gets slower?

The speed of light slows down to avoid skidding off the info super-highway.

[Kenny_Strawn]

Why is it that during a snowstorm my internet (FIOS) gets slower?

Probably because optical fiber cables get cloudy when they freeze, in such a way that not as much light can pass through them.

[LowSky]

Probably because optical fiber cables get cloudy when they freeze, in such a way that not as much light can pass through them.

LOL, FAIL!!!



Maybe your connections slows down because your entire area is at home using the internet too. Just a thought...

[Dayofswords]

LOL, FAIL!!!



Maybe your connections slows down because your entire area is at home using the internet too. Just a thought...

that seems quite likely

"cant get out of house...darn... lets watch a netflix movie on our computer!!!"

[Yes]

Yeah I guess that makes sense. I wouldn't have thought it'd be that much more people than whoevers' normally online at night but perhaps I was wrong.

Thanks, I was just curious.

[juancarlospaco]

Maybe theres a Wireless link somewhere between hops,
wireless and water on the air dont play nice.
Not so common, but possible.

[doas777]

much of the teleco long haul network is microwave based wireless, which cna be affected by atmospheric phenomena.

[robertcoulson]

Well..Don't know that fiber optic cable clouds on the inside...Degradation of glass is external and air tight interior glass probably does not frost .

[lisati]

It hasn't snowed much where I live in the time I've been living here in Porirua (I only remember once in nearly 20 years, and it was only a few millimetres thick, if that) but I've had my internet connection affected by rain. Water got into the underground cable on a nearby street one or two years back, affected my phone service too.

[robertcoulson]

Yes, water can and will affect telephone and DSL service...Worked for years myself to repair all those defects...Most people should realize that most if not all cable TV companies get a LOT of there channels and high speed from...YES satellites...And guess what is in between the satillite and the cable company head...SNOW.
Bob

[pwnst*r]

Do speedtests during snow and when there's not.

[Icehuck]

Even though you have fiber it doesn't mean you will always have a quality signal. The route from your home to the ISP will travel various routes and often hit repeaters to continue the signal(depending on where you live).

What does this mean to you? Well if one of those repeaters isn't properly protected from the elements, then snow/ice/water will cause a degradation in performance. Also there could have been a flaw when the cables were cut and connected. Though there is a machine that does this and it's unlikely.

[Kenny_Strawn]

LOL, FAIL!!!



Maybe your connections slows down because your entire area is at home using the internet too. Just a thought...

Haven't you seen frosted glass? This is exactly what happens to frozen fiber optic cables.

[pwnst*r]

I'm so cute.

[Hwæt]

Haven't you seen frosted glass? This is exactly what happens to frozen fiber optic cables.

Do you happen to work for FOX News, by any chance?

You should probably read up on things a bit before posting what you "think" will happen. Trust me, I've been in your shoes before (just ask the guys in #ubuntuforums!), and it doesn't make many friends.

Just some friendly advice.

[KiwiNZ]

ADSL etc is affected by many variables but Mr Strawn , I think you may need to rethink that a tad

[tubezninja]

Probably because optical fiber cables get cloudy when they freeze, in such a way that not as much light can pass through them.

As someone who deals with fiber on a regular basis, along with other transmission paths, I can say this is absolutely false.

[Skripka]

As someone who deals with fiber on a regular basis, along with other transmission paths, I can say this is absolutely false.

I actually thought Sharon was try to one-up my funny poast.

[robertcoulson]

Scaredpoet is correct...Tools to splice cut fiber has very, very little degradation...And as far as repeaters go, I have never seen one that weather has altered in my many years with a telecommunication company.....Was the original thread creator running off of DSL or CABLE...???
Bob

[lisati]

And as far as repeaters go, I have never seen one that weather has altered in my many years with a telecommunication company.....

Good point. In my area, deliberate vandalism of the roadside cabinets and other pariphenalia is a more likely source of damage than the weather on its own.

[robertcoulson]

Correct Lisati...But I guess we have beaten this thread to death...Seems the originator has disappeared and we are left beating a dead horse so to speak.
Bob

[pwnst*r]

LOL, FAIL!!!



Maybe your connections slows down because your entire area is at home using the internet too. Just a thought...

This is incorrect also. FIOS does not share a "local LAN" like cable does. It goes directly to the ISP's CO.

[3rdalbum]

Electrons on a copper cable and light photons down a fibre will shrink in cold weather, causing gaps between each individual electron/photon. As a result, it would take more energy to push these subatomic particles down the transmission media because they are not all touching (some energy is lost by filling in the gaps). When the stream loses energy, it loses pushing power and therefore the electrons and photons travel slower.

If you had an enterprise level modem, you probably wouldn't notice the difference in speed without using speed testing software. However, the problem of smaller photons and smaller electrons causes ANOTHER problem in home networking equipment, which tends to be lower quality than enterprise hardware. Your modem isn't designed to be able to detect the smaller electrons and photons, and some of the smallest ones may go past without being read. This causes packet loss, and your computer will have to request certain packets again.

The two of these factors cause the noticably lower speed in icy, snowy conditions. Fortunately, I live in Australia where it gets quite hot in the summer time. The electrons (no fibre-to-the-node here) get bigger due to the heat, which has the reverse effect of the cold conditions and allows the electrons to run faster down the copper wire. The bigger electrons are also easier for the modem to see, so lower packet loss.

Living in Australia does have one downside - I have to lock down my wifi network pretty securely. The high outdoors heat causes the wifi's electromagnetic field to increase, and also causes the range to increase. Somebody in the next suburb over can pick up my wifi network without even a cantenna.

[Tristam Green]

Probably because optical fiber cables get cloudy when they freeze, in such a way that not as much light can pass through them.

Comedy gold, as usual.






OP: There's a phat photon stuck in the line. Just like when my cable internet slows down, it's usually because a fat electron is stuck. Running a ping -c 9999 usually clears it out, it's like an angioplasty for the lines.

[doas777]

This is incorrect also. FIOS does not share a "local LAN" like cable does. It goes directly to the ISP's CO.


well, it goes to the neighborhood head end. usually within 3KM.

[Simian Man]

What you all have to understand is that the internet is a series of tubes and when you put your messages in they can be delayed by other things in the tubes. And just like real tubes, they can freeze in winter.

You should try wrapping your ethernet cables when it gets cold out.

[Johnsie]

When one part of the network breaks down the other parts have to work harder to fill the gap.

It's like when one road gets closed all the other ones get a little busier.

Also, when it's cold people don't go outside and when there is a weather event people want to talk about it online, so the internet gets a little busier.

Another reason might be to do with the time of day... Alot of ISP's limit connection speeds at certain points during the day. So if you're at home at a time when you aren't normally home you may experience a difference in performance.

[chriswyatt]

We used to have problems in wet weather due to water seeping into the cable box at the top of the road. It would cause interference on the phone line (I guess from short-circuiting?) and this would cause our broadband to slow down or disconnect completely.

Got sorted out eventually but it took a long time, as the interference had a tendency to disappear once the repair man finally got to our house to check the line.

[robertcoulson]

When you use DSL from the telephone company and you have moisture in the lines, this WILL degrad telephone service along with high speed or dial up...They did extensive testing on fiber cable....testing was done from -50 °C to 125 °C with a 2 °C ramp rate and 1 hr dwell....This relates to approx. less than 0.2 dB/m change in insertion loss during the thermal cycling.
There are about 6 different fiber cable configurations, with some shrinkage on the outside casing will affect the CONNECTIONS only, not the fiber cable itself.
But enough of the fiber...Telephones DSL will not loss speed because you are on your own wire back to the Central Office Switch....Cable will loose speed as more people put demand on it..and YES, in a way SNOW could and sometimes will slow down your speed.
Bob