Does Internet Speed Vary by Season?

Wed Oct 7 20:13:58 UTC 2009

On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 23:12:44 +0800
  Adrian Chadd <adrian at creative.net.au> wrote:
> Please don't forget moisture content. DSL speeds may drop during
> wet winters because cable pits fill with water. :)
> 
> Those with real statistics, please stand up. I know ISPs who run
> large DSL infrastructures have these stats. I've even seen them
> at conferences. :)
> 
> 
> Adrian

Me! During the rainy season of recent past years, the cable vault in front 
of my home would flood, thereby degrading or completely hosing DSL service. 
Haven't had heavy rains for a couple years so no trouble.

I had to replace my DSL modem about 6 months ago because the previous 
Westell Wirespeed modem had died very slowly. My speed went from 1.5M to 
less than 200k and was flaky. The new modem gives me a clean 3M/768k 
connection. Not bad for DSL ($35/month). But that wasn't weather related. 
Verizon.

matthew black
california state university, long beach