It’s an aggravating experience far too often felt by far too many cable, DSL, or satellite internet users across America—the moment you finally get some time to unwind and enjoy your home internet, it’s painfully slow and sluggish, sometimes to the point of being all-but inoperable. So why does this happen to so many internet users, and almost always around the same time of the evening? And what, if anything, can be done about it?

Well, thanks to advances in internet technology, the good news is that you don’t have to suffer the peak hour slowdowns plaguing so many residential internet customers. Below we explain ins-and-outs of peak hour slowdowns—and how switching to Alpine Communications’ fiber is the simple solution you’ve been hoping for!

Peak Hour Slowdowns—What They Are and Why They Happen

Let’s begin by briefly discussing what a peak hour slowdown is. As the name suggests, it is simply the period of time when internet usage in a given area (such as  your neighborhood) experiences its highest internet traffic from simultaneous, multiple users.

Though it can vary somewhat, peak hours of residential internet traffic are typically between 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM. In other words, peak hours are the times most Americans are home from work looking to binge their favorite TV series, catch up on social media, game with their friends, or watch and post videos. And just like you and your household, your neighbors down the street or across town are also streaming away at the same time!

With older but still common forms of internet like cable, DSL, or satellite, peak hour usage can overwhelm an internet network. This leads to buffering, slowdowns, or connection problems—and mass frustration, just when most families are looking to decompress.

Why Cable Just Can’t Handle Peak Hour Internet Traffic

While cable internet served its purpose in improving home internet speeds and service when it was launched and became widely available in the mid-to-late 1990’s, it continues to rely on old technology to provide internet—copper or coaxial cable. Those cables were originally developed to transmit television signals, not internet data.

Today’s families stream far more data at once than they did in the 1990s, and cable struggles to keep up when nearly every home on the street is trying to stream, game, and more all at the same time. With cable, multiple households typically have a shared connection to the network, which means the more your neighbors use the internet, the less bandwidth is left over for you.

Switching to High-Speed Fiber Internet Is the Solution to Slowdowns!

Unlike cable and other older forms of internet, fiber’s underlying technology and sophisticated components can handle substantially more internet at any given time. Fiber doesn’t suffer from inadequate bandwidth like cable does, because it can transfer huge swaths of data to your home’s connection in mere milliseconds along its glass-like strands of fiber optic materials.

Even more importantly, our fiber delivers a direct, private line to your home. That direct connection ensures that all of your home’s available bandwidth is actually yours and not shared with anyone else—including your neighbors! That direct line to your door from our fiber network puts an end to peak-hour slowdowns altogether.

Plus, with speeds of up to 1 gig per second, fiber can provide everyone in your home with more than enough bandwidth to binge TV and movies, enjoy online gaming, video call with loved ones, and stream videos—even all at the same time!

When you’re ready to end peak hour slowdowns and upgrade to fiber, contact the friendly customer service representatives at Alpine Communications. Our knowledgeable agents and technical experts are here to explain in more detail how our fiber network can make all the difference in your internet service and answer any questions you may have about our plans.

And follow Alpine Communications’ social pages to learn more about our advanced fiber network!