Thai Visa Internet Speed (Slowing Down?), Again. Rained Out?

[OldChinaHam]

I have just read that the rain causes the internet to slow down in Thailand.

So now, I also notice that today the posting speed to TV is slowing down, too.

Are these two bits of data related?

In a cause and effect way?

TV has been pretty fast, remarkably fast, until today.

And I am wondering if the Thailand internet is now waterlogged.

People say it can get that way.

But such things do not happen in Taiwan,

Where it does some serious raining,

Most of the year.

Thanks.

[PlastikbinLina]

Slowing down of Internet connections to your PC by any service provider is not universal. It really depends on the area you are in, the transmission path to your PC or your WIFI connection. Rain or damage can affect poor insulated cables or exchange equipment failures requiring maintenance. I suggest you call TOT and ask them to investigate the problem. They are usually very cooperative. Good Luck.

[Pib]

When it rains local lines/circuits in Thailand can be impaired since many of the junction boxes and the wiring are not always protected from the environment in the best way (especially DSL/phone lines). In Thailand, we all see the attention to detail given to the spaghetti of electrical and communications lines/junction boxes hanging on poles, buildings, trees, ground, etc. And we don't even see the portion underground....and we now how the ground is always wet after you dig down a little bit. Plus, when it rains I expect more people just stay at home and surf the internet which eats up available bandwidth.

As mentioned by another poster, the speed you obtain can be greatly influenced by local circuits. For me here in western Bangkok on a True DOCSIS (cable) 15Mb plan rain seems to have very little effect since the lines are well protected/high quality TV cable lines with no junction boxes on the ground which can get flooded/easily accessed/messed with. If you ever looked in one of those phone/DSL ground-based junction boxes some look more like a corroded rats nest inside...I've seen inside several in my Bangkok moobaan and my mother-in-laws' provincial area.

DOCSIS and fiber lines are just a completely different technology from DSL lines not to imply DOCSIS/fiber lines don't have some problems also...maybe the OP is one DOCSIS or fiber. I also usually experience some internet slow-down to "international" website when it been raining for hours/all day/etc., since more people are staying at home and just surfing the internet/eating up the bandwidth. But in terms of in-Thailand/domestic bandwidth, Signal to Noise Ratio, etc., these line metrics seem to stay rock solid for me during rain or shine. Heck, my DOCSIS never went down during the late 2011 flood when I had over a meter of water in my moobaan for almost a month; most of the folks in my moobaan who were on DSL lost their internet service during the first few days of the flooding and didn't get it back (nor phone service) for almost a month.

[OldChinaHam]

When it rains local lines/circuits in Thailand can be impaired since many of the junction boxes and the wiring are not always protected from the environment in the best way (especially DSL/phone lines). In Thailand, we all see the attention to detail given to the spaghetti of electrical and communications lines/junction boxes hanging on poles, buildings, trees, ground, etc. And we don't even see the portion underground....and we now how the ground is always wet after you dig down a little bit. Plus, when it rains I expect more people just stay at home and surf the internet which eats up available bandwidth.

As mentioned by another poster, the speed you obtain can be greatly influenced by local circuits. For me here in western Bangkok on a True DOCSIS (cable) 15Mb plan rain seems to have very little effect since the lines are well protected/high quality TV cable lines with no junction boxes on the ground which can get flooded/easily accessed/messed with. If you ever looked in one of those phone/DSL ground-based junction boxes some look more like a corroded rats nest inside...I've seen inside several in my Bangkok moobaan and my mother-in-laws' provincial area.

DOCSIS and fiber lines are just a completely different technology from DSL lines not to imply DOCSIS/fiber lines don't have some problems also...maybe the OP is one DOCSIS or fiber. I also usually experience some internet slow-down to "international" website when it been raining for hours/all day/etc., since more people are staying at home and just surfing the internet/eating up the bandwidth. But in terms of in-Thailand/domestic bandwidth, Signal to Noise Ratio, etc., these line metrics seem to stay rock solid for me during rain or shine. Heck, my DOCSIS never went down during the late 2011 flood when I had over a meter of water in my moobaan for almost a month; most of the folks in my moobaan who were on DSL lost their internet service during the first few days of the flooding and didn't get it back (nor phone service) for almost a month.

This is probably the best reply to any question I have seen posted on TV during the past seven months I have been reading.

I had been thinking: Why do people here say the net slows down when it rains. It did not seem logical because I had been thinking that water is no barrier to the flow of electrons through copper wire, or fibre for that matter.

But I neglected to consider the increased usage during rainy days. I did not think about the degraded connections.

I only thought about the fact that radio waves pass through wet air about the same as dry air.

Now I know the answer to my question.

I found someone smarter than you know who.

How refreshing to be shown up like this in such a clear and logical way.

I think there cannot be a better answer to the question.

My faith in humanity has been raised a whole level.

How unfortunate that all replies and explanations on TV cannot be only half as good, or better than half this good.

Let me get this straight, though.

If I have the chance to select my service in the future,

Then I should go with DOCSIS, over DSL?

Well, that may be, until my neighbors begin downloading HD movies all at the same time (would that not water down the individual download speeds?)

But what I am really waiting for are Google balloons to begin floating overhead here in Chiang Mai,

Balloons like Google is testing over South Africa,

Which provide screaming fast wireless service from above the clouds.

This cannot last forever, the crapppy unstable speeds,

Even if the local companies need to use another provider's services,

The near future will require far faster and more stable service than anything the local companies can offer at the moment.

Anyway, thanks for the explanation,

It is nice to know why local people complain about the internet,

When it rains.

[worgeordie]

Yes something has defiantly changed here in last couple of weeks? very slow to load,

if you are posting anything, click POST and nothing happens sometimes for a couple

of minutes, maybe they need bigger newer servers ?

regards Worgeordie