Lots of data - Verizon DSL speed goes down predictably

The data could always be better and more thorough, but I feel that I did a lot of work for free for Verizon here. But the data that I have does do one thing - it does show a pattern where my speed drops.

Tool used - iPod Touch running Speedtest.net app to test download and upload speeds.

The following table has all the data (this does not include the data in my previous post). The data in this table is color coded for when I think the speeds are acceptable (blue) and when they are terrible (red). You can see the daily pattern of the speeds dropping off in the early evening through night, and then speeding up again around midnight. I don't change anything on my side - don't reboot the router/modem or any connected computer.

Table -

	Date/Time	Download	Upload	Latency	ServerName
1	3/1/2010 20:54	1060	382	553	Reston, VA
2	3/1/2010 20:23	1085	510	615	Reston, VA
3	3/1/2010 18:28	1812	661	249	Reston, VA
4	3/1/2010 18:28	1992	672	306	Reston, VA
5	3/1/2010 8:08	2532	667	86	Reston, VA
6	3/1/2010 0:24	2750	679	86	Reston, VA
7	2/28/2010 23:38	2606	655	123	Reston, VA
8	2/28/2010 21:44	1053	614	635	Reston, VA
9	2/28/2010 21:22	1166	645	393	Reston, VA
10	2/28/2010 21:21	983	637	616	Reston, VA
11	2/28/2010 18:54	1109	664	86	Reston, VA
12	2/28/2010 18:23	1890	659	134	Reston, VA
13	2/28/2010 14:55	2112	674	148	Reston, VA
14	2/28/2010 13:12	1703	655	91	Reston, VA
15	2/28/2010 10:53	2131	659	148	Reston, VA
16	2/28/2010 10:21	2229	470	301	Reston, VA
17	2/28/2010 10:20	2089	525	194	Reston, VA
18	2/28/2010 9:37	2267	624	92	Reston, VA
19	2/28/2010 1:30	2597	644	83	Reston, VA
20	2/28/2010 0:11	2677	659	305	Reston, VA
21	2/27/2010 18:39	2163	653	152	Reston, VA
22	2/27/2010 17:50	1923	621	88	Reston, VA
23	2/27/2010 17:14	2030	619	105	Reston, VA
24	2/27/2010 16:21	1478	658	982	Reston, VA
25	2/27/2010 15:27	1975	659	239	Reston, VA
26	2/27/2010 14:46	1524	645	91	Reston, VA
27	2/27/2010 14:08	1529	673	89	Reston, VA
28	2/27/2010 12:55	1669	649	307	Reston, VA

Verizon, come on, someone over there tell me why this speed drops every evening!?! It is supposed to be 3000kbps, btw.

Verizon DSL - isn't it supposed to be constant?

Over the last week, I have noticed that my download speeds for Verizon DSL are not what they are supposed to be. Heck, that would not be as irritating as what is actually happening. I get the advertised speeds during parts of the day, and 1/2 the advertised speeds during parts of the day. I thought the big advantage of DSL over Cable is that the speed does not fluctuate based on usage.

Experience with Verizon Tech Support has been a little less than stellar (I am being polite). Every guy I contact wants to do a line test and then wants to do a screen share and tweak my computer. Really? How will that help? I don't change anything, but my speed changes. It changes even when none of the computers have been rebooted/shutdown, or the modem recycled.

So, for kicks, I downloaded this app from the Apple App store, from SpeedTest.net. This app is running on my iPod Touch, and I ran tests at various intervals. Not changing anything on my computer(s) or routers, or the Verizon modem.

The results, so far, seem to confirm my suspicion that Verizon is either artificially throttling the speeds during the evening hours, or just has an issue with the local office.

Here is what I have so far [notice the slow speeds yesterday night, switching to fast after midnight and so far today? That is the usual trend] -

Date	Download	Upload	Latency	ServerName
2/27/2010 12:07 PM	2740	659	86	Reston, VA
2/27/2010 8:22 AM	2648	668	87	Reston, VA
2/27/2010 0:52 AM	2699	660	102	Reston, VA
2/26/2010 23:20 PM	1465	659	193	Reston, VA
2/26/2010 22:24 PM	1153	602	84	Washington, DC
2/26/2010 22:01 PM	1442	576	92	Washington, DC

If only I could convince Verizon about this and get them off the focus on tweaking my computer settings.