Internet rush hour

In contrast to the hours cited above from a source dated 2011, a Google Analytics report[2] dated 2017 indicates very strongly that daily web use peaks between 9 am and midday, falling off steadily throughout the day with a modest levelling off between 7 pm and 10 pm, and then collapses to a base at 4 am.

Some ISPs have been criticized for implementing bandwidth throttling to intentionally slow down a user's internet service at various points on the network.

The key problem at peak hour is however the peering capacity: it represents the size of the doors between two networks.

For instance, Netflix and Google are reported to represent more than 50% of peak hour downstream traffic in the US in a study by Sandvine (figures for October 2013).

There is a commercial and legal battle in progress to determine who will pay for the costs induced by peak hour traffic.

Three positions exist: As an example of these fights, Comcast went up against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in regard to net neutrality, or keeping their networks open regardless of the content.

[6] The federal appeals court ruled that the FCC had no authority to stop Comcast from slowing internet traffic.