It happens like clockwork. You finish dinner, settle on the couch, and open Netflix — only to be greeted by the spinning buffer wheel. Your internet, which was perfectly fine all morning, has turned to molasses. If you live in Bangalore and this sounds familiar, you're not alone, and it's not your router's fault.
The Real Culprit: Contention Ratio
Most internet providers in Bangalore sell residential broadband on what's called a high contention ratio model. This means a single high-capacity fiber trunk is shared among hundreds — sometimes thousands — of subscribers in the same locality. Between 8 PM and 11 PM, almost everyone in your neighbourhood is online simultaneously, watching OTT platforms, gaming, and video calling. The pipe simply can't handle that much simultaneous demand, and your speeds nosedive.
This isn't a bug; it's a deliberate business decision. Selling "up to 100 Mbps" to 500 users on a 200 Mbps trunk is extremely profitable when most people are offline during the day. But evenings expose the lie.
What Most ISPs Won't Tell You
The advertised speed on your plan is called a "burst speed" — what you might see for a few seconds during an off-peak speed test. The sustained speed you actually get during peak hours can be 10–20% of the advertised figure. Technically, the ISP hasn't violated any agreement. The fine print almost always says "up to" a certain speed.
This is why Deepu H D, our General Manager of Operations, says the right question to ask your ISP isn't "How fast is your plan?" — it's "What is your peak-hour sustained speed and your network contention ratio?"
How Ginternet Is Built Differently
At Ginternet, we maintain a significantly lower contention ratio across all our residential zones. Our network is designed with dedicated last-mile fiber runs and over-provisioned upstream links, particularly in high-density areas of South Bangalore, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, and HSR Layout. During our own internal audits, customers consistently experience 80–90% of their subscribed speed even at peak hours.
More importantly, we don't throttle. No quiet traffic shaping after midnight. No deprioritising streaming protocols. The speed you pay for is the speed you get — especially when you need it most.
What You Can Do Right Now
Even on an existing plan, there are a few things worth trying: run a speed test both at 2 PM and 9 PM and compare the numbers. If the difference is more than 50%, your current ISP is overselling capacity. Contact them with evidence — ISPs are required to provide a minimum quality of service under TRAI guidelines. If they can't resolve it, you know it's time to switch.
If you're in our service areas, give us a call. We'll do a free site assessment and tell you honestly what speeds to expect at your address — not just what looks good on a pamphlet.