I’ve Got The Internet Blues

I’m not sure why, but the internet in all of Buenos Aires seems to be on its knees. It’s definitely worse in my apartment, but it’s sporadic all over the city right now too.

The first two months I was here it was slow, but reliable for the most part. It would take me 10 hours to download something that would take me 1 or 2 back home, but you could always get online when you needed to. It’s been getting worse over the last two weeks, and these last few days have been pretty brutal.

The internet in my apartment went down this afternoon for a while, so I went across the street to a coffee shop. It worked better there, but it was still a bit spotty. I left there and went to Starbucks, where the internet didn’t work at all. In fact, Starbucks probably has the worst internet out of most places I’ve been to in Buenos Aires.

It’s not just wired and wireless connections either, the 3G on my phone is spotty as well. I imagine all internet in Buenos Aires, including cell phones, shares a common backbone somewhere which would probably explain why they both have issues at the same time.

The only working theory I have is that vacation just ended for most people in the city, and every one is now heading back to school.

Regardless of the cause, it’s getting pretty annoying. I obviously have things I can do when I’m not online, but being disconnected during the day is kind of a pain in the ass.