PereDroid
Diamond Member
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2010
- Messages
- 5,908
- Reaction score
- 3,681
- Location
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Current Phone Model
- Moto Turbo 2
Of course that article is like 16 months old.
I buy the argument, but not sure about the conclusion. I was under the impression (though we haven't heard anything in a LONG time) that Verizon was throttling heavy users:
Did you know Verizon also throttles unlimited data service? | Signal Strength - CNET News
If only we could see what throughput on an average tower looks like, and more importantly, how many of those users are the heavy, unlimited types. My gut feeling is that they/we are a very, very small percentage of total bandwidth these days.
-Matt
Of course that article is like 16 months old.
...though we haven't heard anything in a LONG time
I used to show off speed test screen shots in excess of 45mbps from all over but now I'm lucky to see 22mbps anywhere.
Thanks, you are correct (as always).And I thought the throttling was supposed to be 3G, anyway.
Keep in mind this policy only applies to customers with unlimited data plans on the 3G network. Verizon doesn't slow down data for 4G customers. This means that if you have an iPhone 5 with 4G and you live in an area where Verizon offers 4G LTE service, you should never have your data throttled or slowed down even if you use more than 2GB of data per month.
Why is there a distinction? The 3G wireless network as you note in your question is much slower. It's also much more crowded than the new 4G network. Since Verizon services more customers on a network that doesn't have as much capacity, there is more opportunity for congestion.
Verizon's 4G LTE network offers much more capacity than the 3G network. Think of the two networks as highways. The 3G network is a four-lane dual highway where traffic moves just fine during off-peak hours. But during rush hour, it may turn into a parking lot as too many cars crowd the roadway. The 4G LTE network may be an eight-lane highway with four lanes in each direction. Because the road is wider it can handle twice as many cars. So during rush hour, cars are able to still move freely.
In other words, Verizon still has plenty of capacity on its 4G LTE network. The road is bigger and there are actually fewer drivers on it. Although that is quickly changing. In October, the company said that in September its 4G LTE network handled 35 percent of its mobile data traffic. And that figure was expected to cross the 50 percent mark by the end of the year.
Verizon wants money and they are trying to limit the amount of usage on their towers by putting lower data caps. By doing so their towers will stay fast but with unlimited customers hogging up all the bandwidth its slow and it can't compete with at&t
I don't know if there's a correlation or not but myself and everyone I know, unlimited data or not, saw a sudden speed change by around 50% drop in late November 2012 throughout Virginia and upper North Carolina that has remained so ever since. I used to show off speed test screen shots in excess of 45mbps from all over but now I'm lucky to see 22mbps anywhere.
Support Our Troops!!!
<><
I don't know if there's a correlation or not but myself and everyone I know, unlimited data or not, saw a sudden speed change by around 50% drop in late November 2012 throughout Virginia and upper North Carolina that has remained so ever since. I used to show off speed test screen shots in excess of 45mbps from all over but now I'm lucky to see 22mbps anywhere.
Support Our Troops!!!
<><