Child Item

Site Totals

61363 Questions Answered 267 Categories

Slow speeds during peak evening hours (overloaded tower?)

Is anyone else experiencing slow download speeds during peak evening hours? Has been happening the last 3-4 weeks.

Here's what I get during the day:

Here's what I get on many (not all) nights during the last 3-4 weeks:

The UL speeds take only a minor hit. DL speeds are 1/4 of what they normally are during the day. Ping times triple. RSSI is unaffected.

Same results on both my Thunderbolt and Pantech UML290, so I know it's not a device issue.

Tech support told me that the tower may be near its capacity. Really? Is the backhaul on a 4G tower really not enough to handle a relatively small town?

Comments

Ann154

You're getting 20+ Mb/s during the day and only 4+ Mb/s during the night? Sounds like the opposite of what I see with my Tbolt.

I can get 20+ Mb/s DL most times during the evening or at night.

During the day at work in a large downtown area, I would be lucky if I reached over 10 Mb/s download.

dmc271

Ann154, thanks for the report. What concerns me the most is that the 4G network is less than a year old, and its already slowing down to a crawl; to speeds that are below minimum stated specs. In other forums, people are reporting noticeable slowdowns as well. Actually, nearing 3G speeds.

What happens one year from now? Maybe VZW will earn the same reputation for poor network performance as AT&T.

Here's what I'm getting tonight (8:30 CST)...

Right on schedule, it slows to a crawl. Yes, I am connected to 4G, even though the DL speed is more in line with 3G speeds.

The above is with the UML290. Slower speeds, and pings in the 400+ ms range on the Thunderbolt.

Was seeing 20+ Mbps this morning. <sigh>

Ann154

This is probably what I get as an average. I have seen much better and worse.

http://www.speedtest.net/android/98805020.png

I wonder if it would be worth making contact with one of VZW employees on this community. At the very least, to report the concerns and ask if others have reported issues through CS.

dmc271

Ann154: Thx for the suggestion. I actually do have a ticket open with support. They said they'd call me back in 24-72 hours. We'll see... (Last time it took them 3 weeks to call me back, and then the engineer just said "There were no problems found in your area.")

I'm going to keep a log of speed tests. Perhaps I'll keep updating this thread.

Again, like clockwork, as we approach 11pm, speeds are beginning to return to normal...

dmc271

9:30pm, 11/6/2011. Lost of packet loss tonight...

dmc271

9:15pm, 11/7/2011...

dmc271

OK, since tech support never called me back, I decided to call in. What a frustrating experience. Long story short...

1.5 Mbps and 200-400+ ms pings are to be expected 4G speeds during peak times since they have no control over how many users may be connecting to the tower.

So much for the Evolution in LTE.

Merrick

Thats terrible. I'm getting better than those speeds with and outdated Alltel wireless data card on 3G.

Ann154

"1.5 Mbps and 200-400+ ms pings are to be expected 4G speeds during peak times since they have no control over how many users may be connecting to the tower."

At 9 pm at night is considered "peak" times? Not in my mind. Were you definitely talking with tech support under option 3 or still the front line support (option 1)? Just wondering if you were in the more knowledgeable area of customer service during the phone call.

This wasn't last night, but the results were done around the 9 o'clock hour a few nights ago on my Tbolt. http://www.speedtest.net/android/98520305.png

dmc271

Merrick: Thx for the confirmation. I thought I was going insane when they told me the speeds were expected.

Ann154: I believe I was talking to Level-2 tech support. I first used Option 3, talked to someone, and then was transferred to another tech department.

The most frustrating part was this: When I mentioned that my speeds are 3G speeds, not 4G speeds, the VZW representative replied: "Well, it's the same price whether you get 3G or 4G."

Ann154

Dmc271 wrote: The most frustrating part was this: When I mentioned that my speeds are 3G speeds, not 4G speeds, the VZW representative replied: "Well, it's the same price whether you get 3G or 4G."

-------
That would definitely be frustrating! I don't have any other ideas other than to keep calling it in. Maybe an VZW employee here will offer to help...

dmc271

Ann154: Thx--I took your suggestion and contacted VZW support online (both here and via Twitter). They confirmed that my issue was examined by network engineers and the problem is due to limited cell site capacity.

I actually switched to VZW after using a WISP service (long-range WiFi) for three years. Their service became so slow during peak evening hours that the connection was near unusable--ping times over 500 ms and 25% or more packet loss. The owner of that WISP never admitted that the problem was due to oversubscription, but some of their workers told me that their backhaul wasn't enough for all the Netflix streaming.

Now, I'm back in the same boat. All I can do is wait until the end of 2013, approximately 800 days from now, until they light up a new 4G tower to alleviate the oversubscription. As much as I hate it, at least VZW was honest about the fact that the 4G LTE service is oversubscribed in the Stillwater, OK area.

Maybe I'll keep updating this thread with my speed tests to serve as a friendly reminder.

dmc271

These pings remind me of dialup.

Tigon

http://speedtest.net/result/1581976172.png

"There are no additional support tickets for your area."

Funny how Verizon's EVDO speeds took a dive when the LTE network launched in my area. Their "data optimization" doesn't help either.

dmc271

Tigon: That's just crazy! Can't you connect to the 4G network? (Actually, your pings are lower than mine.)

dmc271

Tigon

After 39 days, Verizon has finally offered a resolution to my service ticket. They say I'm "too far from their local towers to provide minimum data service."

Here I thought ~300ft towers had to be anchored to the ground. Little did I know they must get up and walk around since my 3G service worked just fine for over a year and a half leading up to the 4G launch.

dmc271

I received another call today from the manager of my local VZW store. He said that he sent a local tech to correct the tower issues. Apparently, something was wrong with the "10G pipe" and it has now been corrected. My speeds are back to normal.

I'm very thankful to the local VZW manager, and at the same time very upset with VZW's online and phone support, which was very quick to dismiss the problem to my location's supposedly poor signal and/or limited cell capacity. Clearly, this wasn't the case, and the problem was quickly correctable. It just needed someone who actually cared to make things right.

Tigon and others: Maybe try visiting your nearest VZW store to voice your complaints. At least leave feedback at the link I provided on the previous post.

Tigon

dmc271: I don't suppose Verizon offered any additional technical information regarding what they fixed?

I submitted a review through Verizon's survey site and a store representitive called me the next day. While he was nice and apologetic, he couldn't offer any additional information outside of their official tech support channels.

Child Item