4G LTE up/dn load speeds?

[vanigo]

Are the 4G LTE upload/download speeds supposed to be equal?

[vzw_customer_support · Accepted solution]

That is a great question, Vanigo. You will usually see that your download speed is significantly higher compared to your upload speed on cellular devices. You can learn the average speeds with this link: https://www.verizonwireless.com/articles/4g-lte-speeds-vs-your-home-network/ .

JoshuaT_VZW

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[stef7]

This is generally never the case. Your upload speed should usually be much much less than that for download. Mostly people pull things from the web, they are not communicating things to the web. So the available bandwidth is going to be allocated mainly to supporting multiple users downloading data.

Things start getting flaky when your upload is faster than your download.

This isn't specific to 4G/LTE, but also 3G. It would be true of cable-based internet, and DSL-based internet.

I've never had fiber, but it's possible to get near Gbps (Gigabits/sec) download speeds.My neighbor does. His upload speed is probably somewhere between 100Mbps to 900Mbps.

[vanigo]

Stef real world results are always different.

Speedtest results for 4G LTE in my area were 55/9  49/6 48/11 and the narrowest spread was 48/27.These tests were run sporadically over the last 3 weeks.I am happy with these 4G LTE speeds.

Since VZ advertises equal speeds  50/50 100/100 150/150  for home service.

I was just wondering  what VZW 4G LTE speed is supposed to be?

[stef7]

Where exactly are they claiming equal speeds? It seems to me there are too many factors at play in Cellular Service for them to even try to control and manage data to that requirement. Is there a FAQ or link you can point me to?

Think about it, if the vast majority of traffic is downloaded bytes, why would any provider allocate or try to manage 50/50 bandwidth allocation?

Some "unused bandwidth" is probably good, because that means you can accommodate new users or higher traffic that might be dependent on time of day, or in times of local or national emergency... But "never used" bandwidth is wasted bandwidth.

Fiber is a different story. Again, in general, VERY few people upload a significant amount of data. If and when they do, it's infrequent and generally in short bursts. So probabilistic-ally, the upload bandwidth on Fiber for all intents and purposes isn't used at all (when you think about Gbps speeds). We are approximating the situation. It's probably never good to speak in absolutes.

Therefore, speed tests will report practically equal results with Fiber. This also makes sense in another way - that Fiber does not Time Division Multiplex a set number of channels (that's chopped up access to different users in time) like a cellular band of frequencies with a set number of antennas and transponders. Instead, Fiber being optical, I believe modems for the most part "frequency division multiplex", where different signal paths from different users use the same fiber, but use different wavelengths of light energy. If my modem is on wavelength red, and yours is on wavelength violet we can co-exist right? Yet our communications don't collide and they don't compete for transmission resources (except maybe at some central office with super fast interfaces)..

[vanigo]

Stef they are not claiming anything other than fast speeds for 4G LTE.

My question was since they advertise equal speeds 50/50 100/100 150/150 for home service is it the same on wireless?

Obviously the answer is no as always I appreciate the extra info.

[vzw_customer_support]

I understand wanting to get a better explanation about our speeds compared to home services stef7. The speeds can vary and they will not be similiar. Is there a reason why you are asking?

AmberF_VZW

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