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?
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: 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...
SeaJohn: Your 3M DL and 1M UL are below advertised specs. I would call to complain.
For me, in downtown Stillwater, my TB has seen the following top speeds...
(1) July-August: 30+ Mpbs DL and 15+ Mbps UL
(2) September: 20+ Mbps DL and 10 Mbps UL
(3) October: 15+ Mbps DL and 6-8 Mbps UL (at night, speeds are cut in half)
(4) November: 6-12+ Mbps DL and 4-6 Mbps UL (at night, speeds are cut in half)
But, at night, the speeds tank. TB gets 4 Mbps DL and 2 Mbps UL. I hate to think how slow it will be before they upgrade the backhaul/tower. At this rate, I'll be getting 3G speeds in January.
4GLTE on Verizon used to be much faster than HSPA+ on AT&T. Now, at least here, there's no longer a clear winner.
Speeds are back to slow as usual (these are on the UML290)...
11am this morning...
9pm this evening...
9:30pm, 11/6/2011. Lost of packet loss tonight...
9:15pm, 11/7/2011...
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.
These pings remind me of dialup.
