Major LTE Problems in D.C.

[dfizzo]

Is there an explanation for the significant LTE service disruptions in central D.C.?

For the past week LTE service has slowed to an absolute crawl near Metro Center, literally 3-4 blocks from the "Verizon Center" (which you'd think would get great LTE service).

Every day from about 11:30AM on the LTE becomes absolutely useless and remains so throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

This is NOT a problem with my phone as this problem has been occuring for every person with Verizon in my office. We have never had a problem with the LTE service in our building before this week and going outside does nothing to alleviate the problem.

The service is fine in the mornings but without fail right around 11:30 it absolutely dies. Phone says it is connected to LTE services but nothing that uses data will work.

[B33]

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[phositadc]

haha thanks for the invitation   Maybe someday I'll be able to move away from DC, but by then cell phones will probably be hitting speeds of 1000 mbps!

[billsblots]

how do you get the iphone to display the receive sig in dbm?  I had this capability on an older Droid Bionic but haven't found this capability in my iphone5.

[MD76]

I agree with all the expressions of frustration on this post.  The VZW 4G network is clearly congested in downtown DC, but the CSRs apparently have not been empowered to even admit that there's a problem.  I'd rather VZW acknowledge the issue and tell us what their plans are over the next 3-9 months to fix the problem.  BTW, out in Northern Virginia I generally have a good experience with the network and, in a recent trip to Boston, it was excellent.  VZW needs to build out capacity in DC. 

[phositadc]

Yep, I live in Northern VA (literally like 2-3 miles from downtown DC), and I've never had the problems in Northern VA that I have in DC.

It's amazing to me that going a couple miles can totally change the quality of the service.

[billsblots]

Yes, at work all day long it's actually horrible, and I often turn off LTE because a page won't load or a narrow audio stream won't pass.  Outside downtown 5 miles away at lunch it's not bad.

It's typically < 0.4 Mbps in Richmond, VA, but during a trip to Orange County, California the download speeds were typically 16+ Mbps, using the same web site to test download speeds.

At least they are finally admitting it, I've filed at least 15 complaints over the past year.

[phositadc]

Verizon has admitted what we've known for months:  That it has some major congestion problems.  See http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57612021-94/verizon-admits-network-faces-traffic-pressure-in-big-ci....

Hopefully the customer service reps who respond to threads like this will now be able to acknowledge that.  And hopefully Verizon's promise of getting it fixed quickly will actually happen.

[billsblots]

This is a colossal problem across cities nationwide for Verizon Wireless.  I have been complaining to them for over a year about the non-performing LTE network in downtown Richmond, Virginia, with no solid feedback from VZW, even telling me that I was in a "marginal area" - I'm 1/4 mile from the state capital and overlook the intersection of I-95 and the main downtown street in Richmond. 

Download speeds are typically less than 400 kbps (0.4 Mbps), although Verizon advertises their "blazing speeds" nationwide.

Complaining is finally having some effect.  Verizon has admitted they have major problems with throughput in major cities and have promised to reengineer their network and add additional frequencies.

I have often had to shut off LTE and resort to their 3G network, which is slow and plodding but eventually will load a page.

Keep complaining until they deliver the "blazing speeds" that they've been promising !!!

"Verizon CFO Fran Shammo admitted that the carrier’s network quality has  been compromised in some areas due to 4G LTE traffic, but a fix is on  the way by the end of the year."

[phositadc]

So Verizon supposedly turned the switch on something that will increase speeds significant in Washington DC today.  http://gizmodo.com/verizons-lte-just-three-times-faster-in-a-bunch-of-big-1477818374.  Can anybody confirm improved speeds?  I stopped using my Verizon phone because the service was so bad, but maybe this will bring me back if it actually fixes the problem.

[Trish672]

I can confirm that Verizon LTE speeds are still terrible here in downtown DC. Did a test run with my Ipad Air. When it connects (which isn't all that often) it usually tops out at 0.25 mb/s. Tmobile has really stepped up it's game though. As of this week I'm getting around 25 mb/s consistently. If things don't change within the next couple of months I'll be cutting ties with Verizon completely.

[redwood02]

Me as well 2 blocks south of dupont - even with 3 bars speeds are very slow or connections time out entirely

[phositadc]

Pitiful.  Why would Verizon tell the press that it is speeding things up in DC and then not do it?  Hopefully it's on the way, but these months we've had with sub-3g speeds on LTE are just ridiculous, and the delay in fixing it just unacceptable.

[Nitspatel]

Those speeds only applies to newest generation phones "IPhone 5S" and Samsung Galaxy S4 since they support that band. All others phones are still on the older bands and facing congestion.

[GPSJay]

I just want to add my voice to these complaints.  Zip code 20591.  I've been tracking this for months on my own.  I am so relieved to see others have the same problem.   I have been clocking LTE speeds of around 15 Mbps at 6:45 am every morning.  In exactly the same spot, between 11:30 am and noon, speeds drop to between 2 and .9.  It happens indoors and outside.  I mean, right in the heart of DC.

I use a Droid Razr.  The tech support folks for my office were using Verizon hotspots for some of their work, but had to switch to AT&T because they couldn't maintain LTE signals on Verizon inside our building. 

My contract is up in exactly two weeks.  After at least 15 years with VZW, I am probably going  to jump to AT&T or one of their alter-ego providers just to get decent LTE speeds at the time of day when it matters most.  This also happens in zip 20191 and also when I am out and about in Northern Virginia, e.g., Leesburg, VA.

[vzw_customer_support]

GPSJay,
Thank you for providing us that information.  I have looked in your areas that you have provided and I do not see any network issues reported in our system.  We would want to open a network ticket to have our engineers take a look at this issue.  If you could follow us and then direct message us your information so we could take a look at your account.

Thank you,
RobinD_VZW
Follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[tikibar1]

  and  

[GPSJay]

I tried to sign up to direct message you, but never got the confirmation.  I bought an iPhone5S (unlocked) full price so that I could switch to another carrier if necessary.  I found that, initially, my speeds on Speedtest.net did go up on Verizon, but it turns out to be low network congestion during the holidays.  Now that the holidays are over, I am back to getting as much as 35 mbps early am but only about 1 to 2 mbps around noon.  Obviously, a congestion issue.  I always test within about 5 feet of the same location, so it is not a matter of changing my position relative to buildings, etc.  My contract is up, so I am shopping for alternatives.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hey there GPSJay,

I'm sorry for the confusion. I have already gone ahead and followed you. Please accept and follow me and send me a dm and I will take it from here. I apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience. I look forward to hearing from you.

NicholasB_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[GPSJay]

Here is some information:

I was using a Droid Razr,  I've switched to an iPhone 5S.  I have primarily measured these issues in downtown Washington, DC, standing next to large windows.  In the mornings, before 7 am, I am able to get LTE speeds of up to 35 Mbps as measured by Speedtest.net.  Starting at about 11:45 am, those speeds drop to between 2 and 0.9 Mbps within 5 feet of the same location, still near large windows, and using the same app.  I experience similar results standing outside.  If you are familiar with Washington DC, I get the same results at the intersection of 7th Street and Indepedence Avenue, SW.  I also get in other locations within a few blocks of that intersection. 

[JBinVA]

Jay, this is network congestion. VZ has massively oversold their network

and is unwilling to admit it, even to their tech support people. Prepare to

spend an hour troubleshooting, then they'll tell you that they need to get

"Tier 2 support" people involved. And that's where your support will end.

No one will call you back after that. (At least that's how my issue went,

and it's been over a month since I reported the same problems you are.)

This issue is reported in every big city city forum here on VZ's support

site.

[GPSJay]

Thanks.

Verizon Wireless corporately has admitted to the problem.  See the links below.

However, there really isn't anything their Tech Support folks can do about it, since they have no control over the company's network upgrade schedule.  All you can hope for is to put your hand up and hope they recognize that you are in a problem area that needs attention.

The planned solution doesn't help most customers, either.  You need a newer AWS-capable phone.  I have one now, but apparently the fix hasn't come to my area.  Maybe as folks with new phones move to AWS, it will indirectly help others by reducing congestion on their frequencies. 

Also, the higher-frequency network can carry more traffic, but has poor building-penetration and doesn't travel as far.  That's a big problem for me and others, who need to use their phones indoors.  For that reason, there's a lot to be said for the 700 band that T-mobile is trying to cobble up from the other carriers.  If they expand into some of my regular haunts, I will jump to them ASAP.

http://stopthecap.com/2013/11/13/verizon-admits-congestion-problems-for-its-lte-4g-network-in-nyc-sa...

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-06/verizon-wirelesss-4g-blitzkrieg

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304173704579260354018157042