Poor Cell Throughput Huger SC

[DizzyG24]

I work for a company with about 1000 employees in Huger, SC just outside of Charleston. The actual cell signal isn't bad, 2-3 bars usually, but the data throughput is horrendous. All the company phones the employees use are on Verizon.  I access the Verizon Cell network through Xfinity. Up until 2 weeks ago my throughput was "usable". Now it's not. If I get a speed test to even load I get dial-up speeds or less. 

I contacted Xfinity, got a new Sim Card and even transferred the Sim card to a slightly older phone and there's no change in service. I was even paying for the higher tier which is supposed to give me higher priority due to congested networks, which had no effect.

Did something happen to a tower near here recently that caused this? My wife works here and here work phone today got less than 0.5 mbps on her Verizon phone.  I can't imagine our company would stay with this terrible throughput much longer. I know I'm considering leaving whether my company does or not

[SynthpopAddict]

If Xfinity is your mobile provider, 3rd party companies have the lowest priority for network access.  Even if you are paying for a "speed boost" package with Xfinity, Verizon will still deprioritize you in favor of Verizon customers, and there's even a pecking order for Verizon customers.

I am pretty convinced Verizon has been doing something to improve their network in recent weeks, but if they are working on the network, the towers can't have full capacity while they are being upgraded because parts of them are down for maintenance while the rest is carrying traffic.

[DizzyG24]

I appreciate your feedback, and my service had such an abrupt change in service that I figure something is going on. 

But it would be false advertising to offer priority service , at a higher cost. and not have it do something. In the end Verizon does get money from me, via Xfinity. 

[SynthpopAddict]

Agree with you, however, the problem is currently with Verizon and Xfinity can't do anything about it.  They probably have an agreement with Verizon that customers paying for the speed boost will get a little better priority on the network compared to Xfinity customers who aren't paying for the boost, but overall, 3rd party customers not directly with Verizon are still at the bottom of the network barrel.

[DizzyG24]

Yeah, I was hoping a Verizon rep would respond, maybe they could  see if work is being done nearby., see if this is a temporary slow-down.

My most recent speed test on Fast.Com took about three minutes to load and I got 18 kbps. I 've had dial-up faster than that. My wife on her  Verizon work phone got 24 mbps  3 feet away from me.  If this is all I can expect from Xfinity I will go to T-Mobile, since, as you said, this is  in Verizon's control. 

[SynthpopAddict · Accepted solution]

Ask around to see who's working better.  I used to be with Spectrum Mobile (another 3rd party provider who uses Verizon) and their service completely tanked on me last year where it was total garbage.  Porting to Verizon fixed all the service issues except for having slow data speeds a lot.  But I am a prepaid customer, so can't expect topnotch service as postpaid customers are paying considerably more than I am.

I tried T-Mobile (postpaid) very briefly and found out why some folks call them "T-Maybe"...and won't go into the details of the billing fiasco I had with them here...  But they must be working for somebody, although I've been chuckling at their latest ads where they've removed the "fastest" reference to their network.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi DizzyG24. Good question! We would love to review your Verizon service in your area that would include coverage and also your plan and phone that could also impact your experience. Please reply to the following private message, and we will look further into the details of your Vrizon experience.

-Deb