Horrible data network performance - Midway Utah

[Ovationplayer]

We were in Midway, August 28,29. We use these lines for business

[smith6612]

Were you seeing this on 3G or LTE?

[Ovationplayer]

Sorry for the truncated reply.  Here is the scenario:

- Midway Utah, Swiss Days Festival

- 2 Motorola Ultra devices

- Hotspot enabled (each has a different SSID)

- Credit card processing through the WiFi Hotspot from our Point of Sale

In the morning the speeds were great.  As more and more people showed up, the phones switched from LTE to 3G to 1X.  Processing transactions starting exceeded 4 minutes where they normally take about 10 seconds. In the afternoon a transaction would take over 8 minutes to process, tying up that POS terminal.  Of course customers didn't want to wait that long so we let them leave while we retried and retried and retried.

I happened to have my work cell phone (AT&T) at the show so I enabled the hotspot on it.  Transaction speeds were blazingly fast.  Talking to many of my customers, they complained that they could not even text their spouse on the other side of the event if they were on Verizon.  Using my AT&T device we enjoyed a full day of amazingly fast data network performance.  Throughout the day on Saturday 8/30 I tried the Verizon devices but could not get even a 3G data indicator.

I powered off and back on the Ultras but it did not make any difference.  I brought up both hotspots and assigned a single POS to each - no difference.

Overall I was really really disappointed in the overall quality of service.

[smith6612]

Do you have an approximation of how many people were present at the event?

What you've described sounds like the local tower was reaching the "maximum device per sector" limit and was thus unable to cope with new connections. This is fixed with increased tower density and segregated spectrum diversity.

Don't forget, one of the breaking points of wireless is an inherent inefficiency attributed to having more devices on the same spectrum in a given area. As more devices are added, overall throughput of the tower decreases as overhead associated with maintaining physical connectivity increases, with the same involving maintaining the basics needed for Internet access to even work. This also affects the overall range of the tower, as more devices increase the noise floor for the area. This is partially why Verizon implemented the AWS spectrum, which is supposed to help fix some of the problem attributed with the LTE currently. AWS and having a tower nearby is perfect for such a situation, but in most cases AWS is only useful when outside or within a half mile of a tower.

Lastly, with any technology whether it is LTE, CDMA, GSM, DOCSIS, or ADSL, higher throughput require tighter tolerances to maintain a level of service. This is part of the reason why LTE often works worse at a distance despite running on spectrum that can penetrate further than EvDO, and why it is often the first to drop in heavier loads.

[Ann154]

Ah! Now it makes sense. Festival + more people + same tower = less capacity for all

Sounds the majority of the festival visitors had Verizon Wireless for their carrier. The festival organizers didn't contact Verizon Wireless to request a supplemental mobile tower to support the additional influx of people to keep the existing towers in the area from being overloaded.

I would suggest commenting on the lack of cellular data support for the festival with the organizers in the hopes that they correct it for the next year.

[Ovationplayer]

Festival organizers estimate attendance between 40,000 and 50,000 people each day, most from out of the immediate area.  Yes, it seems many of the people attending used Verizon as their carrier.

[Ovationplayer]

Excellent advise.  We have a couple of big festivals coming up - Boise Idaho, Half Moon Bay Califormia.  Is there a phone number or address that I can point the promoters to so hopefully we can ward off this issue?  If you have some clear instructions for the promoters on how to request supplemental mobile tower support, I would be happy to contact them with the information and make them aware of the option.

[Ann154]

I don't know how to contact Verizon Wireless for such equipment. I'm just another customer like yourself. However this press release can explain what types of equipment Verizon Wireless has at their disposal for large events. The Tech Barnyard