Verizon and AT&T’s data caps have made LTE a waste of money

[bcltoys]

actually no they aren't.  If you want to manage how much folks use..slow them down.  t-mobile has that option available.  If you cannot support folks using 10 mb/s all the time then give everyone 1 megabit.  Also it is the wireless carriers own fault for marketing 4g as a replacement for wired.  What they need to do is properly manage their networks..caps only drive up revenues they don't do anything for network management.  SPrint's model is the new myway plans is more correct...reserve the right to throttle heavy usage(video..etc etc) to 1 mb/s or less rather than using arbitrary caps.  Also ALL connections are shared..it is just a matter of where the sharing takes place.

Ditto.

[Destroyallcubes]

If this were a sponsor area, i'd post proof, but I know a spot just up the road from me that has a -103 LTE signal, and that spot is 8 miles from the tower. Actually, 8.9 miles, but that's driving distance. As the crow flies...6..probably...

I'm wondering if maps has a way of showing ATCF distances...but either way, 3 miles? no way.

To give my side about how 1900 goes distances, id that I have seen voice come from a sight 12+ miles away. And that is in east texas, with tons of pine trees.

[lafester]

+1

 

No caps... throttle when necessary. 1-2 mbps should do it.

2gb hard caps are insane for what vzw and att are charging.

 

actually no they aren't.  If you want to manage how much folks use..slow them down.  t-mobile has that option available.  If you cannot support folks using 10 mb/s all the time then give everyone 1 megabit.  Also it is the wireless carriers own fault for marketing 4g as a replacement for wired.  What they need to do is properly manage their networks..caps only drive up revenues they don't do anything for network management.  SPrint's model is the new myway plans is more correct...reserve the right to throttle heavy usage(video..etc etc) to 1 mb/s or less rather than using arbitrary caps.  Also ALL connections are shared..it is just a matter of where the sharing takes place.

 

Ditto.

[koiulpoi]

actually no they aren't.  If you want to manage how much folks use..slow them down.  t-mobile has that option available.  If you cannot support folks using 10 mb/s all the time then give everyone 1 megabit.  Also it is the wireless carriers own fault for marketing 4g as a replacement for wired.  What they need to do is properly manage their networks..caps only drive up revenues they don't do anything for network management.  SPrint's model is the new myway plans is more correct...reserve the right to throttle heavy usage(video..etc etc) to 1 mb/s or less rather than using arbitrary caps.  Also ALL connections are shared..it is just a matter of where the sharing takes place.

I'm quoting you just to go off of your post, this is more of a generic question to anyone in the know.

 

The whole purpose of data caps is to keep a network "managed" and keep it from being brought down through overuse and abuse, leading to a worse experience for everyone on a shared resource.... right?

 

However, it seems to me this is not the only factor, unless a site is backhaul-limited. So let me go ahead and throw down a hypothetical example.

 

You have a sector on a cell site. Let's assume backhaul is more than enough. It's a 5x5 MHz FD-LTE carrier, so our maximum downlink is 37.5 Mbps.

 

1) Is it safe to say that, assuming all mobiles have excellent signal strength, that with 10 active users, each will get an (approximate) speed of 3.75 Mbps? (I understand this is far from a real-life situation due to the burst factor of data, but bear with me)

 

2) Now, let's say that each mobile is artificially limited (throttled) to 1 Mbps. Does this actually raise our total capacity to 37 devices at 1 Mbps, or is the frequency conerns and interference mean that the site actually has much less capacity?

 

Basically, my question comes down to, in either a hypothetical or real-world situation, is throttling an effective way to increase capacity on an LTE cell site? Assuming, again, backhaul is no object, merely talking the abilities of the link itself.

[dedub]

The whole purpose of data caps is to keep a network "managed" and keep it from being brought down through overuse and abuse, leading to a worse experience for everyone on a shared resource.... right?

 

 

No.

 

The whole purpose of data caps is to increase the cost to the consumer and raise profits of the company.

 

TCP/IP has it's own network management built in, everything else (ie traffic shaping/throttling) is designed to subvert the natural management that happens on a shared tcp/ip network to increase profitability.

 

All other things being equal, the 37mbs of the sector will be shared equally amongst all simultaneous connections. Period.

 

Consider any heavily loaded sector is going to have potentially a hundred or more connections all sharing that 37 mbs.

 

Also, under heavy congestion, the network can initiate base station hand offs to further less loaded towers when necessary.

[Fraydog]

Not sure I would use the word planning on some of them expensive fiber connections to cover those cane fields with almost zero population and the LTE doesn't reach the interstate as intended isn't planning to me.

 

There are bad network engineers and bad planners working for all carriers. It's hardly a phenomena limited to Sprint Corporation.

[bigsnake49]

Since you are a sponsor and have access to the maps, I suggest you locate your towers and then start to drive away from them and see what the distance is between them. I've gone upwards of 5 miles from a PCS tower while still retaining a signal. There is no way you can generalize most or all towers being effective to x miles distance. There are so many factors involved...down tilt, interference, device rf performance, weather, topography, phone case design, hand holding (iPhone had an issue with this), solar flares, alien intervention, nuclear fallout, zombie apocalypse, etc...

 

It has being scientifically proven that zombie apocalypse has absolutely no effect on signals below 3.5GHz. 

[bigsnake49]

No.

 

The whole purpose of data caps is to increase the cost to the consumer and raise profits of the company.

 

TCP/IP has it's own network management built in, everything else (ie traffic shaping/throttling) is designed to subvert the natural management that happens on a shared tcp/ip network to increase profitability.

 

All other things being equal, the 37mbs of the sector will be shared equally amongst all simultaneous connections. Period.

 

Consider any heavily loaded sector is going to have potentially a hundred or more connections all sharing that 37 mbs.

 

Also, under heavy congestion, the network can initiate base station hand offs to further less loaded towers when necessary.

Nothing more than a money grab by the carriers, period, end of story. On the other hand, I do not condone using wireless as a replacement for a fixed internet connection unless you pay for it.

Edited September 29, 2013 by bigsnake49

[JeffDTD]

I have no issue with data caps. What I do have issue with is the pricing schemes and amount of data being arbitrarily low. In my case, I have used as much as 8gb in a month and as little as 2gb. I would rather my usage revolve around my life instead of the opposite. If the big two arent comfortable with marginally improving their allotment pricing, why not let our data "roll-over" month to month?

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

 

[gameaddict8]

I have no issue with data caps. What I do have issue with is the pricing schemes and amount of data being arbitrarily low. In my case, I have used as much as 8gb in a month and as little as 2gb. I would rather my usage revolve around my life instead of the opposite. If the big two arent comfortable with marginally improving their allotment pricing, why not let our data "roll-over" month to month?

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

They make more money if they cap you at a low amount. Stick with Tmo or Sprint if you have good coverage for unlimited.  They have cheaper pricing as well.