LTE Speed Tests

[scubajwd]

Not sure which thread this question belongs in so I'll ask here: near me is a newly accepted 4G tower ; about 1/3 of a mile away I get .25 mbps ( Thats 1/4) download and 7.5 mbps upload and the signal level is an awesome -67 RSRQ; GS3 shows 6 bars of signal strength so what's up with this?  Is the tower broadcasting but at a very low level?  How can I see such a strong RF signal but get such a lousy download speed?  Why is there so much asymmetry between the download & upload speeds?None of the other towers around me (for several miles) have had NV upgrades so my guess might be that this tower can't hand off to anything so its broadcasting minimally but if so why have it on at all?

[irev210]

In my experience:

 

Tmo LTE ping: 30-60ms on average

Sprint LTE ping: 50-80ms on average

ATT LTE ping: 60-90ms on average

VZW LTE ping: 80-150ms on average

 

 I don't know what VZW does to its LTE network, but it impacts their pings. And they fluctuate wildly. And if I go to my VZW hotspot, the pings will vary from 100ms to 300ms!!! More than any other LTE hotspot than the other carriers.

 

 

 

I think it has to do with the fact that the network is just very loaded, which impacts latency.

When VZW first launched LTE, I remember latency consistent and low.

[jefbal99]

The FCC has launched their own speed test app.  It will run a few tests in the background each month to not exceed 100MB, hopefully they will use this data to hold carriers accountable for their advertising and projected coverage areas.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samknows.fcc

[anthony.spina97]

Not sure which thread this question belongs in so I'll ask here: near me is a newly accepted 4G tower ; about 1/3 of a mile away I get .25 mbps ( Thats 1/4) download and 7.5 mbps upload and the signal level is an awesome -67 RSRQ; GS3 shows 6 bars of signal strength so what's up with this? Is the tower broadcasting but at a very low level? How can I see such a strong RF signal but get such a lousy download speed? Why is there so much asymmetry between the download & upload speeds?None of the other towers around me (for several miles) have had NV upgrades so my guess might be that this tower can't hand off to anything so its broadcasting minimally but if so why have it on at all?

My diagnosis is it's an overloaded tower. Your download speeds are so low because people tend to download a lot more than they upload, so that is why your upload speed is so much greater.

[COZisBack]

The FCC has launched their own speed test app.  It will run a few tests in the background each month to not exceed 100MB, hopefully they will use this data to hold carriers accountable for their advertising and projected coverage areas.

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samknows.fcc

 

Hmmm. Don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.

 

I know this is GSM, but I'm wondering if this Cell Tower ID would show up in mikejeep's app, otherwise, they have the inside track: