At what point will cellular data speed not matter anymore?

[podspi]

With vfinity from verizon you can watch your tv anywhere, at home, on your phone, or on your tablet. just $99 a month for the first 6 months when you sign up for 2 years.

Haha . I once had a Comcast salesmen try to sell us a plan that would TRIPLE our monthly bill, and he tried to frame it as a great deal...

Thats why Im not giving up unlimited on Verizon until they force me. LTE is spectacular, one of those techs that actually feels like it is more than what is needed for now. Add to that their awesome coverage. Been on 3 business trips this month to completely different areas of the US and not been without 4g. Stream mlb.tv, youtube and netflix in HD, download hd mkvs without a care tethered. Dont even use the joke of a wifi network at my office.

Last hotel charged $13/day for wifi, another I had a worthless signal in my room that just kept dropping, and another I got ~0.5mbps with 500ms+ pings. Ive not stayed at a hotel that is even comparable to vzw lte.

I'll take my 15mbps+ with sub 70ms pings thank you.

But yea without unlimited, or much cheaper data prices, there is little point. Even just browsing the web and streaming Pandora, I can hit 2gb/mo.

Yeah, at this point I am hoping Verizon will let us keep the unlimited as long as we don't upgrade... I have no problem ignoring the upgrade credits...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I know that people say "I get xyz mbps so it's fine." But while I get 6mbps at my office and 3mbps at home, those are great figures. However I get 0.5mbps at my secondary office, and craptastic speeds at many places. So while one can say that for 90% of my time, my data speeds are fast, I also have wifi at those places. It's the 10% when you're out and about that you need directions, need info, that you're in an unpredictable area.

If you can guarantee me 3mbps everywhere I walk with no congestion issues, then yeah I'm happy.

 

[Timorous]

I am really happy with the 3g speed my provider has. My SGS3 gets around 15mbps on average at home with it peaking upto 21mbps on occasions. My GF just got her HTC one yesterday and that was running at about 26mbps on average with pings in the 60-70ms region.

Really looking forward to when the provider starts to roll out their LTE later this year because they have already stated that it will just be part of the data plan on all tariffs so if the phone supports LTE then it will be used where available and with the 3g speed already being that good I expect the LTE to be mindblowing in comparison.

Another great thing about my provider is unlimited internet. I used over 125GB this month on data with no issues at all. It is also cheap at £31/month and that includes the phone cost as well so absolutely no complaints at all with the speed, coverage, data allowance or cost.

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

I really can't see over a steady 10-15mbps giving any benefits on a mobile device given the current climate of streamed content.

 

[MrX8503]

It'll be enough when I can stream petabytes of data per hour while on the John.

 

[JAG87]

I really can't see over a steady 10-15mbps giving any benefits on a mobile device given the current climate of streamed content.

This.

I'd say that whatever the highest bitrate of streamed content is today (i.e. streamed HD video is no more than 10mbps), that's what mobile network speed should be. To me, it doesn't matter how much data your plan gives you (to a certain extent of course, anything less than 2 GB is silly), but it matters more how long it takes for something to load the seldom time that I actually need it. I couldn't care less that I have unlimited data at 1 Mbps, if the one time I'm trying to load a video it buffers 10 times as I watch it. If I want unlimited I'll use wifi, and I would rather be at home sitting or laying if I wanted to do such heavy usage anyways, it's not something I would do when I'm out. When I'm out I would rather have speed, not quantity. I would rather it takes under 1 second to load a Google Maps search on LTE vs. having to wait 3-4 seconds on 3G.

 

[Red Storm]

When things are done instantly then and only then is it enough. I don't understand the viewpoint that loading screens/bars should be acceptable. Always push for improvement.

 

[Oyeve]

I normally get 12-20 mbps on Tmobile and have been satisfied overall. Occasionally I can hit 28+ which is nice. On my work provided VZW LTE phone in NYC I am lucky if I get 5+mbps. I am hoping tmobile's lte is not as bad when I sell my s3 and get the s4.

 

[Thegonagle]

Haha . I once had a Comcast salesmen try to sell us a plan that would TRIPLE our monthly bill, and he tried to frame it as a great deal...



Yeah, at this point I am hoping Verizon will let us keep the unlimited as long as we don't upgrade... I have no problem ignoring the upgrade credits...

Verizon's LTE is amazing. It's fast, surprisingly reliable (after some initial snafus in 2011), and these days, it's nearly as widespread as their 3G-EVDO service. In a little over two years, it's gone from a handful of major markets to serving most towns and vast rural areas.

I've decided that it's so versatile that I pay for the tethering plan and use it as my primary internet access. I'm using about 50-100 GB per month now. I'll keep unlimited unless they kick me off the plan, and the moment Verizon tells me I don't have unlimited data anymore is the moment I tell them "fine, then you don't have $110 per month anymore."

Now that they don't subsidize my smartphone purchases, I'm very confident that I contribute to their bottom line, even using as much data as I do. I doubt I'll be getting any phone calls or nastygrams from the Verizon Data Police, but if I do, I guess I'll have to go back to wired internet at home, limited cellular data, and a nice subsidized flagship smartphone from AT&T.

 

[podspi]

Verizon's LTE is amazing. It's fast, surprisingly reliable (after some initial snafus in 2011), and these days, it's nearly as widespread as their 3G-EVDO service. In a little over two years, it's gone from a handful of major markets to serving most towns and vast rural areas.

I've decided that it's so versatile that I pay for the tethering plan and use it as my primary internet access. I'm using about 50-100 GB per month now. I'll keep unlimited unless they kick me off the plan, and the moment Verizon tells me I don't have unlimited data anymore is the moment I tell them "fine, then you don't have $110 per month anymore."

Now that they don't subsidize my smartphone purchases, I'm very confident that I contribute to their bottom line, even using as much data as I do. I doubt I'll be getting any phone calls or nastygrams from the Verizon Data Police, but if I do, I guess I'll have to go back to wired internet at home, limited cellular data, and a nice subsidized flagship smartphone from AT&T.

How well does that work? I actually use less than 50gb a month on average on my wired connection . That has a cap too of course

Forget fiber, I wish Google decided to enter the wireless market with a data-only plan and a version of Google Voice that can actually send/receive MMS...

 

[Red Storm]

How well does that work? I actually use less than 50gb a month on average on my wired connection . That has a cap too of course

Forget fiber, I wish Google decided to enter the wireless market with a data-only plan and a version of Google Voice that can actually send/receive MMS...

There are rumors that is what Google intends to do, eventually. I would love a cheap data only network.

 

[Thegonagle]

How well does that work? I actually use less than 50gb a month on average on my wired connection . That has a cap too of course

The biggest thing is remembering to turn the hotspot on and off, and the fact that my GNex really isn't made to be used that way, so I had to go back to my HTC Thunderbolt (which I find just barely tolerable with the latest ICS updates).

The Thunderbolt's hotspot functions in infrastructure mode, while the GNex's hotspot only functions in ad hoc mode. Plus, the GNex's connection is flaky (especially with my laptop), while the Tbolt is pretty solid. I don't know whether its the ad hoc vs infrastructure thing or the fact that the Tbolt has much better fringe reception, but there it is. Advantage: Thunderbolt (unfortunately).

 

[OBLAMA2009]

the only thing really high speed wireless is needed for is video, but if you watch videos, youre gonna use up yur 2 gigs. there hasnt even been an increase in data allotment to go with higher speeds. its sort of like the way home internet speeds in this country havent gone up in 15 years, they need to keep speeds low to keep prices high. someone like google needs to take on the wireless cartel

 

[shortylickens]

the only thing really high speed wireless is needed for is video, but if you watch videos, youre gonna use up yur 2 gigs. there hasnt even been an increase in data allotment to go with higher speeds. its sort of like the way home internet speeds in this country havent gone up in 15 years, they need to keep speeds low to keep prices high. someone like google needs to take on the wireless cartel

5 gigs is better. Unlimited is perfect. Of course only people on old Sprint plans have unlimited.

 

[Thegonagle]

Of course only people on old Sprint plans have unlimited.

Laughably incorrect. People on new Sprint plans have it, too. So do people on new T-Mobile plans, and people with grandfathered plans on AT&T, Verizon, and other carriers.

Grandfathered unlimited, unthrottled LTE on Verizon (with unlimited mobile wi-fi hotspot add-on) is the holy grail, and I have it.

I pay more than most for cell service at the moment, but that's easily offset by the fact that I don't pay Comcast a dime anymore.

 

[shortylickens]

I'M on tmobile, and its not unlimited. Its a super high limit hidden deep in the user agreement, but it is limited.

 

[jidery]

I'M on tmobile, and its not unlimited. Its a super high limit hidden deep in the user agreement, but it is limited.

No hard limit, you get throttled after 9999gb of data over a year

 

[Red Storm]

I'M on tmobile, and its not unlimited. Its a super high limit hidden deep in the user agreement, but it is limited.

The new $70 plan? I spoke with a sales person and they assured me there was no limit. What is the limit?

 

[OBLAMA2009]

5 gigs is better. Unlimited is perfect. Of course only people on old Sprint plans have unlimited.

for most people 5-10 gigs would be more sensible. they could probably do that will little effect to their bottom line. the only reason they had to get rid of unlimited in the first place was tetherers who downloaded 80 gigs a month

 

[shortylickens]

for most people 5-10 gigs would be more sensible. they could probably do that will little effect to their bottom line. the only reason they had to get rid of unlimited in the first place was tetherers who downloaded 80 gigs a month

As mobile devices take over more people will be using them for their main media server. I can stream HD netflix to my tv with my phone. Mini HDMI and just make sure to plug in the power cord.

 

[BladeVenom]

When you can stream 4k video without ever stuttering.

 

[s44]

while the GNex's hotspot only functions in ad hoc mode.

You have a GNex and aren't running a ROM with native tethering!? Seriously?

 

[Thegonagle]

You have a GNex and aren't running a ROM with native tethering!? Seriously?

Is there a VZW ROM with infrastructure mode wi-fi tethering?

That's the biggest issue.

(Or are you just surprised I'm not ripping off dozens of gigabytes of tethered data without paying the usage fee?)

 

[s44]

Is there a VZW ROM with infrastructure mode wi-fi tethering?

Many, I'm sure, but Bugless Beast definitely works.

 

[Thegonagle]

Many, I'm sure, but Bugless Beast definitely works.

Thanks. I'll look into that.