How convincing is this for a proof of throttling?

[lopri]

This is T-Mobile's $30 Unlimited (up to 5 GB @4G). I got this plan to test out LTE on my new N4, so it isn't meant to be a complaint. (LTE works great) Basically, wherever and whenever I run speedtest on HSPA+, I get 1.1 Mbps up/down. Occasionally the ping goes below 100 ms, but for the most part it's 500~600 ms.

Is this a throttling?

Edit: The speed was about the same before I flashed the modem w/ an LTE supported one.

 

[bearxor]

Try something other than speedtest, just to see if they're traffic managing as opposed to throttling.

And you haven't used 5GB yet, have you?

 

[lopri]

No. Got it activated like 5 days ago. What can I try that is not too subjective?

BTW, signal strength is usually great.

 

[bearxor]

You can try to download a file or something. Maybe a large app from Google Play and see if it moves slow like you're expecting or fast like it's on a nice HSPA connection.

When I was trying out the TMo $30 plan I could regurlaly hit 9-12Mbps on a 1900mhz only iPhone 5. Don't see why you'd be hampered like that, really.

 

[Sid59]

aren't the apn settings for TMO LTE and HSPA different?

 

[bearxor]

On my iPhone 5, it gave me fast.t-mobile.com for both HSPA+ and LTE service areas.

 

[lopri]

When did you try out your iPhone? I used to get 5~7 Mbps on this plan earlier this year. This is a new phenomenon that I noticed later on. Not sure when, but I think it started sometime around their announcement of "Uncarrier" plan.

Web browsing speed is what you can expect from 1.1 Mbps. Not great, but bearable for most text/pictures-oriented sites. Video is bad.

I am curious if this is throttling (or traffic management) and if so it's limited to the $30 plan.

 

[bearxor]

I was trialing TMo in the Charlotte area throughout the summer.

 

[lopri]

aren't the apn settings for TMO LTE and HSPA different?

Not according to my research and not according to the way my N4 works. I use "fast.t-mobile.com," and it switches between LTE and HSPA+ (and below) depending on where I am.

 

[Red Storm]

Was it the same speed when your N4 was stock? Did you test multiple times to be sure?

 

[paperwastage]

go to another area and test... maybe your spot has interference for 3G/HSPDA, while LTE is unaffected

high ping might be evidence of bad connection

 

[lopri]

Was it the same speed when your N4 was stock? Did you test multiple times to be sure?

Yes. As a matter of fact, my first flash went south so I had to reflash stock. Tested over 5 days at different time/places and all resulted about the same speed.

 

[lopri]

Signal strength is great. Almost always full bar when it's connected to HSPA.

 

[bonkers325]

I get same speeds on T-Mobile HSPA when I'm at work 1mb up and down... but when I go home (or I go to a few spots in Manhattan that I know are close to T-Mobile towers) I get 10mb down and 3mb up.

 

[lopri]

I get same speeds on T-Mobile HSPA when I'm at work 1mb up and down... but when I go home (or I go to a few spots in Manhattan that I know are close to T-Mobile towers) I get 10mb down and 3mb up.

Are you on the $30 plan? When you are home, does the signal icon change to something else? (e.g. from "H" to "4G")

 

[bonkers325]

Sorry, I'm not on the $30 plan.. but I am using fast.t-mobile.com. You might want to try epc.tmobile.com

I use a Galaxy Nexus, and it is either "3G", "H", or "H+". It switches to H+ when I start using data and displays H when I'm just idling.

edit: screenshot

edit2: I noticed that you are on HSPA network. I am on HSDPA and HSPA+ when I'm using data..

 

[openwheel]

get StraightTalk

 

[MrTransistorm]

Here's what HSPA on my unlimited plan gets me (using fast.t-mobile.com):

The screenshot shows 3G, but it was H when I ran the tests.

There's no LTE here yet. I did try LTE when I was in Chicago last month, but it only got 6782 down, 1386 up, and 75 ms at best. And that was at 3:37 AM.

 

[lopri]

@bonkers325: I believe epc.tmobile.com is for HSPA+ and below. fast.t-mobile.com is the one works w/ LTE. (actually it was the only thing in the APN setting that I needed to change to get LTE, iirc)

@openwheel: I have an AT&T shared data plan. Unfortunately the N4 doesn't do LTE on AT&T.

@MrTransistorm: Your data speed is ridiculously high for HSPA+. It is probably the fastest I've seen in real life. Are you sure you didn't test LTE? And surely not the $30 plan? (ed: Oh I see you've got unlimited)

What I wanted to find out in this thread is basically these:

1. Is it a reasonable assumption that a carrier is limiting data speed when the signal/reception is good but the actual throughput never goes beyond x amount, regardless of time/place/manner by which it is measured?
   
2. Does T-Mobile throttle its $30 plan's data speed?

 

[lopri]

The #2 is what puzzles me because if T-Mobile throttles HSPA+ on its $30 plan, why not the LTE? LTE on the $30 plan appears to work in line with other T-Mobile LTE speed I've seen on the Net.

Region dependent, perhaps?

 

[bearxor]

It's not uncommon for TMobile HSPA+ to get that high. Remember they're running HSPA+ DC 42Mbps. My iPhone 5 didn't get that high because it only had access to the 1900mhz refarmed area and there wasn't a lot of bandwidth dedicated to it. I Seem to remember my Lumia 521 getting in the 12Mbps range easy, but I only had that phone about a week.

But no, TMobile doesn't (or hasn't, at least) throttle their $30 5GB plan until you actually hit the 5GB.

 

[MrTransistorm]

@MrTransistorm: Your data speed is ridiculously high for HSPA+. It is probably the fastest I've seen in real life. Are you sure you didn't test LTE? And surely not the $30 plan? (ed: Oh I see you've got unlimited)

I'm pretty sure that there is no LTE in my hometown yet. The status bar icon always shows either H or 3G.

The speed is high, but latency is still considerably high. Speed is good when downloading large files, but loading lots of small files (i.e. on a web page) can still take a while. On the other hand, the LTE in Chicago was much more response overall in spite of having a lower speed.

 

[lopri]

Hmm.. then how about #1? If I am getting a certain bandwidth consistently irregardless of surroundings (signal strength, time, places), isn't it a fair assumption that the bandwidth is capped? What other variable might have an effect?

 

[lopri]

Here is the comparison. Obv. the bottom 2 are LTE.

 

[gorcorps]

@bonkers325: I believe epc.tmobile.com is for HSPA+ and below. fast.t-mobile.com is the one works w/ LTE. (actually it was the only thing in the APN setting that I needed to change to get LTE, iirc)

@openwheel: I have an AT&T shared data plan. Unfortunately the N4 doesn't do LTE on AT&T.

@MrTransistorm: Your data speed is ridiculously high for HSPA+. It is probably the fastest I've seen in real life. Are you sure you didn't test LTE? And surely not the $30 plan? (ed: Oh I see you've got unlimited)

What I wanted to find out in this thread is basically these:

1. Is it a reasonable assumption that a carrier is limiting data speed when the signal/reception is good but the actual throughput never goes beyond x amount, regardless of time/place/manner by which it is measured?
   
2. Does T-Mobile throttle its $30 plan's data speed?

Have you tried the other apn to see if anything changes?