Carriers Are Not Throttling iPhone and iPad Data Speeds

[MacRumors]

Following yesterday's claim that three out of four major carriers in the U.S. throttle iPhone and iPad data speeds, AnandTech has investigated the issue and determined that the original assertion, which has since been deleted, is untrue.

Apple doesn't limit cellular data throughput on its devices -- there's both no incentive for them to do so, and any traffic management is better off done in the packet core of the respective network operator rather than on devices. Sideloading tweaked carrier bundles isn't going to magically increase throughput, either.

According to the site, which offers a thorough technical examination and debunking of the original claim, neither Apple nor the accused carriers arbitrarily cap the User Equipment speed category or throttle device data speeds.

For example, AnandTech points out that the AT&T file that was used as evidence that the iPhone 5 was being capped at HSDPA Category 10 (14.4Mbps) was actually only applicable to the iPhone 4S, which, unlike the iPhone 5 (Category 14), is only capable of a Category 10 downlink, and then goes on to refute additional claims as well. The post ends with another reiteration that Apple is not, in any way, limiting its devices.

Again, there's no reason for Apple to want to arbitrarily limit their devices, and the reality is that they don't, at all, on any version of iPad or iPhone or in any of the carrier bundles they've distributed for network operators. If anything, Apple has long been one of the few handset vendors who initially understood the importance of limiting annoying operator customizations. The Carrier Bundles are quite literally the only place in the entire OS they have indirect access (through Apple) to toggles they can play with.

For the technically inclined, AnandTech's full explanation is well worth reading.

Article Link: Carriers Are Not Throttling iPhone and iPad Data Speeds

 

[davidec]

The intrigue continues.

 

[viperGTS]

Lol, just a bit of drama to keep us occupied before WWDC I suppose?

 

[S.B.G]

This makes much more sense than the assertions from yesterday. There was too much user-end experiences with speed tests to refute those claims.

 

[smithrh]

The intrigue continues.

There's no intrigue.

A developer who *thought* they knew what they were looking at, didn't.

Didn't stop them from screaming from the rooftops though.

 

[usersince86]

hmm...

Sounds like someone should be throttled for false reporting.

 

[ToddClemmer]

I heard a rumor that google was doing this (wink).

 

[Tankmaze]

sounds like a tabloid headline from the start.
why would carrier throttle data speeds when it's not unlimited

 

[andrew78]

For the technically inclined, AnandTech's full explanation is well worth reading.

pretty much the whole forum

 

[2IS]

I'll take anand's word over just about anyone else's..

 

[lkrupp]

271 posts of self-righteous indignation to the original story. So far only a few mea-culpa posts when it turns out it was all bogus b.s.

Do we need any more evidence as to who the majority is on MacRumors?

 

[S.B.G]

I'll take anand's word over just about anyone else's..

Me too. I find them to be a very respectable site with lot's of details to support their reviews and recommendations.

 

[Mums]

Anand Tech was paid off by the carriers.

 

[Patriot24]

271 posts of self-righteous indignation to the original story. So far only a few mea-culpa posts when it turns out it was all bogus b.s.

Do we need any more evidence as to who the majority is on MacRumors?

To be fair, I don't doubt that AnAnd's information is completely accurate, but the carriers do have processes and technologies in place to manage their network as they see fit, including the ability to cap speeds and such.

They may not be doing it on the device side, but they certainly do it on the network side as needed. This should not be news to anyone, nor should it be upsetting. It is just a fact of managing networks.

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

They may not be doing it on the device side, but they certainly do it on the network side as needed. This should not be news to anyone, nor should it be upsetting. It is just a fact of managing networks.

Plus they have to pass everything to the NSA.... I'm sure that's the bottleneck right there

 

[S.B.G]

Anand Tech was paid off by the carriers.

Can you provide evidence of that claim?

 

[Black Magic]

I feel sorry for the folks that read the article yesterday and immediately installed whatever it was to try to get better speeds. It leaves us with a few questions:

1. What did they actually install on their phones?
2. If you are that gullible, what else have you fallen for?
3. Is there a way for you to uninstall whatever you installed or are you even considering a factory reset?

 

[ghostface147]

Anand Tech was paid off by the carriers.

Prove it.

----------

I feel sorry for the folks that read the article yesterday and immediately installed whatever it was to try to get better speeds. It leaves us with a few questions:

1. What did they actually install on their phones?
2. If you are that gullible, what else have you fallen for?
3. Is there a way for you to uninstall whatever you installed or are you even considering a factory reset?

1. Who knows what I installed.
2. Not a matter of being gullible, it's a matter of me not minding playing with my phone's settings.
3. You can only factory reset to get the original profile back. I have good backups from right before installing the hacked carrier update...so I don't mind at all.

 

[AppleMark]

Egg-on-Face.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Prove it.

1. Who knows what I installed.
2. Not a matter of being gullible, it's a matter of me not minding playing with my phone's settings.
3. You can only factory reset to get the original profile back. I have good backups from right before installing the hacked carrier update...so I don't mind at all.

Exactly. If my phone starts freaking out I can just restore to the latest backup. Additionally, carrier updates are pushed frequently, and will most likely be updated with iOS 7, so its not the end of the world.

 

[smythey]

Brian Klug - hitting y'all with some knowledge since 2010.

Epic technical smackdown.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Anandtech is the best tech site on the net

 

[jazzkids]

There's no intrigue.

A developer who *thought* they knew what they were looking at, didn't.

Didn't stop them from screaming from the rooftops though.

It also didn't stop MacRumors from posting it before confirming the data. Makes me take all these "news" stories with a grain of salt until all of the actual data makes its way in.

 

[jayducharme]

After I read the initial article, I ran SpeedTest on my iPhone 5. I got 10.13 mbps down and 0.00 mbps up on LTE. I'm glad to hear that AT&T is not throttling my data. I can rest easy knowing that it's simply their crappy network.

 

[Solomani]

It also didn't stop MacRumors from posting it before confirming the data. Makes me take all these "news" stories with a grain of salt until all of the actual data makes its way in.

MacRumors is a tabloid after all.

A rumor site does not claim to state facts or news. It's just a platform for rumors and speculation. No difference from tabloids like the National Enquirer.