Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Horrific AT&T LTE speeds in Los Angeles
- Thread starter marekkurlmann
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I can relate, LTE from both providers is pretty weak/nonexistent in my home. And that changes as soon as I drive a block or two away.
On the upside though, I have WiFi at home though, so it doesn't really matter. Don't you, too?
I can relate, LTE from both providers is pretty weak/nonexistent in my home. And that changes as soon as I drive a block or two away.
On the upside though, I have WiFi at home though, so it doesn't really matter. Don't you, too?
I do, and it's fine at home with the wifi. I got the LTE specifically so I could connect to my work server and send out paperwork to clients and flight crews if I was away. I hope the LTE coverage improves in the area so I'll be able to do so.
South Bay on AT&T LTE:
Between 10-30Mbs down / 10Mbs up. Depending on time of day.
On iPhone 4S "4G":
2-4Mbs down / 1-2 Mbs up
Here's the deal: Try selecting different test servers. The speeds on each can vary a lot. The default LA server tends to be a lot slower than the others, probably due to saturation.
I've found when on ATT LTE the speeds to generally be quite good. I've had a 4G LTE data card for a while (and now an iPad LTE on ATT) and when I'm on LTE, it's fast.
Between 10-30Mbs down / 10Mbs up. Depending on time of day.
On iPhone 4S "4G":
2-4Mbs down / 1-2 Mbs up
Here's the deal: Try selecting different test servers. The speeds on each can vary a lot. The default LA server tends to be a lot slower than the others, probably due to saturation.
I've found when on ATT LTE the speeds to generally be quite good. I've had a 4G LTE data card for a while (and now an iPad LTE on ATT) and when I'm on LTE, it's fast.
One other thing to note on this issue: ATT has already publicly stated they will NOT throttle iPad customers on the grandfathered unlimited data plans. So that might be a consideration in cases where people still have unlimited.
I don't trust AT&T at all! They also said their iphone unlimited data plan was unlimited. Well I'm sure you know what happened there.
Just like they also promised they would never alter/throttle the iPhone plans either, you actually trust AT&T?!
"Publically stated?" As in an official, corporate statement? I don't think so. We know they are allowing folks to maintain their grandfathered "unlimited" plans... so long as they stay continuously subscribed.
However, we also know that AT&T's contracts (that customers agreed to when they signed up) do allow AT&T to engage in throttling, even on iPads:
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/0...-provided-for-limits-on-unlimited-data-plans/
All we know beyond this is that MacRumors had an article that said they "heard" that AT&T "has no current plans" to throttle these customers. As in: "for the time being."
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/0...mited-data-plan-get-unlimited-unthrottled-4g/
..as in "they can change their mind, and administration of service, at any time they decide." Just like they did for smartphone plans. Just like they did with the existence of the original unlimited plan, a month after the first iPad was first introduced.
There has been no public, official statement on this, and there won't be, because AT&T will reserve their right to shift gears on what these plans mean, at whatever moment makes the most financial sense to their bottom line.
And I type this as someone who does still have an AT&T unlimited plan on my iPad 3 at this current time!
I honestly wouldn't be surprised, if I began streaming lots of video, and otherwise using the bandwidth a lot, that my service would be throttled at 5, or 4, or 3 GB, within a week or two.
Point being- there are definitely no guarantees, or public statements to bank on. We have rumors and hearsay and unofficial tidbits and anecdotal evidence. And yet we also have wisdom and experience, witnessing AT&T's shifty, shady behavior in the past.
I know what I'd bet on...
Last edited:
Find one statement where AT&T promised to never throttle iPhone data plans - oh wait, they don't exist. AT&T only guaranteed unlimited amounts of data; they never guaranteed the speed.
The same applies to all carriers.
That's excellent advice. I downloaded Mark the Spot and have reported a few areas where I get slow/dropped data service in San Diego. For the most part the coverage is good here, although I notice when I'm driving it goes to 4G frequently, but if I'm stationary it stays more in LTE. I guess there isn't total overlap in the cell sites yet for traveling LTE use.
While I agree with what you are saying...
It is a bit slimy though to redefine what "data" means, to a customer already paying. Throttling essentially does limit the service. Throttled speeds are so slow, practically a trickle, that if you streamed non-stop all month, it'd probably be limited to less than a few GB's.
Anyway, doesn't Sprint advertise unlimited, unthrottled data? Are they lying too?
It's not a consumer-friendly practice, but it is legal. Read any TOS that you sign and companies tend to try and absolve themselves from such guarantee of speed.
As for Sprint, they do advertise such. However, there is no guarantee of speed in their service contracts. If there was, Sprint would have been sued into bankruptcy by now:
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/78766?start=2430&tstart=0
I'll take the comments from Macworld, Maclife, ArsTechnica, TWiT.tv, CNET, The Verge, Engadget, GDGT, and Gizmodo all corroborating that ATT will NOT be throttling iPads over your entire post.
After using my iPad al over LA since receiving it I have to agree with you findings. Today I'm seeing like 9 occasionally. But overall you are correct.
They're all reporting from the same unofficial source, no one actually confirming directly with AT&T, on the record. So that news cycle was basically one big circle jerk. Welcome to reporting in the internet/blogging age.
The FACT is that no official word has come from At&T on the matter (and there's obviously a reason for that.) The other FACT is that At&T's contract -- that you agreed to when you signed up for the service -- allows them to throttle whenever they choose to. One must only pay attention to AT&T's recent actions and official statements to see the writing on the wall here; it is patently obvious that the few remaining unlimited, untethered plans are on shaky ground. Not to mention, do you really think they'll ever bring hotspot capability to that plan, for free? Fat chance.
All of this is just a matter of time... as the number of people who lose their grandfather status dwindles, no longer feeling it fair to have to pay every month when all other subscribers have the luxury of only subscribing for the months they need it... Eventually AT&T will do the math and throttle those that REALLY are taking advantage of these "unlimited" plans, and using more than 4 or 5 Gb per month.
How much are you using monthly on average, anyway? Are you actually using the unlimited plan to is fullest?
If you are so confident about the longevity of your unlimited plan, I encourage you to stream from Netflix all night, for a few nights, over 4G/LTE and tell us what happens by week #2. The hilarious thing is that so few AT&t customers still on unlimited with At&T would be willing to try this, because deep down inside they know what will happen, and they're afraid to reveal the truth.
I was invested in the comparison here-- I *HAD* such a plan. I bought an iPad 3 on AT&T and a second one on Verizon, and compared them with speedtests, head to head, at various spots around this city, over the last week.
End result, long sory short: Verizon's LTE was more prevalent, and certainly faster (sometimes 4x so) than AT&T at 49 out of 50 spots. Given what I've now come to expect from LTE, it practically felt like AT&T was *already* throttling (relatively speaking.) The difference wad obvious and stark. The AT&T iPad is being returned.
So I sold my AT&T plan while it still had any perceived value. For a nice amount, that will handily cover any overages I might incur over the next 48 months... lol
Anyway-
I highly advise you to try and do the same. Don't go down with the ship. You're spending far more money overall (committed to month after month) and getting far worse service, and respect, than you deserve.
Last edited:
Have you tried servers other than the LA ones? I read posts from AT&T users in LA/OC using other servers and getting better results (around 15-20Mbps). Theoretically, the network there goes up to 37Mbps based on spectrum.
When I did my series of side-by-side tests, I used SpeedTestX and cycled through various servers. (and when I switched servers on one iPad, I made sure to also switch it on the other, to keep them matched and the experiment controlled.)
The conclusion was consistent and clear. AT&T LTE speeds varied wildly but never really got any faster than HALF of what Verizon posted at the same spots. (Often even slower than that.)
And when Verizon was faster, there were instances that it was FOUR TIMES faster.
In many places, even though it said AT&T LTE, the speeds were "4G" (or even 3G) levels.
Last edited:
Makes sense. You can't expect to match Verizon LTE speeds in LA/OC with half the spectrum.
Thankfully, there's word that AWS (1700/2100) spectrum is being activated on AT&T in Chicago. That should brings comparable speeds to that market, and will probably be rolled out to LA/OC soon as well.
Interesting, good to know -- and thanks for sharing such detailed info here!
When AT&T activates the AWS (1700/2100) spectrum, what will it top out at? 37Mbps? Or something higher?
(I know you've said Verizon LTE will top out at 73Mbps.)
From my understanding, they have just enough spectrum of AWS to deploy it in a 5x5 configuration. Since the AT&T iPad is dual-band LTE (700/AWS which is actually 1700+2100), it can connect to both frequencies of LTE simultaneously. So with 5x5 on 700Mhz and supplemental 5x5 on AWS, you should get 73Mbps as the limit; essentially, it's 37Mbps times 2.
Thus when AWS is added to current AT&T markets with only 5x5 deployments, speeds will double.
EDIT: I figured I'd attach a photo of current 700/AWS licenses AT&T has in LA to try and interpret it for you all.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
License "3" shows AT&T has 12Mhz of paired 700Mhz spectrum in LA County. That leaves them room for a 5x5 deployment of LTE (using 10Mhz) with a maximum 37Mbps limit. Meanwhile, Verizon has 22Mhz of paired 700Mhz spectrum nationwide, allowing them to have 10x10 deployments all over. For LA, AT&T will likely use part of their 30Mhz of AWS spectrum for LTE. Heck, they could probably even add 10x10 on AWS! Having said all that, I'm not sure how much of AWS they had to divest to T-Mobile as part of the breakup fee; all I've read is that AT&T kept what they felt was necessary and gave T-Mobile only the excess spectrum.
Last edited:
And knowing AT&T, when they eventually do so... they will call it "LTE+" and charge handsomely for it. (And throttle unlimited users at 4.5 GB!)
I kid, I kid... but with AT&T, you have to admit, you never really know what they will try to pull next.
Anyway, I opted to pay $30/month to Verizon for MUCH BETTER speeds I can enjoy and appreciate NOW. As they say, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
Yesterday I sold my AT&T unlimited account to a very grateful fellow. At lunchtime today I returned my AT&T iPad 3 to Apple for a full refund. I am enjoying the Verizon iPad 3 instead. It's a great device and the network is supporting it comfortably. Native, official hotspot support is appreciated, no need to sneak around or wait for some jailbreak/workaround. Reliable, elegant, and playing by the rules.
In time, if AT&T cleans up their act, earns some of my trust back, and offers compelling service for me to appreciate, I'll consider shifting gears. For now, I consider anything else just "pie in the sky" talk.
Again, thanks RCtennis3811... you obviously know you stuff and your input here is invaluable.
I kid, I kid... but with AT&T, you have to admit, you never really know what they will try to pull next.
Anyway, I opted to pay $30/month to Verizon for MUCH BETTER speeds I can enjoy and appreciate NOW. As they say, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
Yesterday I sold my AT&T unlimited account to a very grateful fellow. At lunchtime today I returned my AT&T iPad 3 to Apple for a full refund. I am enjoying the Verizon iPad 3 instead. It's a great device and the network is supporting it comfortably. Native, official hotspot support is appreciated, no need to sneak around or wait for some jailbreak/workaround. Reliable, elegant, and playing by the rules.
In time, if AT&T cleans up their act, earns some of my trust back, and offers compelling service for me to appreciate, I'll consider shifting gears. For now, I consider anything else just "pie in the sky" talk.
Again, thanks RCtennis3811... you obviously know you stuff and your input here is invaluable.
I'm exchanging my ATT LTE. No LTE, only 4g in Yorba Linda (depsite coverage map saying it's covered) and LTE in La Habra is like 7-9 mbps. Unacceptable. Does anyone know how the Verizon model performs in these areas?