Are super fast data speeds overrated?

[THE W]

I'm on Metropcs living in detroit and get 4mbps down and more than 3 mbps up. It's enough to do what I need to do but us metro users get ragged on for our speeds.

However, we and sprint are the only companies that offer unthrottled data plans so we can do pretty much what we want with our data. Still, we're waay slower than any of the big Four.

But honestly, what's the use of being able to download at 20mbps when you're gonna get throttled within a few gbs of use? Such limits are gonna relegate you to email, Facebook, light web surfing. Things that can be done just fine with a tenth of such speeds.

You're not gonna be watching porn, sports events, or playing online games very long before you're warped back to the aol days of 56k.

So what are you gonna do with all that speed? The companies offering blistering 4G speeds aren't gonna give you the room to use it anyway with their data limits so whats the point?

Better to have something slower but usable that's unthrottled then to have the fastest speeds there are and not be able to use it.

This is in no way an attempt to promote Metropcs though I'm personally satisfied with their service. This was simply a commentary on the supposed value of super fast data speeds.

 

[Prinny]

I can agree with that. I get about a third of what you get on boosts 3g,but it works for me. For everything else... Wifi I mean honestly. You get what.... 2.5gb of un throttle data on average with most carriers, then bam! Slow speeds. Sure that may seem like a lot... But stream enough hd YouTube video, and you're done.

 

[gale65]

Where do you have to live to get fast speeds, anyway? I checked speedtest the other night and it was miserably low. I can't even get webpages to load a lot of the time. I'm in a very rural area though. My wifi flies compared to data speeds and the best I can get on it (our dsl is supposed to be 3 mbps) is about 2 mbps.

 

[Prinny]

Generally, more towns/cities have better coverage than a rural area, because they are closer to the towers.

 

[THE W]

Where do you have to live to get fast speeds, anyway? I checked speedtest the other night and it was miserably low. I can't even get webpages to load a lot of the time. I'm in a very rural area though. My wifi flies compared to data speeds and the best I can get on it (our dsl is supposed to be 3 mbps) is about 2 mbps.

Who's your carrier?

 

[iowabowtech]

The reason I like the 20+ Mbps speeds is because I download a lot of roms to my phone. That said tho, I rarely exceed 3 GB of data usage so if I'm getting throttled, I haven't noticed it. I guess its a plus for those who need to download sizeable files but don't get so carried away as to run into throttling concerns on a regular basis. Point taken though.

 

[gale65]

Who's your carrier?

Right now it's AT&T via Straight Talk. I also still have my Virgin Mobile phone which runs off Sprint but I get way slower connections with it. If I'm inside a store or mall I can't even get a connection on the VM phone but I can (albeit a slow one) on the AT&T phone. I'm not sure how Verizon is in my area but there's no T-Mobile data at all.

It's a little weird checking coverage because on an average day, when all we do is go to the grocery store or walmart, we're in a minimum of 3 different zip codes. At the cellreception.com site AT&T is rated the best in my zip code but in the town where we go almost every day it's rated 3rd.

 

[THE W]

The reason I like the 20+ Mbps speeds is because I download a lot of roms to my phone. That said tho, I rarely exceed 3 GB of data usage so if I'm getting throttled, I haven't noticed it. I guess its a plus for those who need to download sizeable files but don't get so carried away as to run into throttling concerns on a regular basis. Point taken though.

What's the average file size of the roms you download?

 

[Adauth]

Faster is always better.
Imagine if we all thought 56k was fast enough.

 

[Prinny]

Faster is always better.
Imagine if we all thought 56k was fast enough.

You mean WHEN we all thought it was fast enough

 

[iowabowtech]

What's the average file size of the roms you download?

Generally between 100-200 MB, maybe a little more if there'a a separate Gapps download. Most of the time for general use, I'm on wifi but for larger downloads, I always switch to LTE. Often switch to LTE when updating apps as well, especially if it's a longer than typical list.

 

[xmr405o]

I don't think faster speeds are overrated. What's overrated are these plans that have unlimited data with fineprints that let's a company throttle your data speeds.

 

[Rush]

I don't think faster speeds are overrated. What's overrated are these plans that have unlimited data with fineprints that let's a company throttle your data speeds.

^ xmR405o says it best.

 

[xmr405o]

^ xmR405o says it best.

 

[Rush]

If Sprint expands LTE in CA by the time I'm up for an upgrade...I'll be considering themas my next carrier.

Overall their not that bad of a company.. They just need to get things moving a lot faster than what they're doing.

Fingers crossed.

 

[aysiu]

I care more about speed than total data transfer. I do do only light web browsing and other low-intensity network stuff (email, WordFeud, Facebook), so my data use rarely goes above 4 GB a month. If I am visiting a webpage, I do want it to load almost immediately, so speed matters to me, yes.

 

[THE W]

I care more about speed than total data transfer. I do do only light web browsing and other low-intensity network stuff (email, WordFeud, Facebook), so my data use rarely goes above 4 GB a month. If I am visiting a webpage, I do want it to load almost immediately, so speed matters to me, yes.

Webpages load almost immediately for me too at 4mbps. Then I can stream entire football games for the whole day and not worry about being on dial up for the rest of the month.

 

[THE W]

Generally between 100-200 MB, maybe a little more if there'a a separate Gapps download. Most of the time for general use, I'm on wifi but for larger downloads, I always switch to LTE. Often switch to LTE when updating apps as well, especially if it's a longer than typical list.

Who's your carrier and what's your monthly data allowance?

 

[THE W]

I don't think faster speeds are overrated. What's overrated are these plans that have unlimited data with fineprints that let's a company throttle your data speeds.

Yeah that's the point. Metro and sprint are the only carriers not throttling people.

Those with unthrottled data around 4 to 7mbps are more or less even with throttled users at 20mbps. The only way those with faster speeds actually have an advantage is if those offering such speeds didn't throttle.

 

[GJade]

it's because as things become faster and faster, people become more and more impatient. they need things to be done right away, especially now that time is money. Human nature becomes spoiled easily and want better and faster things all the time.

 

[THE W]

it's because as things become faster and faster, people become more and more impatient. they need things to be done right away, especially now that time is money. Human nature becomes spoiled easily and want better and faster things all the time.

i fully understand the philosophy of consumerism.

what im talking about here is whether having the fastest speed is worth while if you're gonna get throttled to dial up after a few Gbs of use.

 

[Prinny]

I suppose it depends how much data you use...as I stated I'm on boost which does throttle after about 2.5gb of data. That said though...I hardly am with no access to wifi. So to me...I don't really need the fastest data speeds around. When I'm not on wifi I generally just browse the web a little bit and the forums .

 

[Demache]

i fully understand the philosophy of consumerism.

what im talking about here is whether having the fastest speed is worth while if you're gonna get throttled to dial up after a few Gbs of use.

The nice thing about having a grandfathered Verizon unlimited plan is that I have no real data limit, AND they cannot throttle 4G legally because the FCC won't allow them.

Besides, you're lucky 3G for you is 4 Mbps. Verizon 3G is 2 Mbps theoretically. In reality its more like 400 Kbps.

 

[!on]

Can never have enough speed. Networks need to keep up with their customers & their devices.

What does irk me is that GPRS is not as good for data as it used to be (in the UK at least). It was only a few years ago when GPRS was used widely for it. Now I struggle to load stuff until I get 3g back. EDGE (upgrade of GPRS) loads quicker but that is only available in certain areas.

We will get 4g soon & apparently that is much more of a blanket coverage than the patchy 3g that's mostly ramped up in urban areas.

 

[Android4g63]

Yes, what is the point of super fast speeds when you are capped monthly and charged ridiculous overages? Its like taking a big gulp straw and using it on a 4 oz. soda. I'd rather have a regular straw with unlimited soda. Just my opinion.