Verizon 3G Network Optimization (data throttling)... my story

[Heathe1]

I think what you are seeing is more common than throttling on the network and people mistake one for the other. As much as I've seen people try to deny network congestion it is a real thing and causes service issues for people. VZW has pretty much stopped doing anything more than maintanence on their 3G network and is only working on expanding 4G since it is the future.

Heathe1's story isn't about the phone plan but a mobile broadband plan so I am unsure if the same network optimization is in effect or if they officially throttle it after hitting a certian amount.

Per Verizon, my aircard plan is subject to "Network Optimization" just as 3G phones on unlimited data plans are, but has a higher threshold before Network Opt is applied, which explains 9 GB. I guess it's still a better deal than the 10gig for 80 plan. It's fine if I keep it under 9 GB, but if it hits that 9 gig limit (on my unlimited plan) It's completely useless for 2 months, since they throttle for not just the rest of the cycle, but through the NEXT billing cycle as well.

Throttling is absolutely necessary in densely populated areas, lacking adequate coverage. Or, they could throw up another tower or two if they see that an area is on overload. True, it takes time to get approval and actually construct the tower, and true, it takes money. I don't feel sorry for a company that turns billions in profit per quarter though. They have more than enough money to provide better capacity and coverage in the lacking areas. It's not time to give up on the EVDO network, as it will be around for many years to come.

So yes, throttling is necessary in some areas, but should only be used as a band-aid while they actually fix the underlying problem...then only throttle true abusers of the network (i.e. 150 GB month after month) as any robust network can handle 20-30 GB per user/per month w/ no problems. At the current 30/2 gb plan, they're making over 90% profit, not to say they shouldn't make money, they must to sustain and expand themselves, but how about not being so damn greedy, and not sticking it to people so bad?
I average under 1 GB on my phone a month, but when I am off work, on vacation, or occasionally just bored I use it a lot more. I've had 15-20 a month on my phone, I didn't cause the network any problems.

It's all about greed and money, there are network oversaturation issues in less than 20% of the areas Verizon Wireless serves, and they punish 100% of their older, loyal customers that have had Unlimited Data since before it was cool to have unlimited data.

 

[Yeahha]

Per Verizon, my aircard plan is subject to "Network Optimization" just as 3G phones on unlimited data plans are, but has a higher threshold before Network Opt is applied, which explains 9 GB. I guess it's still a better deal than the 10gig for 80 plan. It's fine if I keep it under 9 GB, but if it hits that 9 gig limit (on my unlimited plan) It's completely useless for 2 months, since they throttle for not just the rest of the cycle, but through the NEXT billing cycle as well.

Throttling is absolutely necessary in densely populated areas, lacking adequate coverage. Or, they could throw up another tower or two if they see that an area is on overload. True, it takes time to get approval and actually construct the tower, and true, it takes money. I don't feel sorry for a company that turns billions in profit per quarter though. They have more than enough money to provide better capacity and coverage in the lacking areas. It's not time to give up on the EVDO network, as it will be around for many years to come.

So yes, throttling is necessary in some areas, but should only be used as a band-aid while they actually fix the underlying problem...then only throttle true abusers of the network (i.e. 150 GB month after month) as any robust network can handle 20-30 GB per user/per month w/ no problems. At the current 30/2 gb plan, they're making over 90% profit, not to say they shouldn't make money, they must to sustain and expand themselves, but how about not being so damn greedy, and not sticking it to people so bad?
I average under 1 GB on my phone a month, but when I am off work, on vacation, or occasionally just bored I use it a lot more. I've had 15-20 a month on my phone, I didn't cause the network any problems.

It's all about greed and money, there are network oversaturation issues in less than 20% of the areas Verizon Wireless serves, and they punish 100% of their older, loyal customers that have had Unlimited Data since before it was cool to have unlimited data.

You seem to have not understood the purpose of the mobile broadband plan. It isn't home internet. Based on the numbers you are putting up I can only guess you are trying to use it as home internet. It is supposed to be for use when you are on the go and don't have access to your home wifi, public wifi, or your work's wifi.

I don't understand where you are getting your figures from or why you think the network can handle that much. IMO most consumers would agree that 9 GB monthly is excessive and many more would agree that 20-30 is excessive.

Even home based mobile network ISP like Clearwire have throttling caps when subscribers hit somewhere between 7 - 10 GB

I personally think the best solution to your problem is switching to a non-mobile based ISP. Mobile networks are subject to throttling and not subject to things like net neutrality. If you switch to a dedicated home based ISP you will have to worry about data caps around 250 GB monthly but not dealing with throttling caps. You may end up paying a little more per month but IMO you would have a better user experience by going to another ISP.

Just my 2

 

[chicano]

You can file an online complaint form with FCC. I did so once with a carrier. FCC sent them a letter that they had to respond to my complaint. The carrier resolved the issue with me immediately. You can also contact the Better Business Bureau and write a complaint there too. Big companies depend on their reputation and calling to complain with supervisors, which I did as well, just give you the run around. Good luck bro.

Another good site to report your issue is...ripoffreport dot com

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using Tapatalk

 

[hilmar2k]

You can file an online complaint form with FCC. I did so once with a carrier. FCC sent them a letter that they had to respond to my complaint. The carrier resolved the issue with me immediately. You can also contact the Better Business Bureau and write a complaint there too. Big companies depend on their reputation and calling to complain with supervisors, which I did as well, just give you the run around. Good luck bro.

Another good site to report your issue is...ripoffreport dot com

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using Tapatalk

Huh? On what grounds?

 

[BrianJB]

I see this thread his died off the past few months, but I came across this issue the past month.

I have an htc rezound and an iphone 4s, I had recently switched to using my iphone 4s because I have decent 3g speeds in my area (around 1.2mbs down) which is good enough for my day to day mobile surfing/radio streaming.

I switched to my iphone due to work related things. The first few weeks were fine, no dropped connections I could stream radio and still check my email. Once I hit around 3 to 3.5gbs my connection dropped down to .15 to .25mbs, and once I would try to multitask my 3g would completely drop.

I am just glad I found this thread, because I know in the past verizon has always denied capping data speeds.

 

[AntimonyER]

Verizon has never denied that they will throttle 3G connections. They are more hesitant to throttle 4G connections because of the Block C regs. (They can still do it, but only when they must due to poor network speeds and only for specific towers at busy times, they can't put a blanket throttling restriction on your account.