Users Say Sprint Epic4G 3G Upload Speeds Limited To 150kbps 138
Miamicanes writes "Nearly everyone who owns a Sprint Samsung Epic 4G and has benchmarked its 3G performance has discovered that its 3G upload speeds are apparently limited to 150kbps. So far, Sprint has not officially acknowledged it as a problem, nor has it indicated whether this might be a firmware bug, a PRL issue, tower-related, or the result of a deliberate policy to cap 3G upload speeds. Regardless, the problem is causing widespread anger among Epic4G owners, many of whom have bitterly noted the irony of being charged a $10 surcharge so they can endure data transfers that are slower than they had 4 years ago (and a quarter of the speeds enjoyed by Evo owners on the same 3G network)." Cellphone networks are fickle beasts; can anyone out there with an Epic provide a counterexample?
Re:What would you upload from a cell phone? (Score:5, Insightful)
VOIP, Video Chat are good examples. There's more to the internet than files.
Re:What would you upload from a cell phone? (Score:4, Insightful)
Video. Most phones have cameras. You could upload directly to YouTube.
A classic example of "what the market will bear." (Score:5, Insightful)
So long as people keep paying their bills, the market is bearing this imposition. I am all but certain that this is another example of telcoms limiting and crippling their services rather than improving their infrastructure. AT&T taught the industry a hard lesson with their iPhone exclusivity deal. They burdened their entire infrastructure which was unprepared for the load. I am of the opinion that Sprint seeks to avoid the same. Additionally, as these handheld computers are getting phone network enabled, I suspect VOIP and other forms of internet communications will become more frequently used. So they will sell you a "phone" and you will in turn use it to bypass their business model? Not if they can help it.
Re:A classic example of "what the market will bear (Score:5, Insightful)
I have to agree - don't "be angry" as a customer, phone them up and complain. If they won't do anything for you, cut the service there and then and tell them why. If they bother to argue about things, dig out your contracts, file official complaints, etc. But, ffs, don't just "get angry" on a forum they probably never read and don't care about while you're still paying your monthly fee. Damn well complain, move companies, terminate contracts, etc.
This is the sort of thing you should realise while the contract is still fresh if it's important to you, so use the early get-out clause and introductory periods and get the hell off it. If you keep paying, it's really NOT that important to you. And if you entered into a cast-iron contract that you can't get out of (HIGHLY unlikely) for a service that you didn't bother to read up on, check terms, insist on minimum speeds, etc. then that's your own tough luck.
I still can't figure out why people pay for shit that they don't want, and then complain about it.
*Only* 150k? (Score:2, Insightful)
And yes, I can upgrade my cable modem to faster service for a price but I willingly have so far opted not to; I find my current cable modem to be more than sufficient for my own needs.
Re:from Sprint... (Score:2, Insightful)
Wouldn't more Ron Paul mean that the oligopolies are free to do just that, even when the user has nowhere else to go?
Freedom should be for individuals, not corporations.
Re:What would you upload from a cell phone? (Score:3, Insightful)
People might send attachments via email, might upload videos to youtube, might tether, voip, video chat, maybe they're streaming audio for a few people, this is a few obvious things.
Re:A classic example of "what the market will bear (Score:4, Insightful)
Do you have any idea how much regulation and enforcement action was required to allow the consumer to choose their LD carrier? The Bells didn't just wake up one day and decide you could hook a non-bell phone to their network, they were ordered to allow it. They don't interface with VoIP providers because they like them.
They will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a competitive marketplace. At a minimum it will be necessary to insist that all phones be unlocked and capable of operation on any cell network in the U.S. and that purchase of the phone be unbundled from the service. Next up will be ending the sneak attacks by huge bills.
After all, this is an industry that has pulled every dirty trick in the book including designing phones so that the user can accidentally do things that result in significant charges.
As a side note, the technology did NOT freeze. In that time they went from a system where a human being physically connected pairs of wires carrying analog signals together to complete a call to a fully automated digital network. The services offered to the CUSTOMER stagnated.
Re:What would you upload from a cell phone? (Score:3, Insightful)
Video. I was at the Metro (concert venue in Chicago) last night, and took some pretty awesome video from the side of the stage while the band was playing, and uploaded it from my Nexus One. Trivial? Perhaps. But that's what I'm paying T-Mobile for unlimited data for (+1 for 3G in Chicago; had 2.5Mb/s up).
Re:What would you upload from a cell phone? (Score:1, Insightful)
Well, all 3G and 4G smartphones are low-end cameras. One or two JPEG's are nothing, but batch-uploading your vacation's whole 1000+ 3Mpxl / 1GB flash stick from that beach Wifi spot to your facebook account is going to be like watching paint dry.
Even at my five times faster wireless PC at 768kb/s takes a whole minute for 5 pics going up there. Factor in cellphone unreliability and the real possibility that all 4G service starts getting capped way below spec "to prevent abuse."