3G speed falling over time

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Geektastic

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# 184061 9-Nov-2015 11:25

I ran Speed Test last night and was interested to look at the results table for our 3G connection over time. Some highlights:

When Down Up Ping

8/11/15 21:34 hrs 8.32 1.92 59

28/07/15 15:35 22.75 3.38 32

13/03/15 14.54 19.72 2.81 93

There are no events on, so the village is at normal capacity (about 1200 people) yet there has been a steady decline over recent months (despite getting text messages from VF telling me that they are upgrading our network!). I've left a lot of results out to save typing but the trend is as shown - down.

Any ideas why the speed would be falling so much?

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# 1423554 9-Nov-2015 11:25

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

Geektastic

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# 1424136 10-Nov-2015 09:16

No one knows?

johnr

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# 1424149 10-Nov-2015 09:42

No events where? You have not named the location which is the most important bit of information.

johnr

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# 1424195 10-Nov-2015 10:38

Further to this Smart phone use is growing at a rapid rate so as more users get Smart phones load will change and impact speed

If I am correct you don't have 4G in your location yet?

Edit: Are you in Martinborough? Which has the Toast Martinborough event coming up as well

Geektastic

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# 1424265 10-Nov-2015 11:23

johnr: Further to this Smart phone use is growing at a rapid rate so as more users get Smart phones load will change and impact speed

If I am correct you don't have 4G in your location yet?

Edit: Are you in Martinborough? Which has the Toast Martinborough event coming up as well

I am. The event is this Sunday and the massive temporary increase in population won't have occurred yet.

The fall in speed is quite significant - from around the 20 Mbps mark for most of the last 12 months to around the 8Mbps mark for the last 2 or 3 months. No change in phone unit etc my end in that period.

The only other change is that we seem to very occasionally get a 4G signal, but usually only for less than an hour or so per day.

johnr

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# 1424292 10-Nov-2015 12:31

What you are seeing is expected I can 100% say more users in your area now have Smart phones compared to 12 months ago

Capacity upgrades are not static so as demand grows capacity will be upgraded or new technology added

A 2G / 3G / 4G cow will be unlocked for the upcoming event

Geektastic

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# 1424809 10-Nov-2015 22:00

Is anyone else noticing their 3G speeds falling?

johnr

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# 1424813 10-Nov-2015 22:05

Geektastic: Is anyone else noticing their 3G speeds falling?

If they are in the same location as you then yes, Do you think it's a fault?

Once 4G is added to the site then this will take load of 3G and you will see 3G speeds pick up again

tardtasticx

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# 1424875 10-Nov-2015 23:44

I get this here at home :( One half of the house gets 4G from a tower in another area, and speeds are great. The other half is stuck on 3G with the rest of the peninsula which is horrendously slow since from what I can tell we all share the same Spark tower.

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kiwitrc

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# 1424905 11-Nov-2015 05:21

johnr:

Once 4G is added to the site then this will take load of 3G and you will see 3G speeds pick up again

Any idea when 4g is scheduled for Martinborough (apart from this weekends COW addition)?

Geektastic

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# 1425011 11-Nov-2015 09:42

johnr:
Geektastic: Is anyone else noticing their 3G speeds falling?

If they are in the same location as you then yes, Do you think it's a fault?

Once 4G is added to the site then this will take load of 3G and you will see 3G speeds pick up again

No I'm just curious because logically every location in NZ should be showing falling speeds if it is all down to people upgrading their phones faster than the network is upgraded to match.

If it was just our area then yes I would be more inclined to wonder if there was more to it - we only have 1100 people in the village, not all of whom would be VF customers and many of whom will have had smart phones 6 months ago when the speeds were double what they are now, more or less.

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# 1425020 11-Nov-2015 09:51

One person supports this post

1100 people is a lot. Combine that with the fact there will almost certainly be quite a few wireless RBI customers there now.

coffeebaron

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# 1426049 11-Nov-2015 11:21

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Tokorora has population of approx. 10,000. Only one Vodafone tower. 3G on this is poked! Lucky to get 1-2Mbps. Recently upgraded to 4G, so those speeds are good.
So yes, 3G speeds have been declining in other areas too.

Chorus has spent $1.4 billion on making their xDSL broadband network faster and even more now as they are upgrading their rural Conklins. If your still stuck on ADSL or VDSL, why not spend $195 on a master filter install to make sure you are getting the most out of your connection?
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johnr

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# 1426062 11-Nov-2015 11:25

Geektastic:
johnr:
Geektastic: Is anyone else noticing their 3G speeds falling?

If they are in the same location as you then yes, Do you think it's a fault?

Once 4G is added to the site then this will take load of 3G and you will see 3G speeds pick up again

No I'm just curious because logically every location in NZ should be showing falling speeds if it is all down to people upgrading their phones faster than the network is upgraded to match.

If it was just our area then yes I would be more inclined to wonder if there was more to it - we only have 1100 people in the village, not all of whom would be VF customers and many of whom will have had smart phones 6 months ago when the speeds were double what they are now, more or less.

@Geektastic I am advised of every single site that is upgraded with extra capacity be it 2G / 3G / 4G upgrades happen everyday of the week

As I have advised network capacity is not static it changes everyday of week in different parts of NZ

johnr

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# 1426107 11-Nov-2015 11:45

@Geektastic Some examples just from this week

Waima West Auckland 4G 700 added and now live and another carrier added to 3G 900Mhz
Te Pohue 2nd carrier added to 3G 900Mhz and live

There are more but can't remember them off the top of my head

Edit:

Tukino 2nd carrier added to 3G 900Mhz and 4G 700Mhz added to site (4G locked down at the moment) should be live very soon
Hedgehope 2nd carrier added to U900 and live
Twizel 2nd carrier added to U900 and live
Wellsford South 2nd carrier added to U900 and live
Poolburn new 3G U2100 dual carrier site

This is some in just over a week

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