Anyone know how does Verizon react to amount of data used on my phone?

[nateccnn]

I don't know why I do it, but I keep reading these silly threads about getting caught tethering. I'm not worried about getting caught cuz I actually pay for the right to tether.

But someone mentioned that Verizon might have the ability to throttle down my bandwidth if they sense that I am using too much trafic and it occured to me that this may explain something that has bugged me for a while...totally unrelated to tethering, I might add.

I have a GPS app that I use for off roading and alpine hiking. It is called Trimble Outdoors. The app downloads map tiles as you move around. If you zoom in it has to download map tiles for that zoom level. So with 10 zoom levels you end you with 10 seperate map tiles for the same location. It stores these map tiles on the SD card so that it doesn't have to download them the next time you visit that same location like Google Maps does. And since the map tiles are stored on the SDCard you don't have to be connected to the network to use them the next time.

So in order to be prepared for off-roading where I won't have network coverage I sit in my living room panning around the state so that I have a map tile for every square foot of Nevada. I then zoom in one level and do it again. I currently have about 800 mb of data in my map tile cache directory.

I noticed that I can pan around for about 2 hours downloading tiles pretty quickly and then it slows down to a snails pace for about 15 minutes and then it just stops working. So I put the phone back on the wall charger (downloading these tiles consumes a lot of battery power). The next day I can get another two hours of zippy downloading followed by 15 minutes of sluggish downloads and then it stops again.

Is Vz throttling my bandwidth becasue they think I am downloading movies? LOL

OK...call me paranoid. But it got me to thinking. If I am paying for the rights to tether and I have an unlimited plan (130 per month)...wtf?

Nate

 

[aminaked]

Is the map data from google? They have a limit to what you can download per day.

We're supposed to have "unlimited" data so I don't thin verizon is doing it.

 

[nateccnn]

Is the map data from google? They have a limit to what you can download per day.

We're supposed to have "unlimited" data so I don't thin verizon is doing it.

The map tiles I am downloading are a combination of USGS and MyTopo dot com. None from Goggle. Although I could chose that option, but why??? I already have google maps. LOL

Nate

 

[mcatdtDroid]

But someone mentioned that Verizon might have the ability to throttle down my bandwidth if they sense that I am using too much trafic and it occured to me that this may explain something that has bugged me for a while...totally unrelated to tethering, I might add.

that's the thing about all this tethering talk crap, those are the one's just spouting off hearsay and trying to pass it off as fact, and they've confused the issue up so much, noone knows what's fact, and what's wive's tales

 

[BigMcGuire]

"I'm not worried about getting caught cuz I actually pay for the right to tether." Do you have the Droid Incredible or the Motorola Droid?

 

[kmo]

We pay for "unlimited data" (at least I do) so what's the difference. How can VZW limit bandwidth for too much use? That's the point of unlimited data, so we can get unlimited access, right?

 

[OneTenderRebel]

Not really you pay unlimited until 5 gigs. Alot of tethering will send you high above that. Causing big red to grow suspicious.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[jjimenez09]

i dont see how anybody can use 5GB without abusing vzw services anyways. i abuse it by using imusic to download a song or two a day. but to use more then 5GB? u gotta be up to no good. and if u are using 5,10,15GB of data in a month then u deserve to have ur account suspended. because ur probably on ur phone way too much anyways.

 

[hookbill]

Not really you pay unlimited until 5 gigs. Alot of tethering will send you high above that. Causing big red to grow suspicious.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

For the record you pay for unlimited data, not up to 5gb. Now it may raise an eyebrow I don't know but irregardless your phone has unlimited data.

People can hit high data usages without tethering, you can be a big Pandora or Slacker person.

 

[OneTenderRebel]

Not really you pay unlimited until 5 gigs. Alot of tethering will send you high above that. Causing big red to grow suspicious.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

For the record you pay for unlimited data, not up to 5gb. Now it may raise an eyebrow I don't know but irregardless your phone has unlimited data.

People can hit high data usages without tethering, you can be a big Pandora or Slacker person.

Hmm guess I was wrong. maybe the 5 gig rumor is a scare tactic.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[hookbill]

Hmm guess I was wrong. maybe the 5 gig rumor is a scare tactic.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

It's mentioned many times in many forums. It's a myth, but plenty of people think it's gospel. I believed that for quite some time too, kind of got me a bit p.o.'d to think I was paying for unlimited but there was a limit. Fortunately it's just not so.

 

[aminaked]

To get back on topic, maybe the problem is that all of this downloading eventually bogs down the map app. If you reboot and try some more, does it help?

If not then I would guess that USGS and My Topo's servers are throttling you, not Verizon. This seams highly likely, as google has a limit on how much map data you can download per day.

 

[nateccnn]

To get back on topic, maybe the problem is that all of this downloading eventually bogs down the map app. If you reboot and try some more, does it help?

If not then I would guess that USGS and My Topo's servers are throttling you, not Verizon. This seams highly likely, as google has a limit on how much map data you can download per day.

I have tried rebooting and it doesn't help. But you may be right...it could be the map server or the app server...as the map tiles actually pass thropugh their servers since they are the ones licensed to redistribute the maps. I'll shoot an email to tech support and find out.

On a side note...I noticed on my plan with VZ, they changed something and I nolonger have Mobile Boradband on my account. I am going to call them but I can speculate until then. I'm thinking they got wind of all the complaints from customers on Droid Forums and decided to drop the requirement and just plan to let us tether all we want so long as we have unlimited data...hehehe. It saves me 10 bucks a month. But to be honest...I'd rather pay the 10 bucks unless I hear from them that my speculation is accurate.

Nate

 

[RichSmithSWM]

I made a screenshot of a section of my October Verizon Bill. I was paying for tethering with my Samsung I760 smartphone. It shows unlimited for the normal data but a 5Gig limit on the tethering (Mobile Broadband Connect). I discontinued the tethering when I got my Droid in December because I didn't really need it anymore. So I don't know if recent bills would look the same.

 

[mcatdtDroid]

i dont see how anybody can use 5GB without abusing vzw services anyways. i abuse it by using imusic to download a song or two a day. but to use more then 5GB? u gotta be up to no good. and if u are using 5,10,15GB of data in a month then u deserve to have ur account suspended. because ur probably on ur phone way too much anyways.

rrraaarrrrr!!!!! people use their phones more than me, therefore, they must be punished......


That's a lot of assumption there..... gimme a break


I sure hope you PAY for your songs you download on your soapbox