Why does my internet suck worse than yours?

[terroir]

Okay, I've got - don't laugh - Cricket "Broadband" which is half the speed of dialup (on a good day), very unreliable (often disconnects, often "runs" at 0 speed (surely that isn't broadband), or a very low (like under 1k) speed insufficient to load webpages), and way more expensive than dialup.

Yes, I understand that it sucks, and there are plenty of online reviews pointing in this direction.

But exactly WHY does it suck, or more precisely, how (technologically) can it suck as bad as it does?

For some reason I can't even run speedtest.net - I get the fully colored "selecting best server based on ping" map, but it never gets past that point. Pingtest.net gives me ping results from about 200ms to 1100 ms.

Speedtests run on other sites give me results in the neighborhood of 0.05 Mbps down and 0.04 up.

 

[carnageX]

Never heard of it... Is it satellite based internet?

 

[terroir]

Never heard of it... Is it satellite based internet?

Not positive, but I don't think so. They use USB sticks which literally dial up to a local number which connects to a network which appears to be based in Colorado. (Google thinks I'm in Denver and I'm not even close.)

I've heard that they're reselling service from a bigger fish, although I don't know who that is; they apparently don't have their own towers.

According to Speedtest.net they have a one-star rating.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Cricket piggybacks on what ever wireless carrier they can get at a reduced priority when it comes to wireless communications.

 

[PP Mguire]

Okay, I've got - don't laugh - Cricket "Broadband" which is half the speed of dialup (on a good day), very unreliable (often disconnects, often "runs" at 0 speed (surely that isn't broadband), or a very low (like under 1k) speed insufficient to load webpages), and way more expensive than dialup.

Yes, I understand that it sucks, and there are plenty of online reviews pointing in this direction.

But exactly WHY does it suck, or more precisely, how (technologically) can it suck as bad as it does?

For some reason I can't even run speedtest.net - I get the fully colored "selecting best server based on ping" map, but it never gets past that point. Pingtest.net gives me ping results from about 200ms to 1100 ms.

Speedtests run on other sites give me results in the neighborhood of 0.05 Mbps down and 0.04 up.

The reason it sucks so bad is because it depends on the same wireless service cellphones use, and it isn't 4G or anything close to it. Anybody using that service for internet is better off tethering their 4G or 4G LTE phone if they have one for internet service. The reason it seems like dial up is because it literally is, just different delivery. I suspect the bulk of the problem might be signal, but in general it just sucks all around.

 

[strollin]

I've never used Cricket but I have used a similar USB cellular broadband modem from Verizon. How fast of a connection you get depends on several factors such as where the nearest cell tower is and how congested it is.

I used mine while traveling in my RV. Depending upon where I was at, my speedtest results varied from none to 3M or so but averaged around 900K. I often had enough bandwidth to use Skype from some remote location. It was rare that I had a connection that was anywhere close to dialup speed.

I don't use mine any longer because I've replaced it with a 4G phone which does a better job for me.

There are some possible things you could do to get a better connection. If your modem has an external antenna connection then you could try an external antenna/amplifier to see if you can improve your signal. If your modem doesn't have an external antenna connector then there are ways to passively connect an antenna/amplifier. Check with Wilson Electronics.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

His is actually different. Some wireless USB internet devices literally dial up to a server, most others do the typical wireless connect like Wifi.

 

[strollin]

Huh? What are you talking about? I don't know of ANY USB internet devices that "do the typical wireless connect like Wifi". You are talking about 2 completely different USB devices. One is a USB Wifi adapter that allows you to connect to a Wifi hotpsot, the other is a cellular modem that dials in and connects to a cellular network to provide internet access. The OP has the latter which is what I was referring to.

 

[terroir]

The reason it sucks so bad is because it depends on the same wireless service cellphones use, and it isn't 4G or anything close to it. Anybody using that service for internet is better off tethering their 4G or 4G LTE phone if they have one for internet service. The reason it seems like dial up is because it literally is, just different delivery. I suspect the bulk of the problem might be signal, but in general it just sucks all around.

Thanks, that reminds me...occasionally I get redirected to a page where Cricket tells me they think I am tethering, that their TOS prohibits tethering, but, hey, we'll let you tether for an additional $10 per month.

I'm not tethering and have no idea where they thought I was, but that does sound like an option to consider.

 

[PP Mguire]

You could always give them a ring and talk to them about your service and that problem.