AT&T may be capping the upload speeds of non-iPhone devices.
You may remember our article written last month suggesting that AT&T may be capping data on 4G devices, such as the Atrix 4G. According to sources, AT&T is capping data speeds at 300 Kbps which is much slower than the iPhone at 1.5 Mbps.
This was very unusual and several users noticed very quickly. The device features an HSDPA radio that supports 14.4 Mbps, while the iPhone has a radio that tops out at 7.2 Mbps. That tells us that the Atrix should be faster than the iPhone 4 right? Well, it's not. Take a look at the chart below that's from AT&T and is based on their data speed tests between the Apple iPhone 4, HTC Inspire 4G and the Atrix 4G.
PC Magazine in return conducted their own upload speed tests using the same exact devices. Their results mirror those of the above report. PC Magazine found that the Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G recorded upload speeds at a rate comparable to UMTS (0.15 Mbps), while the iPhone 4 recorded speeds as fast as 1.56 Mbps.
Looking at the chart and hearing the results from the source, would you say AT&T is definitely capping their data for all non-iPhones? It does seem very suspicious to me, what about you? Leave your comments in the boxes below.
Source: IntoMobile via PCMag
© 2011, GirlGoneGeek. All rights reserved.
Its part of their SUPERFAST “3G”…errrr… re-labeled “4G” network. Superfast and Super-reliable…
AT&T is becoming a joke with the crap they keep pulling… Glad I am on SPRINT… Faster speed, no dropped calls, and best of all, CHEAPEST PLANS THAN ANYONE ELSE!!! I pay less for UNLIMITED everything with SPRINT compared to these jokesters…
desgraciados!!
mapaz04 Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
@eric12341,
Apuesto que van a querer mas dinero para que la jente que perdio su servicio… Les cobraran mas para recuperar la velocidad que tuvieron antes de todo este desmadre… jejeje
Translation:
I bet that they are going to ask for more money for those that lost their service. They will charge more just to restore the speed you once had before all this crap… jejeje
eric12341 Reply:
March 8th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
@mapaz04, jaja no se tenia que traducirlo.
Just one more reason to tell AT&T to go straight to @ell, do not pass go dot collect any of my money!!!!
At least with At&t you get cell phone service instead of Sprint and their crappy network. With Sprint, your blesses if you even have a signal.
eric12341 Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
@NIKKG, pfft don’t know where u live at. everyone i know here in metro chicago who has them can’t stand them
A friend just tested his Nexus One on ATT, and was getting 2.5 download and 1 upload. Not as good as the 7.0 and 1.0 I just tested on my EVO, but the Nexus One clearly isn’t an iPhone. Limitations might be in ATT branding, not networking. Try the test with a rooted rom’d phone.
mindfrost82 Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 11:07 am
@CtDMonet, I have a Nexus One too and I just pulled 2.9 down and 1.5 up, so clearly no cap there. The Nexus One isn’t a “4G” phone, so its not going to pull the speeds of an HSPA+ phone (Inspire or Atrix). I wonder if they’re only limiting their other “4G” phones, which at this time is only the Inspire and Atrix.
One thing though, with Android, on the HTC Inspire, you have to be rooted and can edit the build.prop to properly enable HSUPA which will increase the upload speed. It looks as though At&t has put this limit on their Android phones for whatever reason. T-Mobile has done the same thing before. I already made this edit on my Nexus One, which is probably why I’m getting better uploads.