DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI
| [General] Alltel slow in the evening
I'm from Berlin, Wi and wondered if any of you experience a huge slow down in the evening. It gets so bad that in the last few days we can hardly get a page to load. I drove to within a mile of the tower and had the same problem. I then stopped at a neighbor that also uses Alltel and had the same problem. I've contacted Alltel and they are going to check it out. It works fine until the evening so I'm wondered if they have too many subscribers.
I'm just looking for ideas, we really like Alltel otherwise.
I use the Utstarcom 5750 card, Windows XP
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Win XP, DW7000, 970 |
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Max Signal
Premium
join:2008-03-07
Buffalo, NY
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Definitely sounds like a tower/network issue . They may have to run additional T1 lines to the tower you are connecting to if everyone around you is using it. Try driving to an area where you are connecting to a different tower.Then you will be able to tell if it is a tower issue or network issue
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www.MaximumSignal.Net |
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fiaranch
Premium
join:2007-09-12
Weston, CO
edit:
March 22nd, @03:29PM
| reply to DarwinsCE
It is a rock and a hard place kinda' thing.
You can absolutely do as Max Signal suggests and try driving toward a different tower to see if it is a tower specific problem. But, if speeds are good during the day, and crappy at night, there is little doubt that you have just been introduced to standard over-subscription algorithms on an "unlimited" internet service.
The rock and the hard place is:
1)If speeds are good "most" of the time, Alltel probably isn't going to beef up the back-haul to the tower that serves you. The business case won't support it.
2) The more that folks start calling and complaining about speed drops, the more tick marks that Alltel adds to the tally sheet that tells them it is time to end the "unlimited" service and institute a bandwidth limitation policy. Yup, that good old "Fair Access Policy" that most every carrier except Alltel already has in place.
I feel rocks and hard places.....
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High tech in the high mountains @8500 ft elevation|Linksys wired/wireless network across 80 acres|HN7000S|ProPlus Package|Static IP|AMC3 Transponder 1150|A place to go where you can Forget It All-www.fiaranch.com |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI
| reply to DarwinsCE
Last night it quit working at 6 pm and then started working fine at 10pm, when it isn't working I can't even get CNN to open up the whole page. If they need to start restricting I won't like it but my wife has to have it for online college to it needs to work no matter what. I did drive close to one tower and it didn't get any better, I could try driving another twenty miles towards another tower and see if it changes.
Thanks for the replies guys.
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Win XP, Alltel Utstarcom 5750 |
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fiaranch
Premium
join:2007-09-12
Weston, CO
| said by DarwinsCE  :Last night it quit working at 6 pm and then started working fine at 10pm Yup, after all the folks are through uploading and downloading You-Tube, watching the tv show they missed, doing video chat, etc., etc., and start heading to bed.
I thought of one possible 'out' that might improve the situation.
Go to antennasearch.com. Put in your address. After it processes, select view tower results. Look at the list and/or click on the towers around you. See what Alltel towers are nearest you. Then do the "drive test" to those towers that are near you. Would be wise to do a disconnect/reconnect at each one, to make sure the modem is locking to the nearest one. See if the result is the same for all of them. If they are all the same, it is a backbone network congestion problem.
That is good and bad. Good in the respect that you might get some action out of Alltel if you call them, since it is a multiple tower issue. Bad in the respect that, as I said earlier, it is another tick mark toward a fair access policy.
However, if you find a tower that does give you a good result, then you could take the steps (and cost) to set up a directional antenna (yagi), and possibly an amplifier (to improve your RSSI and boost your transmit signal to the tower if necessary), so that you are always connected to that 'good' tower.
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High tech in the high mountains @8500 ft elevation|Linksys wired/wireless network across 80 acres|HN7000S|ProPlus Package|Static IP|AMC3 Transponder 1150|A place to go where you can Forget It All-www.fiaranch.com |
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Trot
@alltel.net | reply to DarwinsCE
DarinsCE,
I live in the U.P. of Michigan and have been experiencing the same problem the past week. The problem apparently is wide-spread if it's from Wisconsin to Michigan. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI
| reply to DarwinsCE
Trot, make sure you call them and ask for tech help with the internet, they have opened up a repair ticket and I'm supposed to hear from a local person within three days. They said they didn't have any other complaints which I can't believe. It works great until 6pm and then doesn't work good again until after 10pm. If we keep hitting the refresh button the page might load after while. The rest of the day it works great. |
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TJinMI
@consumersenergy.com
|  reply to DarwinsCE
I'm experiencing the same problem and I'm in lower Michigan(1/2 hour south of Lansing). Evening the internet is SLOW, but works fine during the day. I called Alltel this morning, but tech support said nothing could be done until it wasn't working properly. So, I'll call back this evening when it slows down. Seems strange this problem is so wide spread... |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI | reply to DarwinsCE
I'm going now to real close to a tower and they are going to try and update my 5750 card with a different PRL. I'll let you know how that goes. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI | reply to DarwinsCE
They updated my 5750 card but it hasn't helped at all. I can on this site but most other ones don't load up. Sure hope that everyone that is having problems contacts Alltel so they know that it isn't just me. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI | reply to DarwinsCE
The guys at Alltel said to ask you guys how you connect to the internet such as with a phone and tether or with an aircard and what models to see if it might be my card. I use a Utstarcom 5750. Thanks |
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TJinMI
@consumersenergy.com
| reply to DarwinsCE
I use a phone and tether(Moto V3m with usb cable). The strange thing about all this is that it just started happening like a week or so ago. Whenever I call in to Alltel, they just chalk it up to network congestion. Well, you can't tell me THAT many people JUST started using Alltel internet in the last week to make it so much slower. Something has changed... Keep posting and I'll keep calling to see if I can get anywhere. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI
| TJinMI, I took my card to Alltel last night because they were going to give me a new one to try, but since I have a repair order number they couldn't until the OPS people check it out, whatever that means. But, last night it worked good all night, we'll see how it goes tonight. If it is congestion then they need to keep up with the demand, that is what we pay for. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI | reply to DarwinsCE
The internet has been working now for the last three days, I was told they had 11 cell towers with problems. |
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TJinMI
@consumersenergy.com | reply to DarwinsCE
Yeah, mine has been working well for about a week now. They must've corrected the problem, but of course they don't like to admit to any problems... |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI
| Two nights ago the service tech from Altell was parked on the road in front of our house, he said there is a problem yet that they are trying to figure out. He said it shouldn't be that slow in the evening. At least it works now at night instead of only email working. During the day our downloads are between four and seven hundred k and in the evening it slows to less than 250. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI | reply to DarwinsCE
It only downloaded at 48kbps last night at 9:30, sure hope they figure this out, sixty dollars a month for this? |
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pioneer56
join:2008-03-21
US
 ·Alltel Axess
| reply to DarwinsCE
Any updates? We have a the same problem. It seems from around 7-10 pm it runs like crap at times then it is fine and so on. I have an almost perfect signal as the tower is only a mile away and have consistant rssi in the -75dbm to -80dbm range. I am using the UM150 AL btw.
How can I tell when I am evdo and when it switches to rtt? When it is working good, it is blazing fast. but for 3+ hours a night it slows way down. |
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DarwinsCE
join:2004-07-31
Berlin, WI
| reply to DarwinsCE
Where are you from pioneer56? Alltel is checking this site to see who else is having problems. The local Alltel service tech was out by our house and knows we have a problem in the evening. I don't have an answer for you on the evdo and rtt though, someone else might know that. Alltel thinks they might know what the problem is so we will have to wait and see what the outcome is. |
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pioneer56
join:2008-03-21
US | reply to DarwinsCE
I'm in the middle/northern part of Michigan around Traverse City so I am not by you, but I've heard that others north and south are having similar problems also. |
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