4G LTE for home internet, questions...

[puller]

I have a regular 4g LTE hotspot....I use a usb wireless adapter (belken N model????) to get net to the computer...I have 3 bars on the internet device and get pings of 60 to 100 with no warping or anything...ping of 600 bad...I played for years on a sat connection of 300 to 400 and really didn't have any problems though....except for collisions 

[saggs]

Just to clarify what I'm experiencing.

I don't believe the over the air signal is the problem.  Both my phone, and the mobile hotspot I got show a full strength 4G LTE signal, which never waivers.  But in spite of the strong signal the internet is slow with horrible latency/variance. 

I'm led to conclude therefore that it's not the signal from me to the tower that's the issue. But perhaps whatever connection the tower uses to get to the internet.

On the same network in town, with less bars (signal strength) on my phone, and no LTE (just plain 4G) I tested and get 100-150ms ping and 20-25 mbps download.  vs at home I get 300-700+ ping and 0.2 to 4 mbps download with a perfect 4G LTE signal.  It varies a lot too, tonight it seems to be marginally better then it was last night.

So thanks for the suggestions, but I don't think a signal booster will make a difference.  I wonder if there is just more data traffic to the tower than it can handle...

EDIT:  I'm gonna run pingplotter and post the results.  Maybe there will be some clue there, I just don't know how to interpret it.

[saggs]

.I played for years on a sat connection of 300 to 400 and really didn't have any problems though....except for collisions 

You are a lot closer to the satellite in OK then I am up here in the sub-arctic.  From talking to the hughesnet dealer the very best latency you could get this far north is gonna be 500+, and then there's the issue of trees since the satellite is only 6 or 7 degrees above the horizon.

I'm scared to even try hughesnet though, after looking for reviews online... I can't find a single positive review of their service anywhere.

[saggs]

Here's a pingplot.  I don't know what to make of it, except it's not good.  Although I'm getting slightly faster speeds (2-3 mbps) tonight then last night.

[Skuzzy]

You ran the ping plot to our WEB server.  The game servers are on a different network.  Try running the Ping Plot to 71.252.137.153.

[Bizman]

And if that looks the same, try plotting to the marketing site your ISP. If that still looks as red, the shareholders might be interested.

[saggs]

You ran the ping plot to our WEB server.  The game servers are on a different network.  Try running the Ping Plot to 71.252.137.153.

Here you go.

[Skuzzy]

Well, hop #3 is where it all goes bad.  You need to contact your ISP about that one.  Show them that Ping Plot.  Something is amiss.  There should not be a 300% increase in ping times between #2 and #3.

Packet loss is too high, even for a wireless connection.

[saggs]

Well, so far it's a big thumbs down for AT&T customer service.  They don't even have an e-mail for technical support/service.  They just expect you to use their live 'chat' or post in their support forum.  Neither of which has gotten my any answers or support.

They keep trying to run through troubleshooting checklists with me for the device or my over the air signal, even though I show them the ping plot which makes it obvious the problem is with their network and not my device or the signal it's getting.

I'll be returning the AT&T hotspot router this week, and maybe I'll check in and see if Verizon has any service here... I doubt it though, verizon is still new in Alaska, and doesn't have a very robust network up here yet.

[DaddyAce]

Well, so far it's a big thumbs down for AT&T customer service.  They don't even have an e-mail for technical support/service.  They just expect you to use their live 'chat' or post in their support forum.  Neither of which has gotten my any answers or support.

They keep trying to run through troubleshooting checklists with me for the device or my over the air signal, even though I show them the ping plot which makes it obvious the problem is with their network and not my device or the signal it's getting.

I'll be returning the AT&T hotspot router this week, and maybe I'll check in and see if Verizon has any service here... I doubt it though, verizon is still new in Alaska, and doesn't have a very robust network up here yet.

My experience with Verizon is that at least I can at least talk with a helpful tech rep, although I recall having to dig a bit to get their number.  I've never tried raising the question of a bottleneck in their route, other than local signal issues.

There is a new promising satellite network coming in the next couple of years.  Elon Musk's SpaceX company is promising improving rural internet access and gaming-capable latency by using a network of low-orbit satellites.  Here is a brief article: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/11/spacex-plans-worldwide-satellite-internet-with-low-latency-gigabit-speed/

[Meatwad]

Well, so far it's a big thumbs down for AT&T customer service.  They don't even have an e-mail for technical support/service.  They just expect you to use their live 'chat' or post in their support forum.  Neither of which has gotten my any answers or support.

They keep trying to run through troubleshooting checklists with me for the device or my over the air signal, even though I show them the ping plot which makes it obvious the problem is with their network and not my device or the signal it's getting.

I'll be returning the AT&T hotspot router this week, and maybe I'll check in and see if Verizon has any service here... I doubt it though, verizon is still new in Alaska, and doesn't have a very robust network up here yet.

The biggest issue I have had personally by calling into ATT wireless is talking to someone that barely speaks english. Makes it real hard to try and get something done