Data Throttle Remover - let's do some mythbusting

[omgjosho]

Well, for one, I did do more than a single test on and a single test off.

However, I did admit already that I didn't do nearly as much testing as the OP, but that doesn't render my results completely invalid.

Bandwidth capping was used for plenty of reasons in the past besides selling different speeds. For example, meeting the advertised speed, but limiting maximum speed to prevent oversubscribing available bandwidth. I'm not saying that this was the case in this instance, just presenting it as an idea.

 

[dlamber7]

5,214,615.1 KB is not 5.2GB of usage. It's 4.97 GB of usage. Remember to divide 5,214,615.1 by 1024 to get the amount of MB it is, then divide again by 1024 to get the amount of GB. It comes to 4.97xxxxxx. Leaving the comment of the VZW rep correct, that he is nearly the threshold to be throttled.

Now, the link about VZW throttling the top 5% of its users, was dated January 2009. VZW didn't start getting the Android user base until October of 2009, which then, increased the amount of data users on their network, making the top 5% and much larger number than January of 2009.

Droid by Motorola Release date

As far as the Sprint throttling goes, Sprint doesn't throttle on WiMax, as it has nothing to do with their network infrastructure. They throttle their 3G access.

T-Mobile throttles at 5GB on smartphones, and they let their customers know. They have a broadband card plan now that users can pay more for a 10 GB threshold before they get throttled.

 

[userjf]

Android device-based throttling, which is what this is about, has a special icon that pops up when it is happening. If you don't have the throttle icon, then android is not throttling you.

If vzw throttles you from their side, there would be no icon... but there is nothing you can do about that anyway.

Anyway, no throttle icon = no android device-based throttle = dtr_mod useless

 

[dlamber7]

Of course it's useless. Changing a code in the phone to combat throttling is useless. Just because someone uses an IP blocker on their computer doesn't hide the fact from their ISP that they are running a torrent 24/7. Data usage numbers still show on the ISP side and it shows it to their address. Same applies to changing code in the phone. Only your subscriber number is using your data, regardless of hacks put into place (unless someone makes their network think they are a different subscriber), so networks can do what they want with their data speeds.

Now, I was referring to the posts saying people are negating the fact that carriers do throttle, because they do.

 

[userjf]

Tons of people go over 5GB each month.

Consider this:

If you use Pandora on high-quality for only 5 hours/day, and you did NO other data AT ALL, you would still use 9GB per month... just from Pandora.

How many people use pandora everyday as their main radio??? Lots.

 

[byrong]

5,214,615.1 KB is not 5.2GB of usage. It's 4.97 GB of usage. Remember to divide 5,214,615.1 by 1024 to get the amount of MB it is, then divide again by 1024 to get the amount of GB.

Very good point - thank you for raising it.

Leaving the comment of the VZW rep correct, that he is nearly the threshold to be throttled.

Please read his quote again. The rep did not say he was nearly at the threshold to be throttled, the rep said his data usage "wasn't nearly high enough" to be throttled.

Just as another anecdote, ProTekk reports:

I'm easily eating 5-10 GB a day using wired tether. No throttle and no one at Verizon crying to me about my usage.

(Emphasis added)

Now, the link about VZW throttling the top 5% of its users, was dated January 2009. VZW didn't start getting the Android user base until October of 2009, which then, increased the amount of data users on their network, making the top 5% and much larger number than January of 2009.

My first Verizon link says that it was updated November 15, 2010.

In all my research, I could not find any written policy beyond my links. If anything else is out there, I am more than happy to read through it. There are a lot of stories that broke on the tech blogs in Feb that quote the 5% statement, but when I searched for the language they quoted, all I could find were the links I provided.

Now, I was referring to the posts saying people are negating the fact that carriers do throttle, because they do.

I don't doubt that carriers throttle at some point. What I'm pointing out is that people believe they are being throttled without any further evidence beyond a general complaint that their 3G speeds aren't fast enough.

Verizon reserves the right to throttle: no doubt about that. They state so in their language. My question is whether anyone here has evidence that their phone has actually been throttled by Verizon at some point. As you pointed out, other carriers generally notify customers when they are approaching the point of being throttled. I have yet to read anyone say that they got a notification from Verizon.

Even if Verizon is silently throttling, it should be easy enough to show in a repeatable way. For example, a heavy user could plot his speeds over the course of a month, taking multiple readings per day. If he is being throttled, we would expect that either:

A) Speeds would take a sudden dip at some point in the month
B) Speeds would slowly drop after a certain point in the month

The recording would also show a point at which the user was 'unthrottled' again. The Verizon links say that a targeted user will also be throttled in the next billing cycle, but there should still be some observable pattern in the data on a long enough time scale.

I concede that most people aren't as nerdy as I am with this stuff. I understand that they won't be compelled to take that many recordings. But if throttling was happening to all the people that believe it, there should still be something substantial behind these claims.

 

[AdhvanIt]

5,214,615.1 KB is not 5.2GB of usage. It's 4.97 GB of usage. Remember to divide 5,214,615.1 by 1024 to get the amount of MB it is, then divide again by 1024 to get the amount of GB. It comes to 4.97xxxxxx. Leaving the comment of the VZW rep correct, that he is nearly the threshold to be throttled.

Now, the link about VZW throttling the top 5% of its users, was dated January 2009. VZW didn't start getting the Android user base until October of 2009, which then, increased the amount of data users on their network, making the top 5% and much larger number than January of 2009.

Droid by Motorola Release date

As far as the Sprint throttling goes, Sprint doesn't throttle on WiMax, as it has nothing to do with their network infrastructure. They throttle their 3G access.

T-Mobile throttles at 5GB on smartphones, and they let their customers know. They have a broadband card plan now that users can pay more for a 10 GB threshold before they get throttled.

FYI. I'm still not being throttled after 7.36GB data usage. And have certainly never seen the data throttle icon.

I too have taken several readings each day.. all varying from 150kbps to 1900kbps depending on where I am, time of day and signal strength. With 3-4AM giving the best speeds.

Note: The Rep did tell me that they would let a customer know if their data was being throttled. Idk if that means you can call and ask to get an answer or they'll voluntarily tell you.. I assume the former.

Edit:gotta love tapatalk upload quality. Ill put up a better one when I get home.

via CM7 Inc

 

[dlamber7]

VZW Terms & Conditions

That's the site that gives the top 5% of users information with the date of January 2009. No where have I been able to find on VZW where they actually throttle, what the threshold is. T-Mobile and Sprint say in their fine print on their sites that the threshold is at 5GB. AT&T doesn't look like they throttle customers, according to their website, but charge a flat rate once customers go over their allotment.

Of course people will always complain of throttling but without the evidence, like you are saying, one can only speculate. Many people that actually complain about the throttling are totally unaware of data speed fluctuations and just assume they are being throttled.

 

[byrong]

As is no secret around here, Verizon has officially announced that they will be throttling. Of course, they don't call it throttling:

http://support.verizonwireless.com/information/data_disclosure.html

How is this different than throttling?
The difference between our Network Optimization practices and throttling is network intelligence. With throttling, your wireless data speed is reduced for your entire cycle, 100% of the time, no matter where you are. Network Optimization is based on the theory that all customers should have the best network possible, and if you’re not causing congestion for others, even if you are using a high amount of data, your connection speed should be as good as possible. So, if you’re in the top 5% of data users, your speed is reduced only when you are connected to a congested cell site. Once you are no longer connected to a congested site, your speed will return to normal. This could mean a matter of seconds or hours, depending on your location and time of day.

When will you begin Network Optimization?
We plan to begin implementing our Network Optimization program in September 2011, though it may take several weeks to fully implement the practice.

How will I know if I’m in the top 5% of data users?
As of August 2011, the top 5% of data users were using 2 GB or more of data each month.

How do I know if I will be impacted by Network Optimization?
A good rule of thumb as of September 2011 is this: If you’re on an unlimited data plan, have a 3G device and are using more than 2 GB of data in a month, you’re in the top 5% of data users and will be impacted by Network Optimization when you’re connected to congested 3G cell sites.

Starting at the end of August 2011, if you are on an unlimited plan, are a high data user and had a contract prior to February 3, 2011, we’ll notify you through bill messages and on your My Verizon account if you may be affected.

(Emphasis added)

Why do I bring this up?

To point out that whatever effect people claim to have seen over the last year of using DTR cannot possibly be attributed to throttling: a practice in which Verizon was not previously engaged.

They're just now starting to throttle, and it doesn't match our traditional perception of throttling. Note that they won't just use a standard billing cycle to determine when and when not to throttle.

I imagine a few people will try to argue that Verizon was previously throttling, they just weren't upfront and transparent about it. I call BS. Someone would have cracked that story: if not one of our trusted blogs, then a competitor. Sprint has made a very public push in their ads to point out how other carriers don't really give you unlimited data. Notice that in those commercials they never accused Verizon of throttling, though they noted other carriers that do. They wouldn't overlook something like that: they have a clear financial incentive.

 

[skwoodwiva]

What do you make of these results?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17754336&postcount=30

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1299292

 

[byrong]

What do you make of these results?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17754336&postcount=30

I am getting constant speeds of 2.2mb+ down and .7+ up. (On Eclipse 0.6) Keep in mind this is only a theory for now, until I can get confirmation that it works for you guys also.

A single mention of speed with no comparison to a control state, no indication of sample size, time, conditions, etc etc etc.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1299292

I see:
4 people saying that it increased their speeds
1 person reporting that the mod slowed him down
2 people who report the mod had no influence on their speeds

Of the 4 people saying that it increased their speed, again: I don't see anyone taking proper controls. The largest sample size anyone gives is 5 sample readings before and 5 after, all of them presumably taken within a short time span.

In other words, those results have the same shortcoming I listed in the OP and others have discussed since:

I see a lot of anecdotes but very few hard numbers. When I do see numbers here and there, they are generally extremely small samples: 1 or 2 speed tests done before and after the mod. Such a small sample is statistically insignificant, especially since we know that 3G speeds fluctuate based on location, time of day, population, etc.

 

[byrong]

I'd also like to add that I have only tested the Droid Incredible version of this Mod.

While it is possible that it works on some other device, I still don't see convincing evidence: just a (very) small handful of readings. As I demonstrated in the original post, a handful of readings can easily create the illusion of a before/after change when natural fluctuations are the real cause.

The null hypothesis is that DTR does nothing (the same would be true if we were testing a new drug or other technology). I have not seen convincing evidence that the null hypothesis should be rejected. Moreover, the anecdotes that have been piling up over the last year can be shown to be placebo (or at the very least, attributable to some other factor) given my post yesterday.

 

[RussianMenace]

I'd also like to add that I have only tested the Droid Incredible version of this Mod.

While it is possible that it works on some other device, I still don't see convincing evidence: just a (very) small handful of readings. As I demonstrated in the original post, a handful of readings can easily create the illusion of a before/after change when natural fluctuations are the real cause.

The null hypothesis is that DTR does nothing (the same would be true if we were testing a new drug or other technology). I have not seen convincing evidence that the null hypothesis should be rejected. Moreover, the anecdotes that have been piling up over the last year can be shown to be placebo (or at the very least, attributable to some other factor) given my post yesterday.

Just applied DTR patch to CM7. Prior to the patch ran 6 over the span of 1 hour (1 test /10m). And another 6 after at the same rate.


DL UL
523 631
386 761
1439 714
1963 438
217 426
742 755

After the DTR
2132 781
1171 793
1743 587
543 338
1261 836
461 439

Other than the initial burst, there was no "long-term" change.

EDIT:BTW, so far I'm at 9.3 GB for the month.

 

[loonatik78]

I used one of the DTR's on my dInc way back. I noticed nothing in the way of speed and it would tend to cause my data to freeze using Wireless Tether. I've never tracked my data too closely, but I currently run between 24 and 28GB a month on my Tbolt. If some throttling was going to be taking place, I think I'd know about it by now. Frankly, I'm not sure what it takes to raise their eyebrows over at the Big Red Checkmark. I KNOW I'm not the biggest data user either, by a significant margin. You can haul down a hell of a lot of data at 35-45Mbit a second.... I downloaded about 4.5 hours worth of MP3's today in about 5 minutes.

 

[DustinBooyah]

If they haven't been throttling until recently, then that means that its too early to tell anyways. I'd give it a month or two before calling bs on anything.

 

[loonatik78]

If they haven't been throttling until recently, then that means that its too early to tell anyways. I'd give it a month or two before calling bs on anything.

His point is that even if they do throttle the data, about the LAST way they'd do it would be on the handset. So.... It's BS and he makes a VERY strong case!!!

 

[byrong]

If they haven't been throttling until recently, then that means that its too early to tell anyways. I'd give it a month or two before calling bs on anything.

Many claimed that they were being throttled, and that DTR was effective at reversing that. Given that no throttle was actually in place at the time, there was nothing for DTR to actually remove.

Now that throttling is starting, the burden of proof is on anyone who claims to create a mod that combats that throttling.

Again, this is standard science: the null hypothesis is assumed to be correct unless proven otherwise.

Also, consider how the throttling is going to be employed: it will be dependent on your data usage, the cell tower you are connected to, the number of other people on that tower, the time of day, the network traffic, and your contract.

Verizon would not (and could not) count on our phones to reliably measure these variables and adjust speeds accordingly. The type of network shaping that they are describing can only be reliably done from the network side.

Do they rely on our phones to count minutes used?
Do they rely on our phones to count texts sent?
Do they rely on our phones to count data usage?

No. These are all monitored through the network. If they were only monitored on the phone, every hacker and his family would be enjoying free, unlimited minutes, texts, and data.

And yet, we're supposed to believe that Verizon would rely on a few easily hackable files to shape network traffic?

 

[loonatik78]

Many claimed that they were being throttled, and that DTR was effective at reversing that. Given that no throttle was actually in place at the time, there was nothing for DTR to actually remove.

Now that throttling is starting, the burden of proof is on anyone who claims to create a mod that combats that throttling.

Again, this is standard science: the null hypothesis is assumed to be correct unless proven otherwise.

Also, consider how the throttling is going to be employed: it will be dependent on your data usage, the cell tower you are connected to, the number of other people on that tower, the time of day, the network traffic, and your contract.

Verizon would not (and could not) count on our phones to reliably measure these variables and adjust speeds accordingly. The type of network shaping that they are describing can only be reliably done from the network side.

Do they rely on our phones to count minutes used?
Do they rely on our phones to count texts sent?
Do they rely on our phones to count data usage?

No. These are all monitored through the network. If they were only monitored on the phone, every hacker and his family would be enjoying free, unlimited minutes, texts, and data.

And yet, we're supposed to believe that Verizon would rely on a few easily hackable files to shape network traffic?

Just to add to that, I'm not aware of any network topology that depends upon clients to moderate the shape and speed of the network, except for perhaps token ring, but what uses that anymore? As far as I know, every packet-based network, including IP networks, manages and prioritizes network traffic either from the top down on in a "flat" collective manor with the end client having virtually no input.

 

[UN5EEN]

Great thread. Very informative. Thanks for the info.

 

[cnavi]

Great thread. Very informative. Thanks for the info.

Same here, I always wondered about this "Data Throttling" hack.