Cellphone network frequency question

[mstevens]

Down there you roam onto the TelCel network, which is not very good

The Telcel GSM network in Cozumel is vastly better than anything I encounter in the US. I get around 40 MBPS LTE transfer speeds and strong signal in all the populated areas. There's no signal on the east side or south beyond the resorts and beach clubs.

 

[kelemvor]

The Telcel GSM network in Cozumel is vastly better than anything I encounter in the US. I get around 40 MBPS LTE transfer speeds and strong signal in all the populated areas. There's no signal on the east side or south beyond the resorts and beach clubs.

Bizarre. I remember getting speeds in the 100kbps range consistently even with 3-4 bars signal. That was in 2015, so maybe they've improved their uplinks.

 

[DandyDon]

Verizon phones work fine roaming in Cozumel.

That's generally true. I had a problem once when I got off of the plane in Cancun with my new, first smart phone not working until I played with some of the settings. I don't remember what I did that worked exactly, so if you have any doubts - call Verizon tech support before you leave and ask them what the settings need to be. Otherwise, any recording your get will be in rapid Spanish with no option to press for English - like you never see English subtitles on signs.

As far as plans & roaming costs, that depends on which you have. Plans offered have changed many times over the years, but no one has to change - so if you are an older plan, you may need to add an option or change plans totally. Our plan is the one being offered now, unlimited everything anywhere in US, Canada, or Mexico.

 

[mstevens]

Bizarre. I remember getting speeds in the 100kbps range consistently even with 3-4 bars signal. That was in 2015, so maybe they've improved their uplinks.

 

[tridacna]

Interesting. Now turn WIFI off and repeat that test....

 

[mstevens]

Interesting. Now turn WIFI off and repeat that test....

LOL. Telmex aDSL at my house is much slower than that! The fastest Telmex will sell me is 10 MBPS until they run optical fiber to my side of the block, when they'll let me go to 20 MBPS.

It's also very asymmetrical as is typical with DSL - my upload speeds on WiFi poke along at about 2.5 MBPS.

If I want to force my phone to use WiFi (as when I'm running low on prepurchased Amigo transfer credit), I have to turn off cellular or disable "WiFi Assist".

It's better than when I switched from Cablemas, though. Initially I'd sometimes get nearly 20 MBPS but that soon dropped to never more than 5 as more subscribers signed on. When everyone was home from work and school it was impossible to get anything done at all.

Does anyone get transfer speeds in the 40-50 MBPS range using residential internet in Cozumel? Dave? Christi? cvchief? MMM?

 

[tridacna]

LOL. Telmex wifi at my house is much slower than that!

That may be true but your phone was connected to WIFI when you ran that test...

 

[mstevens]

That may be true but your phone was connected to WIFI when you ran that test...

Sure. It was connected to Bluetooth, too.

 

[tridacna]

Bluetooth is irrelevant. The network speed in your picture reflects that of whichever WIFI network you were connected to at that time. It's NOT speed of your Telco cell.

 

[ggunn]

Something that occurs to me is that if your ISP is reporting its own upload/download speeds to you there may be a conflict of interests.