# Sprint Cell Phone = Faster Upload Speed Than DSL? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188 "2020-08-27T22:19:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/1 "2020-08-27T22:19:21Z")
I have DSL with only .67 mbps upload speed and lots of large video files to upload. Sprint cellular is being shown with an upload speed of about 4 mbps and it seems to me that using my smart phone to upload the files would be more efficient. I know that 1 to 3 GB video files are going to take a LONG time to upload either way, but a faster speed would help a lot. I would like to test this somehow, but I’m not sure how to do it. Uploading to Youtube was my first thpought, but it seems to me that Youtube will do some processing or compression on any videos that I upload and thus skewing results. I can’t upload to my ultimate destination as a test because of reasons too long to go into. Can anyone think of a way to test upload speeds in a way that makes sense? ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/2 "2020-08-27T22:38:15Z")
You could dump a large file into Drop Box or some other cloud-based storage thing. I dunno, maybe a coffee shop or something has a better connection than either. Those are both pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/3 "2020-08-27T23:12:16Z")
I’m not sure you’re going to be able to do much more testing than just using one of the speed test services given your constraints. Be careful about cellular data though. Even the unlimited services sometimes have consequences for lots of data transfer. You may end up with throttled speeds for a while after heavy use. You should check what Sprint’s policies are. That’s a terrible DSL speed. Where are you? ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/4 "2020-08-27T23:24:35Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > Be careful about cellular data though. Even the unlimited services sometimes have consequences for lots of data transfer. You may end up with throttled speeds for a while after heavy use. You should check what Sprint’s policies are. > > That’s a terrible DSL speed. Where are you? My data plan is supposed to be completely unlimited, but I haven’t tried to test it yet. I’m in North Georgia. Download speed is okay at 12 mbps or so. I have no other choices here. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/5 "2020-08-28T01:23:51Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > lots of large video files I wouldn’t be surprised if your cell connection was ‘deprioritized’ during heavy use, but it you’ve got lots of files, why not just send some by each method? ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/6 "2020-08-28T12:53:34Z")
That’s what I want to do for a test. I’ll prepare one file and send it by both cell and DSL. Hopefully, I can get a rough timing for the transit. But send it where? ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/7 "2020-08-28T14:59:45Z")
I just disabled my WIFI and did a speedtest on my phone, and it’s even more miserable than my DSL. Dang. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/8 "2020-08-28T15:01:48Z")
Could you maybe drop the files on a flash drive and take them to the local library or somewhere else that has faster upload speeds? 0.67 megabits/sec is VERY slow. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/9 "2020-08-28T15:23:10Z")
Don’t know - it’s worth looking into, I guess. What really surprises me is that Sprint LTE on my Galaxy A10E is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/10 "2020-08-28T16:27:04Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Could you maybe drop the files on a flash drive and take them to the local library or somewhere else that has faster upload speeds? 0.67 megabits/sec is VERY slow. That was a very good suggestion. I took my laptop to my local library and checked their wifi speed and saw upload of about 8mbps or so just sitting in their parking lot. So now I have something that will work. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/11 "2020-08-28T20:36:00Z")
Are the files on the phone or PC? If they are on the phone then just upload to Dropbox or somesuch. Easily done. You said you have unlimited data. Send a few at a time and do it when you do not expect to be using your phone for other purposes. If the files are on your PC you can transfer to the phone (assuming your phone has sufficient storage) and do the above but, honestly, I’d just set a bunch to upload before you go to bed. Your upload speed is painfully slow but who cares if it happens while you sleep? The only real reason to get it uploaded faster is if time is a factor (e.g. you are a reporter, videoed a protest and the evening news needs it in 20 minutes). ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/12 "2020-08-29T05:50:00Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > My data plan is supposed to be completely unlimited, but I haven’t tried to test it yet. > I’m in North Georgia. Download speed is okay at 12 mbps or so. I have no other choices here. Don’t knock it. It’s still better than what I have and my phone at home might get 1 bar, let alone anything over 1G. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/13 "2020-08-29T07:20:14Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Don’t knock it. It’s still better than what I have and my phone at home might get 1 bar, let alone anything over 1G. I have a similar problem in my home. Some smartphones and some carriers allow you to switch to your home WiFi network for calls. I have Verizon and a Pixel 4 and I can do this and it works flawlessly. Of course, this assumes you have good WiFi coverage in your place (which I do). Basically, all your calls, all anything you do with your phone at home, is handled via your home WiFi. You do not need to do anything special either. Assuming you have WiFi at home you just tell your phone to use that and poof…done. Without that I would be screwed…I get pretty much no bars in my place…kinda iffy at best. With the home WiFi handling calls I have zero problems. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/14 "2020-08-29T13:46:49Z")
Yeah they offered us the gizmo a few years back, for a low monthly fee of course. We have DSL thus a landline. The landline concept worked for a hundred years. We can deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/15 "2020-08-29T13:56:53Z")
FWIW I have no “gizmo” beyond my WiFi router (which I would have anyway). I am guessing the gizmo is a cell extender…thing. Those are expensive. They are trying to sell you shit you don’t need. You can do WiFi calls if you have WiFi in your home. At least some providers allow that. They are thrilled to let you use your own equipment and not their cell towers. Again, I suppose each provider does their own thing on this and doubtless many want to dig more money out of you if they can. I have Verizon which, while not the cheapest cell provider out there, allows this as [part of their service](https://www.verizon.com/support/wifi-calling-faqs/). I think it would be worth your time to investigate what options you have in this area. Even with DSL your cell calls will be perfect if your provider provides this. DSL is plenty fast for voice comms. NOTE: Your phone and cell provider need to support this. Some phones will not give you the option. It’s a lot of fuss, I know, but once sorted it’s great if you have really bad cell reception where you are. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprint-cell-phone-faster-upload-speed-than-dsl/919188/16 "2020-08-29T14:31:59Z")
We’ve lived with it for 15 years. I might get one non-spam call per week. Wife gets maybe one per day. Not worth the effort.