AT&T to Throttle Unlimited Data Plan Customers Starting in October

[thetoad30]

If these other passengers had so much luggage that for weight reasons they had to leave some seats unfilled, then you would not look too friendly at these passengers.
If if is reasonable to expect an unlimited data contract it would also not be unreasonable to expect unlimited checked (or carry-on) luggage. But we all know that unlimited does not work unless the provider has enough surplus capacity to handle these cases without significant cost to the provider or significant service degradation to the other customers. If you tethered your iPhone to your Mac and then used the Mac to provide WiFi in a coffeeshop and charged the coffeeshop customers there for WiFi access, I don't think a lot of people would approve.

Humans have a fairly strong sense of fairness, and if somebody consumes 80 GB for the same price as somebody else who consumes only 2 GB (in particular since we know that any data somebody else consumes on a saturated network will slowdown everybody else), then we are not too happy.

Your analogy is flawed. A better analogy is this:

Everyone gets two free carry-ons. Checking bags now costs between $25 and $50 a bag (extra data).

If everyone uses their two free bags, within their size limits (Unlimited was a contractual limit), but you cannot find a place to put your bag because you were the last one on board, do you still get mad at the people in the plane? No. You get pissed at the carrier for overselling their capacity. EVERYONE has a right to two bags, because that's what they purchased. Is it fair to say that because YOUR two bags are bigger than someone else's that YOU should now have to pay to check your bags? No.

This is what AT&T is doing. They are forcing those that are using their contracts to be throttled. Nowhere in the word "unlimited" or in the contract does it say you can be throttled, nor does that make any ounce of sense to do so contractually.

And, assuming they DO throttle users and YOUR speed goes up - do you magically think that them throttling is going to make the data usage across the entire network go down? No. It will get filled back up by users like YOU. It's never ending, and it's a ploy for AT&T to charge the same rates, and pocket extra cash while STILL not upgrading their network.

i wish Apple would buy out AT$T and fire everybody over there. This is another example of Capitalism failing the average consumer.

I disagree with your statement.

This is not capitalism. This is industry conspiring to hold back capitalism. Why? Because EVERY phone/telecommunications company is capping and regulating. So the consumer may have "choices", but their choices are always limited by the companies. So there really is no difference. It's equivalent to price-fixing in my eyes.

And remember Apple does the same damn thing. Flash, anyone? They control their product just as much in a negative way. It's the USERS and CONSUMERS who should get the choice, and then by providing the best service and product capitalism plays a role. Can't do anything when all services and products suck ass.

 

[RalfTheDog]

Woof!

My friends and I like to play ping pong by emailing Blu-ray movies back and forth on our 3G networks all day. I wonder if this will put us over the top?

 

[SirHaakon]

So, you're complaining about something that doesn't affect you, at all?

Everyone should fight against what's not right, regardless of if it affects them or not. It's a matter of principal, and the more people sit by the sidelines, the more these companies get away with pulling this kind of crap. Sooner or later, it does affect you.

 

[nylonsteel]

carriers that have data caps and throttling - suck big time
i use CLEARWIRE service with no data cap and no throttling - thank you
Only $30 bucks a month

 

[thetoad30]

Everyone should fight against what's not right, regardless of if it affects them or not. It's a matter of principal, and the more people sit by the sidelines, the more these companies get away with pulling this kind of crap. Sooner or later, it does affect you.

Thank you. That's exactly what I think.

If I paid for a right, regardless if I use it or the removal of that "right" affects me, I still am irritated, because I work hard for my money, as a lot of people do, and when we pay for something, we expect it. Not some stupid gimmick or hidden loophole.

carriers that have data caps and throttling - suck big time
i use CLEARWIRE service with no data cap and no throttling - thank you
Only $30 bucks a month

How is the latency with that service?

 

[manu chao]

Everyone gets two free carry-ons. Checking bags now costs between $25 and $50 a bag (extra data).

If everyone uses their two free bags, within their size limits (Unlimited was a contractual limit), but you cannot find a place to put your bag because you were the last one on board, do you still get mad at the people in the plane? No. You get pissed at the carrier for overselling their capacity. EVERYONE has a right to two bags, because that's what they purchased. Is it fair to say that because YOUR two bags are bigger than someone else's that YOU should now have to pay to check your bags? No.

I am glad you fully agree with me that unlimited luggage on planes would not be a good idea, which is why it almost nowhere offered. The very same applies to most 'unlimited' offers, unless it is so difficult to really consume much more than the average (eg, all you can eat deals, for most people there simply is a limit on how much they are able to eat). With tethering (but also video streaming), individuals CAN consume much, much more than the average, which is why unlimited plans are offered in fewer and fewer places. It just does not make sense to offer it.

They are forcing those that are using their contracts to be throttled. Nowhere in the word "unlimited" or in the contract does it say you can be throttled, nor does that make any ounce of sense to do so contractually.

Sure, if you want, sue them. The point is that whenever the contract expires they can change the conditions. The fact that they are doing it mid-contract is just their attempt to change their definition of the word 'unlimited' in a soft way (ie, without and explicit contract rewrite), in the hope that people don't see it as a changed contract but just as a slight redefinition of its interpretation.

The point is: Unlimited is not sustainable but for some reason American carriers don't have the balls to change the language of their contracts and that is why they are phasing out it by re-interpreting them. It is a question of style not of substance.

 

[SolRayz]

So I'm at 5609.5 MB at the moment and my next billing cycle is August 9th. Would this put me in the 5%. How the hell are we supposed to know what 5% is?

BTW, I am not jb...only stream Sirius radio, pandora at work everyday.

 

[AidenShaw]

Is it fair to say that because YOUR two bags are bigger than someone else's that YOU should now have to pay to check your bags? No.

Which airlines charge if a carry-on can't be accomodated and has to be checked at the door? American doesn't.

 

[coolbreeze]

So I'm at 5609.5 MB at the moment and my next billing cycle is August 9th. Would this put me in the 5%. How the hell are we supposed to know what 5% is?

BTW, I am not jb...only stream Sirius radio, pandora at work everyday.

Exactly the approach ATT wants. They will keep the real threshold secret and just say "we've decided to set the limit to 2 gigs. anything over that is throttled"

Bet on it. This is their chance to lock it in for good. The threshold will be very low so they won't have to pay to add backhaul to their precious network (i.e. not 5gigs or more...)

 

[thetoad30]

I am glad you fully agree with me that unlimited luggage on planes would not be a good idea, which is why it almost nowhere offered. The very same applies to most 'unlimited' offers, unless it is so difficult to really consume much more than the average (eg, all you can eat deals, for most people there simply is a limit on how much they are able to eat). With tethering (but also video streaming), individuals CAN consume much, much more than the average, which is why unlimited plans are offered in fewer and fewer places. It just does not make sense to offer it.


Sure, if you want, sue them. The point is that whenever the contract expires they can change the conditions. The fact that they are doing it mid-contract is just their attempt to change their definition of the word 'unlimited' in a soft way (ie, without and explicit contract rewrite), in the hope that people don't see it as a changed contract but just as a slight redefinition of its interpretation.

But I did say that baggage size was unlimited.

And what about those people that fly more and get "perks" from the airlines? You still do not get mad at them for using their extra baggage perks, do you?

Again, do not punish the paying customers for your lack of foresight. Do not go back on your contractual obligations. Sure, I can "get out" of my contract, but how does that benefit me? If I leave my contract on AT&T, do they not get an ETF? Where the f is my ETF if they change the terms? The least they could do is pay for my phone. I'd gladly send it back to them.

 

[Uabcar]

The problem is that today's 5% threshold will be meaningless after October since these guys will all be limited. I'm guessing that the top 5% today actually starts in the 3-4 gig range and after October it will be closer to 2-3 gig.

I'd much perfer for them to set an absolute limit for when this kicks in so I can manage from the start of the month. Even give me an option to pay $10 more for addl unrestricted gigs.

I'd love to know what the governed speed will be.

I generally use right at 2 gig per month- but when on vacation- I can spike to 5 gig (but only one month per year).

 

[thetoad30]

Which airlines charge if a carry-on can't be accomodated and has to be checked at the door? American doesn't.

Which was exactly my point. American takes RESPONSIBILITY and checks your bag for free because they screwed up/didn't have enough room/you have a contract with them to carry on two bags.

What would you do if they changed that policy? Would you get pissed at all the other passengers? Of course not.

It's the same here. Stop holding AT&T blameless and go after them. After all, you are paying them, so hold them accountable.

 

[AidenShaw]

What would you do if they changed that policy?

Nothing - I'm in the million-mile club and can check bags for free. I also get early-boarding privileges, so I seldom worry about the overhead bins being full unless I have a late connection.

Seriously, though, I fly with carry-on for the convenience. I also have a smaller "international-size" roller-bag that will almost always fit "wheels-first" - meaning that I can often fit my bag in while some people with the larger bags are forced to check them.
______

Anywa - back to the topic. I think that cheap, unlimited plans will disappear. I hope that the carriers implement reasonable tiers, with reasonable overage charges - including a premium service that's truly unlimited.

The only thing that I find really unfair with many of the plans is that the overage charges are outrageous.

 

[BeSweeet]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Bad move, AT&T. Been supporting you for over 5 years, and now you do this.

Hmm... Maybe I'll switch to Sprint? Hopefully they get the iPhone next year. I need my unlimited plan WITHOUT it being throttled, as I use 12GB+ a month.

 

[xov]

Ok, for those who are upset, here's what you should do:

1. Complain to the cell phone company.
2. Wait a couple of months to see if they change their mind.
3. When they don't, join the class action lawsuit.
4. When that fails (or never gets off the ground), complain to your congressman or senator.
5. When that fails, switch to another cell phone company.
6. Go back to #1.

Alternatively, you can save yourself some time and hassle, and omit steps 1 - 4.

Thank you.

 

[pyro008]

And no, I'm NOT a heavy data user. In fact, I use, at most, 300MB a month. And that's A LOT for me. But I'm still on unlimited, because I do not want to pay only $5 less for a 2 GB cap. I want the knowledge that I can use what I want, when I want, and I PAID for that right. I'm not abusing anything if I'm using data.

And AT&T loves you for that. Giving them an extra $60 a year to feel warm and fuzzy inside seems dumb to me, though.

 

[winston1236]

haha typical att, they suck

 

[Nomar]

Just checked my usage...8.3 GB received since 6/28...I'm guessing that will put me in the top 5%. I have a 50-60 minute daily commute (via train), and like to pass the time watching Netflix...guess I'll dusting off my kindle in October.

 

[mantan]

Pay for what you use is the future and the fairest way to address the issue.

Unlimited data was a stipulation Apple strong armed AT&T into to get exclusive rights to the iPhone. But nobody, dare I say even Apple, predicted the exponential growth of data usage in just a few years.

People tend to irrationally cling to the concept of unlimited data as a right, even when it causes people who abuse the system to impact the performance of other users. Though it's funny how the macrumor community staunchly defends their rights under TOS, but will actively encourage exploiting any loophole, jailbreak or rule bending that benefits the customer. They key is just to ramble about evil AT&T and it's all acceptable....

 

[stownsend3]

So I'm at 5609.5 MB at the moment and my next billing cycle is August 9th. Would this put me in the 5%. How the hell are we supposed to know what 5% is?

BTW, I am not jb...only stream Sirius radio, pandora at work everyday.

I get streaming the radio, but I can't understand people who steam Pandora all day at work every day... Do you not own any music that you enjoy that you have to stream it all rather than listen to it on your phone? There is an iPod/Music app that includes a 'genius' feature that works rather well. Try playing a genius mix or something?

Or, do you just not own anything? a quick thought experiment: what if EVERYONE paid (or not) for pandora so that everyone had rights to any and all music for free that you can listen to as much as you want whenever you want? Now imagine you're an artist/actor/sound mixer/camera man/etc, and tell me when you get paid in the process if everyone believes it's all free all the time everywhere?

 

[howl]

Early cancellation

This will be a great chance to revaluate since this would be a change of terms of service. I've been waiting for an excuse to get out my contract for awhile now.

 

[ibis99]

At&t sucks!!!!!

How can they sell you an unlimited plan and then punish you for using it. Unreal!!!

 

[akhomerun]

That is just horrible

Not really. If you have an unlimited plan with Sprint or T-Mobile, the same thing happens. If I use more than 5 GB on sprint I will be throttled to 2G speeds. It has never happened.

AT&T's policy of metering it with the top 5% of users means that number could be even higher than 5 GB.

I can understand that you can't just get an unlimited data plan on a mobile network and expect to be torrenting movies all day. If everyone did that, nobody would have a good connection.

What does need to change is the price tiers for the newer non-unlimited plans. Verizon's is ridiculous - charging $10-15 or whatever for 75 MB then the next plan is $30 for 2 GB. That's just silly.

AT&T's is slightly more sensible - 250MB for $15. They claim 65% of users don't use more than that. Still, it should be more like 500 MB. And definitely not 75MB like Verzion has. They only have this plan so their commercials don't say "minimum $30 data plan required"

At least you get to keep your unlimited plan unlike new customers.

If you are sick of high cell phone prices, check this out:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell...one.jsp?intcmp=p-hp-mps2-triumphlaunch-072011

 

[lowdownshame]

 

[wilhub]

I am on day 24 of 31 day of this billing cycle. I have used 114.89 MB. I am on AT&T's unlimited data plan. They are getting rich on customers like me who are scared to switch plans.

They talk about the top 5%. What about the bottom 5% or 10% they are making a lot of money on.

I am tempted to jailbreak and use with my iPad.