Don't know the answer to that yet. The FCC is questioning Verizon on why they are only throttling unlimited data users and not others in tiered plans. I guess part of the purchase agreement for the 700 block C bandwidth.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone else still grandfather'd into AT&T's unlimited data plan?
- Thread starter mdwsta4
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Don't know the answer to that yet. The FCC is questioning Verizon on why they are only throttling unlimited data users and not others in tiered plans. I guess part of the purchase agreement for the 700 block C bandwidth.
I hear you.
They do it so they can have those people or unlimited switch plans and create more revenue in return to them by going over their data plan.
Its obvious why. And on LTE bands that they agreed not to limit, throttle or block certain applications or devices.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/27.16
If you don't like them, switch carriers (or never sign up with them in the first place). If you expect the government to babysit every company and police unfair consumer practices, rather than doing it yourself, you are going to have a bad time. Way too many companies out there for the government to catch every business practice you happen to disagree with....
And, frankly, I'm not entirely sure it's even the government's job to do that, but that's a whole new can of worms
Too bad that most carriers in US are just as bad as one another and some decent carriers are small and simply cannot compete in coverage.
If you don't like them, switch carriers (or never sign up with them in the first place). If you expect the government to babysit every company and police unfair consumer practices, rather than doing it yourself, you are going to have a bad time. Way too many companies out there for the government to catch every business practice you happen to disagree with....
And, frankly, I'm not entirely sure it's even the government's job to do that, but that's a whole new can of worms
I don't and never will give verizon a penny of my money.
But if the government doesn't do anything to protect consumers rights and lets companies get away with unfair business practices then who will make sure all these big carriers don't price fix and create a monopoly that they control and pricing they all fix together.
In every other country there's laws and regulations against such practices.
Not here I guess since such corporations line up the pockets of politicians and get away with billions of profits and keep raising prices and offer less to the customer while charging more.
But I'm not surprised to see many support those kind of deals and want the government to sit back and let them do whatever they want.
Kinda like the housing market years ago and we saw where that got us...
I have the 10 GB plan for myself. When I was on a family plan with my dad and two brothers, I paid about $60 (we split the bill evenly). I pay the exact same thing and I have 10 GB with unlimited talk and text. I love my employer discount so I end up paying what I used to but now I have 10 GB.
I still have the unlimited plan that i got back in 2011 and since both of my main lines are unlimited i was able too add a line in october of last year with it from an att authorized retailer which is cool so its still possible to get but i wouldn't switch from it due to how much data i use a month
It was recently posted that the FCC is questioning all carriers about throttling now - https://www.macrumors.com/2014/08/08/fcc-questions-all-carriers-on-throttling/
I still have my Unlimited data plan and have no plans to give it up anytime soon. With my FAN discount I only pay $22/month for it. None of the new plans will same me money in the long run anyway.
----------
They can question these carriers all they want. I don't see anything changing anytime soon.
----------
They can question these carriers all they want. I don't see anything changing anytime soon.
Nah but I do have unlimited on verizon...and I'm on the Edge plan...with a company discount of course, I honestly have a weird plan
I went over 5GB a few days ago so I'm now throttled to about .5 Mbps. I can still stream most video along with music. I've only received a couple of messages that said the video couldn't be shown. That was when I had a weak signal. So it's slower but still useable. I started researching other plans but I can't say I'm being restricted to much.
Yep, but I'm almost positive I'm being throttled all the time, regardless of how far I am in the billing cycle.
Ive been with AT&T/Cingular since 1998, hopping on the 'Unlimited Data' bandwagon whenever Smart Phones first hit the active market. I've kept my eye on the competition through the years and had contemplating switching from time to time, but after running the numbers I've decided to stay with AT&T. Each company has their pros and cons.
With that being said there is something that has came to my attention here recently that all the carriers are starting to do in my area, being the 'NeXT Program' that requires you to change your contact upon adding to it, but requires you to pay the full cost of the phone, in comparison to the carrier eating the majority and then us the consumer only paying a subsidized cost. With a lot of red tape and things of that nature with the "new plan." So looking forward I'll probably stay with AT&T, but whenever I want a new phone, I'll buy an unlocked one right out, to keep the current 'Grandfathered' contract on my account. Saving money in the long run, by a noticeable margin.
With that being said there is something that has came to my attention here recently that all the carriers are starting to do in my area, being the 'NeXT Program' that requires you to change your contact upon adding to it, but requires you to pay the full cost of the phone, in comparison to the carrier eating the majority and then us the consumer only paying a subsidized cost. With a lot of red tape and things of that nature with the "new plan." So looking forward I'll probably stay with AT&T, but whenever I want a new phone, I'll buy an unlocked one right out, to keep the current 'Grandfathered' contract on my account. Saving money in the long run, by a noticeable margin.
If you remain on your subsidized plan, you might as well upgrade. You're paying a higher fee each month, so it wouldn't make sense to buy a phone outright.
You can still keep unlimited data on AT&T *and* get a subsidized phone -- at least as of today. It's not featured very much on the website and the option is only visible once you complete your contract.
I might give it a shot when the iPhone 6 drops if I feel like upgrading, just bought an iPhone 5s which I'm having some issues switching to, but thats another thread. I was told that I couldn't do "Renew my contract" or get a Subsidized phone by the Store Manger here in town; I might go to a larger city and try. My contract has been fulfilled since mid-2012.
----------
My plan has been 72.85 for unlimited everything and hasn't increased. I've talked to AT&T a few times since my contract has been completed about getting a new phone through them and it would bring up my monthly cost to around 100 and with the mentioned plan would tack on another 25/month to pay for the phone.
Uh, oh!! Throttle time for T-mobile!
http://www.tmonews.com/2014/08/t-mobile-to-throttle-customers-who-use-unlimited-lte-data-for-torrentsp2p/
If you don't like them, switch carriers (or never sign up with them in the first place). If you expect the government to babysit every company and police unfair consumer practices, rather than doing it yourself, you are going to have a bad time. Way too many companies out there for the government to catch every business practice you happen to disagree with....
And, frankly, I'm not entirely sure it's even the government's job to do that, but that's a whole new can of worms
It is the governments job to make sure verizon abides by their agreement
Or else verizon would not have been granted those 700 block c spectrum.
Verizon thinks they are smarter than what the contract says. Or at least their highly paid lawyers think they can get away with it.
They are trying to use a loophole about "network optimization" to limit data speeds. That's all dandy and nice. Yet they target only unlimited data users. If verizon had a blanket policy about network optimization for EVERYONE including tiered data users, than their new policy may hold some weight.
Than they try to even convice themselves more that it's ok because "very little people will be affected"
If you don't like them, switch carriers (or never sign up with them in the first place). If you expect the government to babysit every company and police unfair consumer practices, rather than doing it yourself, you are going to have a bad time. Way too many companies out there for the government to catch every business practice you happen to disagree with....
And, frankly, I'm not entirely sure it's even the government's job to do that, but that's a whole new can of worms
There is only really 3-4 major carrier, is not like there are that many to begin with .
If you read the title of the article you would see that they're throttling customers who misuse their data for torrents, which is a very small percentage.
Oops, I read beyond the title and it references other "misuse" also... Thanks!
T-mobile has identified customers who are heavy data users and are engaged in peer-to-peer file sharing, and tethering outside of T-Mobiles Terms and Conditions (T&C). This results in a negative data network experience for T-Mobile customers. Beginning August 17, T-Mobile will begin to address customers who are conducting activities outside of T-Mobiles T&Cs.
T-mobile has identified customers who are heavy data users and are engaged in peer-to-peer file sharing, and tethering outside of T-Mobiles Terms and Conditions (T&C). This results in a negative data network experience for T-Mobile customers. Beginning August 17, T-Mobile will begin to address customers who are conducting activities outside of T-Mobiles T&Cs.
$90 pretax with FAN corp. discount for my wife and I to have unlimited data, 550 minutes shared (rarely go over) and NO texting (SMS is dying a very slow death plus we use Google Voice when SMS is mandatory).
We get new iPhones every 2 years at $199.
Try and beat that with a mobile share plan - not possible
We get new iPhones every 2 years at $199.
Try and beat that with a mobile share plan - not possible
Next isn't anything special for a family of two. Four lines is where it truly shines.
We pay $137 pre tax with FAN plus $27 per month per line (it's actually higher but I am comparing a 24 month plan, like you are with your phones). That comes out to $245 per month.
Compare that to your $108.77 (I added the cost of the $200 you pay per phone times two over 24 months to make a monthly equivalent) and douvle it for four lines and you are pretty darn close (you still come out on top).
However, there is unlimited minutes (something we personally do utilize) and unlimited texts, which we also definitely utilize, especially for work, and it makes it worth it for us. I contemplated a while about giving up my unlimited plan (actually sold them), and it made sense then, as it does now. (not to mention the fact that I couldn't have gotten unlimited on the third and forth line unless I bought someone's line with unlimited currently on it).
What it boils down to is usage. If you use the unlimited, the other options are never going to compare, virtually regardless of price. The big three are in a heated battle, and it all seems to be focused on data and family pricing. I expect the unlimited plans to eventually disappear, but I also expect data to become more affordable.
Unless they kill me, unlimited data will never be given up by me. I still have my trusted unlimited plan ever since August 2007. Not planning on letting go, ever.
The last thing I want is a data cap that will seriously screw me over.