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AT&T Begins Warning High-Volume Data Users of Upcoming Throttling

though i am not a heavy data user
the concept of data caps and throttle back really s-cks
carriers should have built out the wireless system so unlimited data is a given
why punish consumers and customer
 
darkplanets said:
To be fair, I can easily use more than 12GB a month if I didn't have home Internet access (which is exactly what the article stated)... I've tracked my aggregate home usage to 1TB/2 years which is roughly 42 GB/mo. It's not that I'm downloading porn, etc-- just lots of streaming, file transfers, and remote computing. Not everyone can conform to the social archetype of just visiting Facebook and news sites... many of us have work to do.

The issue with the 5% rule is that 5% off the top is fine... but once that drops that's now 5% off the top again... where does the throttling stop?
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You just proved WHY it needs to be done, then argued against it !

Read It !

I dare you to not Check yourself into a mental institution after !
 
RebelScum said:
Really.

I was under the (mistaken) impression that when one pays for unlimited access, they get unlimited access.
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And so..... It's the top 5% that get screwed for an 'unlimited data plan' that was supposed to be 'unlimited'......!!!!!

Anybody see what's happening here? 'the top 5%'.......that average will keep moving downward as AT&T & Verizon penalize/'throttle back' people because of their usage. It becomes a moving target. As the heaviest user (top 5%) get throttled back, now the slightly lesser users become the heaviest users (top 5%)......etc......etc..... Pretty soon the 'top 5% can be pretty far down the list.

Not only is it unfair because we all have grandfathered in 'unlimited' data plans (since when did unlimited=limited?), but also the way they calculate where/when they 'throttle' users back.

A. I wish these companies wouldn't change the rules in the middle of the game!
B. I wish Sprint had decent coverage AND signal. (I'd switch in a minute)
C. I wish AT&T and Verizon would go to hell for the new ways they always find to screw us!!!
 
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The throttling wouldn't begin until they pass the top 5% mark and it will reset to normal speeds the next month. These excessive users are only going to be inconvenienced for a week or less, the need to ****, their excessive usage is why network congestion happens, it is different between wired and wireless networks afterall. I'm on Verizon and at certain times of the day there's so much congestion it's impossible to download anything. I would say 5 GB is a reasonable maximum for cell data in a month. Otherwise just use wifi, yeah, you're gonna have to spend more money if you don't have home service but you'll get faster speeds and truly unlimited data in most instances.
 
H2SO4 said:
What is it with you guys? If you have a connection with out limit you could download a file size that is a product of the data rate and the length of download time.
If they limit your connection to that which would see you downloading at a rate that would produce a 1MB file on your desktop after five seconds, (where it might normally take 2 seconds). This means that as a daily quota you can d'load 17.28GB as opposed to 43.2GB, there is now therefore an artificial limit. Your connection is not unlimited as advertised.
QED.
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I like what you're pointing out, but it's still comply with what AT&T had as unlimited data. I agreed that the data you got is less (in an overall time period), which if the 5% throttling help improve the 3G experience of other 95% of customer, I'm ok with that.
 
There's a concept in employment law knows as "constructive termination" where an employer doesn't terminate an employee but instead makes the environment so hostile to the employee that the employee quits. Slimy employers do this to avoid wrongful termination suits when they have no grounds to terminate an employee but wish to do so anyway.

I can't help but think of this throttling thing as constructively limiting data on a plan that is advertised and purchased in good faith to be unlimited. It's wrong and it sucks.

If ATT sold unlimited data plans to a certain number of people (far fewer people than their entire subscriber base) then they need to ensure that their infrastructure can deliver what they have sold.
 
nylonsteel said:
though i am not a heavy data user
the concept of data caps and throttle back really s-cks
carriers should have built out the wireless system so unlimited data is a given
why punish consumers and customer
Click to expand...


Al lot of you just don't get it.


Consumers and customer are punishing other consumers and customer !


I have experienced slow speeds myself. I don't like it.


95% of you will not be affected !

Your like Poor to Middle Class Republicans : Your voting for yourself to get screwed by the ones on top who do Jack for you !


Don't work against yourself for a few Bandwidth abusers !
 
TBi said:
Interesting, being in the top 5% is relative. If the top 5% reduce their internet consumption then the data limit for being in the top 5% reduces. So the more you reduce your consumption the lower the overall limit decreases.

So if everyone is downloading only 1kb per month, and someone downloads 2kb then they would be in the top 5%.

I wonder if they have a 'lower' limit?
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Very good point, it really depends on how they determine the top 5%. I bet it is average of overall consumption over the past x Months. So you are right, if people eventually use half as much data, the top 5 will be anyone who exceed 5.5 , rather than 11 GB
 
foxhunter101 said:
Not only is it unfair because we all have grandfathered in 'unlimited' data plans (since when did unlimited=limited?), but also the way they calculate where/when they 'throttle' users back.
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For everyone concerned with "fair," you should switch to AT&T's "fairest" plan of all.

The 2 GB plan lets you go as high as you want, with no throttling. You use what you want and pay for what you use.

NOTHING is more fair than that. Go get it. Those of us keeping our unlimited plans do so knowing that it's a compromise. It's a bit less fair but a bit cheaper.

Fair or cheaper.

The choice is totally yours.
 
Ammo said:
10 GB of data? Good lord.

Throttling sounds reasonable in this case.

Most people who have unlimited don't really need it anyway. It's one of those psychological things.
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10Gb is very easy to hit if you rent a few movies. I don't rent movies over 3G, but I don't see anything wrong with it if someone does. I don't think ATT understands the definition of the word "unlimited", if they start limiting it.
 
I love how all of those are complaining sound like little babies. Wow society is just pathetic. You all realize that AT&T can do whatever they want. You pay for unlimited data but not unlimited bandwidth. As long as you have a connection to the web then nothing can be said. No where in their terms do they guarantee any speeds. No if they were cutting you off, then yes, all you cry babies would have a reasonable lawsuit on your hands.

I will be joining AT&T next month for the iPhone 5 and I'm really glad they do this so others have a good experience. 11GB is ridiculous, my god. I look forward to the day when they actually force you off the unlimited plan, and I believe that day is closer than we think. :)
 
alfonsog said:
They don't have to grandfather you in when you get a new phone so just be thankful they still do that.
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It's the only thing keeping my company with them. They axe the unlimited plans they said they'd offer, then "sort of" did, then didn't, then tried to limit further, and they'll see their last penny from us. Their crap network already has them hanging by a thread here.

The first company to offer an unlimited plan again wins my business. Any company, really. I'd move all our phones and iPads over to T-Mobile, but not if they're going to become ATT in the end anyway.

I'm sure some of our employees have rcvd that message by now. Each employee in the field collaborates accessing huge GIS & CAD files all day long. That's the reason we went with their "unlimited" plan to begin with. Throttling means more time sitting around waiting. ...multiplied by # of employees, day in, day out, starts to add up. ...means this little action is going to start costing us more, which will translate into billing more to cover it. Guess who we're billing? Uncle Sam. Ultimately, you.
 
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From all the posts it seems we have a forum full of attorneys. They are still giving you unlimited data, just reduced if you use an unbelievable amount. If they cut off your data connection that would be a different story.
 
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"we will throttle you to slower Verizon like speeds" lol.

Yes I'm on Verizon and my 3G is 1/3 the speed of AT&T.
 
Why I cancelled ATT 3 years ago and will not go back. I never felt like I mattered or their promises where upheld.
 
nipo said:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/04/20/att-1q-profit-3-strong-wireless-data-revenue/

Is where I found my numbers on profits. If you have stats showing they increase infrastructure spending by 40% in 2011 over 2010 I'd love to see it.
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That link says Nothing about infrastructure at all !

Its Just a Earnings Report .....and it's from FOX , so it's nothing I would ever consider reliable .


Try this Link

http://www.fastcompany.com/1608243/att-to-throw-1-billion-at-its-network-blame-it-on-the-ipad
 
Seems VERY reasonable. He's still getting unlimited data. If I go to an all you can eat buffet, sometimes I have to wait for them to cook more of my favorite dish because some joker loads his plate 12" high with it. The restaurant is not breaching any contract. I just can't shovel the food in my mouth quite as fast. All the whiners are part of the 'me now' generation. So many spoiled brats have this self entitlement fault at the expense of anyone else. If he's using 12 gigs/month, he's likely stealing tethering, especially since he's claimed to have no internet access at home. So he's probably a thief, too.
 
Sure seems like you'd have to be running jailbroken with some kind of (unauthorized) tethering app to get to that level of usage.

I have no qualms with throttling people who abuse their carriers "reasonable usage" terms-- those people lower the quality of the user experience for the rest of us!
 
MattMJB0188 said:
I love how all of those are complaining sound like little babies. Wow society is just pathetic. You all realize that AT&T can do whatever they want. You pay for unlimited data but not unlimited bandwidth. As long as you have a connection to the web then nothing can be said.
Click to expand...

So you'd have no problem if they made people with unlimited voice that made a lot of phone calls wait 5 minutes before connecting their call? I mean they are using too much of the service they should have to wait right?
 
I really don't care as I certainly don't use nearly enough data to trigger this, but someone explain to me how this works. Because someone will always be in the top 5% of data users.

Let's ignore, for the moment, the outrageousness of using 10GB/month and assume that numbers like that are reasonable. So, the top 5% of people who're clocking in at 10GB get throttled, and dial back their usage. So, next month, the top 5% of users are around the 9GB mark. They get throttled and reign it in. Sooner or later, you're going to have people who're using .5GB a month comprising the top 5% and finding their connections throttled, yes?
 
nipo said:
So you'd have no problem if they made people with unlimited voice that made a lot of phone calls wait 5 minutes before connecting their call? I mean they are using too much of the service they should have to wait right?
Click to expand...

We're talking apples and oranges here. Too much voice isn't bogging down the network. Face the reality, they need to throttle in order to maintain their network.
 
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