AT&T Revamps Throttling Policy, Only Slows Unlimited Users above 3GB/Month

[kevink2]

Especially if the iPad plan is limited too, I'm seriously considering going with Verizon for the next iPad.

My local area has Verizon LTE, but not ATT LTE.

I would do the same for my phone, since my contract ends before the next iPhone comes out (I skipped the 4S), but for 2 reasons. Unlimited mobile to mobile minutes. Mainly to save money for my dad who is on ATT. And the option of using my old phones in an emergency like a broken phone.

 

[Epic Xbox Revie]

This makes the 'unlimited' vs 3GB plan trade off as follows:
Unlimited = no overage charges if you use more than 3GB, your speed just slows down some, but you are not allowed to tether
3GB = tethering is allowed & included, but you may run into overage charges

The slow down is much greater than you think. It takes forever for things to load!

 

[diamond.g]

I think this whole policy revamp is way overblown. The new policy, to me, is a fair compromise. When I signed up for "unlimited" service it was for 2G (EDGE). So now we are at 3G and, soon for the iDevices 4G. Smartphone ownership has gone from geek to grandma in the space of 5 years, and bandwidth hasn't grown proportionally, largely due to external reasons. What good is "unlimited" service if you can never get service because everyone else is hogging bandwidth? Every been to a concert or ball game. Good luck.

The reality is unlimited service isn't going away for those of us that have it -- we still get all the 2G EDGE we always had. ATT isn't shutting off the spigot, just slowing it down. 3G and 4G are limited but the vast, vast majority of users will not be impacted by 3 and 5GB maximums. Most people don't use their phone as their computer or primary Internet device. The hogs will pay. What's not fair about that?

Put another way -- your house has 1 bathroom for 3 teenage kids. As parents you don't let any one of them use it as long as they like in the AM or no one gets to work or school and everyone is cranky. There are time allocations. It's what makes for a civil household.

I wonder if everyone that complains about someone else slowing them down is talking about spectrum or the back-haul.

When AT&T complains about not being able to support large data users I think people mistake spectrum usage for back-haul. Buying T-Mobile wouldn't have upgraded their back-haul capabilities. It would have allowed AT&T to have more users using the same (oversubscribed) back-haul.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm not keen on that analogy. You've cast AT&T as my Dad - who I really do owe a lot to.

Not so with my unlimited data contract. I've kept up my part of the bargain for four years, and AT&T need to stop shirking and face up to their responsibilities. I'm not the teenager in this relationship.

And just for the record, my monthly usage is almost always under 1GB, I hover around 2GB when I travel for work. No tethering. No jailbreaking. No activities contrary to my contract with AT&T.

Your dad owns the house = his rules control. ATT own it's bandwidth = its rules control.

ATT could just as easy end grandfathering for all users as they go off contract. What you fail to understand is that ATTs grandfathering your acct is not because you or I are entitled to it, but because ATTs thinks it is a good business decision.

 

[upnorth85]

Most will renew their contracts - we need more GSM competition in the US market

Last quarter's financial results showed that most iPhones sold o AT&T went to renewals. AT&T got very few new customers compared to Verizon but they did not lose as many customers to Verizon. The main reason being Verizon is much more expensive and gives less for more. So when it actually gets down to making a decision, AT&T customers whine and complain but then go in for a renewal of contract. That said, AT&T would have real competition if another GSM provider like T-mobile got the next iPhone. T-mobile provides 5GB data and tethering for $30 and above that speeds at 2G. It also has 10 GB Plans. So an iPhone on T-mobile would do more for Apple and competition than anything else and a potential to sell to another 30 million potential customers. T-mobile received $4 billion in cash and spectrum from AT&T for Randall's unwise decision to bet the bank on this deal. Flush with cash and spectrum T-mobile is converting part of its 2G to being compatible with AT&T spectrum so users of iPhone can run their phones at 3G speeds.

 

[Menel]

The iPhone 4S is not a 4G phone cause 4G still doesn't even truly exist. The closest thing to exist is "3.5G" at best.

You say that, but the ravings of an anonymous messageboard poster doesn't make it true.

ITU, Carriers, and Manufacturer's all disagree, and they are the ones that offer service and plans. So to avoid confusing people, best to follow actual naming conventions.

 

[The Wedge]

I'm currently on an AT&T unlimited data plan on my 4s. I'm on the last day of my billing cycle and I've consume 4.5 GB and have yet to be throttled. I wonder if they are still doing this on a case by case basis?

Probably not because as you can see they will actually benefit more from this than before.

 

[neversink]

ATT's Lawyers didn't think this through...

Come on AT&T - You have to figure out a better way than to throttle your long-time loyal customers. Your lawyers are complete idiots if they didn't take into consideration that there is definitely going to be some law-suits - probably some class-action suits.

I signed on for unlimited and i expect full service on unlimited, whether I use 100K of service 100 terabytes.

Just another way to eventually lose my business... my wife's business and my two daughter's business. How much is that a month? How much is that a year?Go figure it out yourself AT&T... You want to be cheap and reneg and be cheap on your Unlimited plans. I can't wait until you guys get sued!!!!

 

[Arran]

ATT could just as easy end grandfathering for all users as they go off contract.

I wish they'd have done that 2 years ago. I wouldn't have liked it. But at least they'd have been honest about their inability to deliver what they'd promised.

What you fail to understand is that ATTs grandfathering your acct is not because you or I are entitled to it, but because ATTs thinks it is a good business decision.

No, I don't fail to understand that. I entirely agree it was a 'clever' financial decision for AT&T in the short term. It certainly strung me along as a customer two years ago when my two iPhone 3G contracts were up. I now have 4 iphones (>$200 month) and use on average 0.2GB, 0.3GB, 0.6GB and 0.8GB monthly on each line. In retrospect, I should've gone for the limited contracts, but I liked the peace of mind. What a fool I was.

In the long term, I think this is a bad business decision on AT&T's part. They've made themselves look slimy, manipulative and untrustworthy to their dependable cash-cow customers.

 

[robopath]

Maybe opinions will be different when they start throttling non-unlimited data plans too.

?????????????????????????
And what exactly would be the financial benefit for them to do that? You do understand that they would be losing money by doing this right? If you are about to go over your plan by 2GB and they throttle you, they won't see their additional $20.

 

[shanerockey]

Arrrrrrghhh!!!

I just got my text this morning that I am approaching 3gb! Hate this!

(Grandfathered Unlimted Plan)

 

[-aggie-]

Based on many posts here, some people will just never be happy. I think AT&T's new policy is a fair compromise, compared to what they were trying to do with the arbitrary throttling before.

 

[Born2run45]

I would have way more respect for AT&T if they would just say "Hey, we're eliminating the unlimited data plans. When your contract is up, if you choose to stay with us, you have to switch to a tiered plan." They need to drop all the "top 5%" and "limited bandwidth" non-sense.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I wish they'd have done that 2 years ago. I wouldn't have liked it. But at least they'd have been honest about their inability to deliver what they'd promised.



No, I don't fail to understand that. I entirely agree it was a 'clever' financial decision for AT&T in the short term. It certainly strung me along as a customer two years ago when my two iPhone 3G contracts were up. I now have 4 iphones (>$200 month) and use on average 0.2GB, 0.3GB, 0.6GB and 0.8GB monthly on each line. In retrospect, I should've gone for the limited contracts, but I liked the peace of mind. What a fool I was.

In the long term, I think this is a bad business decision on AT&T's part. They've made themselves look slimy, manipulative and untrustworthy to their dependable cash-cow customers.

Well that's one opinion. But as I see it if ATT offered both "unlimited" plan as it is not defined, i.e 3/5GB then EDGE and also 3GB only for $30 for either plan I think everyone would pick the "unlimited" plan. So to say you wish ATT dumped unlimited for all seems odd b/c we still on "unlimited" are still getting more value for our $. The good news for you is that ATT is most happy to switch you to the 3GB plan or even downgrade you to the 300MB plan anytime you like.

 

[Born2run45]

?????????????????????????
And what exactly would be the financial benefit for them to do that? You do understand that they would be losing money by doing this right? If you are about to go over your plan by 2GB and they throttle you, they won't see their additional $20.

I realize that they won't do that because it doesn't make sense for them financially. I was trying to make a point to everyone that says unlimited data doesn't include speed. It absolutely does include the fastest 3G speed that their network is capable of. I've had an iPhone since day one. At that time there was only one data plan, $20 for unlimited 2G. When I upgraded to the iPhone 3G they said that my plan would increase to $30 because it increased to 3G speeds. I bought unlimited. I bought the faster speed. Now AT&T wants to change the terms in the middle of my contract.

I realize that technology is constantly changing and that AT&T is just trying to keep up with the times. The least they could do is honor the 2 year contract that i signed.

 

[ncook06]

I'll be taking my $300/month to Verizon. I don't need to be paying for this garbage. Yes, Verizon's customer service is crap, but until T-Mobile gets an iPhone that may be my only option.

I see iPhones from every carrier each day, and Sprint consistently has lower signal and slower data speeds. Verizon's activation process is a pain and I've talked with several nasty Verizon reps (even been cursed at by one), but I cannot stand knowing that I'll be throttled almost every month. It also sounds like Verizon's LTE network will be more spread out that AT&T's by the time the next iPhone launches.

 

[maverikv]

Dear AT&T:

I don't want your terrible service anymore and you clearly don't want my business anymore. Please release me from my contract.

Love,

Mav

 

[alhedges]

I think this whole policy revamp is way overblown. The new policy, to me, is a fair compromise. When I signed up for "unlimited" service it was for 2G (EDGE). So now we are at 3G and, soon for the iDevices 4G. Smartphone ownership has gone from geek to grandma in the space of 5 years, and bandwidth hasn't grown proportionally, largely due to external reasons. What good is "unlimited" service if you can never get service because everyone else is hogging bandwidth? Every been to a concert or ball game. Good luck.

I basically agree with this, if AT&T's plan is: (1) no throttling until 3GB; (2) throttling after 3GB only if you are in the top 5% or so of users and; (3) the throttled speed is still useful.

 

[tomtom2234]

And this is why I switched to sprint...

 

[Orlandu]

While it's not the full solution I would have preferred, it will do for now. At least we have a clear cut line to know when we will be throttled. And the speeds seem to have doubled from about 10-12kbps to 20-22kbps. While it's not a huge increase, they are correct in saying that it is more usable now that it was before.

I would prefer they used the per-tower usage vs demand model that only throttled you if you were using a congested cell tower during peak hours.

 

[Lennholm]

I'd say what ATT is doing is the same as if one of their customers said "I'm sorry, I've subscribed to to many services and cant handle all the bills so I wont pay you the full fee this month". Anyone disagree?

 

[samcraig]

Based on many posts here, some people will just never be happy. I think AT&T's new policy is a fair compromise, compared to what they were trying to do with the arbitrary throttling before.

I agree.

I got a txt (and I am in NYC) at 1.4gb that I was in danger of being throttled. In no uncertain terms do I believe I was even close to the top 5% of data users in NEW YORK CITY at 1.4gb. And also because it's under the 2GB plan for the same cost as my grandfathered unlimited. I admit - I was annoyed. By the end of my billing cycle - I was about 1.8gig. No throttling.

I think this is a fair compromise. This way - If you are unlimited - you MIGHT get throttled beyond what the "value" of what you're paying for is. Yes - people want to complain they are on unlimited plans and that should mean unlimited. I don't disagree - but I do think this is a fair enough compromise.

I also think (and here's my bias) it's great for me personally who now won't even come close to the 3GB usage let alone the 5GB limit on the LTE phone I have.

Has ATT changed the game? Pretty much. But I never really expected the unlimited plan to exist beyond the first contract renewal.

Maybe I'm being too practical. And I understand how some are angered. But I prefer to look at it from the perspective that I got to enjoy true unlimited data without being forced onto another type of plan for a few years by not switching carriers. And with this new policy - for me - nothing much has changed. So I'm "good."

 

[FelixDerKater]

----------

The iPhone 4S is not a 4G phone cause 4G still doesn't even truly exist. The closest thing to exist is "3.5G" at best.

Will people complaining switch? Bet they won't, no other carrier can match AT&T's speeds and they'd probably be better if it wasn't for all the data hogs. I imagine people living in cities like San Francisco and other big city areas would love to get rid of data hogs.
----------

For the moment, they have the upper hand. So long as the majority of the country is covered by 3G data networks, they provide the fastest data speeds. Also, for the moment, on the GSM-based system, they can cite simultaneous voice and data as an advantage over Sprint and Verizon. As these competitors expand their LTE networks, these two advantages go out the window at once.

----------

 

[Born2run45]

Your dad owns the house = his rules control. ATT own it's bandwidth = its rules control.

ATT could just as easy end grandfathering for all users as they go off contract. What you fail to understand is that ATTs grandfathering your acct is not because you or I are entitled to it, but because ATTs thinks it is a good business decision.

That's not a very good analogy. A better one would be if your landlord moved you out of a two bedroom apartment and into a studio half way through your lease but charged the same amount of rent. We are paying AT&T for a service that they no longer want to provide. At least honor the unlimited plan until the end of the two year contract.

 

[Judas1]

Your dad owns the house = his rules control. ATT own it's bandwidth = its rules control.

ATT could just as easy end grandfathering for all users as they go off contract. What you fail to understand is that ATTs grandfathering your acct is not because you or I are entitled to it, but because ATTs thinks it is a good business decision.

Yes, they make the rules, and therefore they should suffer the consequences of those rules. If they want to eliminate their unlimited plan, fine, but then they should suffer the consequence of loosing customers. They don't want this, so they lie and BS about an "unlimited" plan that is no more unlimited than the 3GB plan. If they want to end their unlimited plan, then they should go ahead and do so. They should stop reaping the benefit of calling it an unlimited plan.