AT&T Starts Throttling Unlimited Data Users after 2GB of Monthly Usage

[5aga]

Or alternatively stop using your iphone to stream music and videos and just download it on a computer first and then transfer it on your phone's hard-drive.

that defeats the whole purpose of having an iPhone as well as 3G. Perhaps to avoid customer frustation AT&T should depict that scenario in their commercials instead of showing people streaming videos and music.

As a customer who is grandfathered into Unlimited Data I am thankful I havent been throttled - yet. And as a general consumer I'm absolutely disgusted with AT&T.

I dont understand why people want to blame the customer, since we were sold unlimited plans and we even signed contracts to that extent. This is nothing but AT&T being shady and as others have stated, once they get away with this they will eventually throttle those on tiered plans as well. This is nothing but greed - plain and simple.

WHats crazy is once AT&T gets away with this the other carriers will follow.

 

[Treq]

Or alternatively stop using your iphone to stream music and videos and just download it on a computer first and then transfer it on your phone's hard-drive. You know, like how normal people do it.
I literally have zero sympathy for all these people bitching and whining about being throttled.
There are so many ways around it!!

But there are so many services that require it. Music match is one example. If turned on, it won't let me sync my music via a wire. It downloads the music as you use it. Once you listen to the song it is saved on your device, but not before. For the most part I only listen to music in my car. This is a service I paid apple for, and now at&t is saying I can't use it or it's going to be completely impractical. I kept my unlimited specifically for these data intensive services that I know I will use more and more in the future.

 

[samxool]

I don't understand people like you. Do you work for ATT? Are you a communist? WTF is your problem? We were sold a certain bill of goods by ATT and now they are in absolute violation of the spirit of the agreement. By the very definition of unlimited, I should be able to download whatever the freak I want, when I want. I shouldn't have to find a way around it- that's the point.

Why would it make me a communist? Do you even know what communism is????
Let me know when you finally graduate kindergarten.

You and I both know that Unlimited in business terms means there will be strings attached, ie, in this case, a fair usage policy.

I pointed out you don't need to be streaming such a ridiculous amount, but no, do what the hell you feel like.
Enjoy being throttled for 2 weeks every month when you don't have to be.

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I dont understand why people want to blame the customer, since we were sold unlimited plans and we even signed contracts to that extent. This is nothing but AT&T being shady and as others have stated, once they get away with this they will eventually throttle those on tiered plans as well. This is nothing but greed - plain and simple.

WHats crazy is once AT&T gets away with this the other carriers will follow.

sigh, this has been pointed out so many times, its not even funny anymore.
You were sold a contract with unlimited data download/uploads.
You were not sold a contract with unlimited data speeds.
I'm not saying what they are doing is necessarily morally right, but legally, i can assure you, their asses are covered.
deal with it.

 

[Rad99004]

Or alternatively stop using your iphone to stream music and videos and just download it on a computer first and then transfer it on your phone's hard-drive. You know, like how normal people do it.
I literally have zero sympathy for all these people bitching and whining about being throttled.
There are so many ways around it!!

I have unlimited and never have been throttled. I don't recall AT&T defineing that it would throttle people in the original contract based on a certain usage.

It was always the unwritten rule that this number was around 5 gigs.

People that think like you are exactly what At&t wants.

Your'e the same type of person that most likely doesn't complain about gas prices at the pump either?

Enough said I will think twice about staying with At&t if this continues.

 

[Treq]

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[/QUOTE]

[/COLOR]

sigh, this has been pointed out so many times, its not even funny anymore.
You were sold a contract with unlimited data download/uploads.
You were not sold a contract with unlimited data speeds.
I'm not saying what they are doing is necessarily morally right, but legally, i can assure you, their asses are covered.
deal with it.[/QUOTE]

No, we were sold unlimited 3G data, which this isn't. Besides, if there is a limit to how much you can download before they throttle you, then it isn't un limited data. Even if you just think about it in terms of how much you can dowload in a month throttled vs unthrottled. It is limited not unlimited. Stop implying otherwise. It is clear as day. There is no way to argue that it is still an unlimited plan.

Edit: Whoops, I messed up the quoting... Sorry

 

[lordofthereef]

I think some people are dense. It's very simple. When I bought my 4s in November I was sold two years of:

Unlimited 3g

Where 3g was defined as fast data. I understand that their contract allows the sales people and advertisements to lie. If the contract said they could rape my sister if I went over 2gb that wouldn't make it legal. Their advertisments and representatives lied to me.

You are calling people dense, and then you say something like that? That act of rape is illegal to begin with. The act of throttling data in and of itself is not illegal. So... ATT has in their contract they can throttle "abusers". They have not added to their contract that they will commit an illegal act if certain criteria are met. Not defending ATT, just discrediting your horrible analogy.

 

[Treq]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

I think some people are dense. It's very simple. When I bought my 4s in November I was sold two years of:

Unlimited 3g

Where 3g was defined as fast data. I understand that their contract allows the sales people and advertisements to lie. If the contract said they could rape my sister if I went over 2gb that wouldn't make it legal. Their advertisments and representatives lied to me.

You are calling people dense, and then you say something like that? That act of rape is illegal to begin with. The act of throttling data in and of itself is not illegal. So... ATT has in their contract they can throttle "abusers". They have not added to their contract that they will commit an illegal act if certain criteria are met. Not defending ATT, just discrediting your horrible analogy.

I don't think they can argue that these people being throttled at 2 gigs are abusing the network when they sell 3gig and 5gig plans.

Edit: Oh yeah, GO PATS!!! Forgot to write that before...

 

[theelysium]

I Was Also Throttled

I received an email warning in end of January that I was in the top tier. Three days latter I was throttled. My data was so slow I could not get get online. I think the term throttled is an understatement its more like bricked.

I was final unthrottled three days later at the beginning of my new billing cycle. I checked my data usage I was 834MBs. WTF! I wrote a scathing email to the stupid CEO of greedy AT&T.

This is happening and it's more then just an isolated incident. AT&T needs a class action lawsuit.

 

[pmz]

Same thing has been happening to me as I've been reporting.

Throttled at 2. Its beyond insane. Talk about abusing your own customer.

 

[Flyinace2000]

Would this be a change that would allow us to get our of our contracts with ATT? We are moving to London in a month and have 12 months left on our two lines. We were gonna sell our lines on CellTrader, but this would be way easier.

 

[nola47]

Can someone with their contract handy clarify if it says "Unlimited 3G?" I've seen alot of people refer to it as that but I'm almost positive it's worded "unlimited data." The reason I'm curious is because AT&T is marketing the 4S as the only 4G iPhone. I'm wondering if they'll argue that we were throttled because we were using their premium network, Verizon and Sprint charge you more to be on their premium networks. Is everyone else using a 4S as well? As for the regional usage, I'm in New Orleans and normally get throttled in the 5GB to 6GB range.

 

[pika2000]

Don't throttle the data hogs (the me first folks) = slower network = everyone suffers.

Throttle the data hogs = only the data hogs suffer AFTER they've hogged out.

Lesson: Don't be a data hog = faster network = everyone wins.

I'm sure 640kb is enough for you then.

Yesterday's bandwidth "hogs" are today's normal users. Who would think that you could browse full web pages, social networking, easily uploading media via apps, VOIP, etc, on a phone to boot, a decade ago? This lame "bandwidth hogs" argument is the same thing that ISPs are using. Years ago, watching a postage-stamp-sized real video = a bandwidth hog. Today, streaming HD video via netflix = normal use.

Besides, throttling real data "hogs" (eg. people that goes, let say, 20+GB a month) may sound okay, but reality is even people that goes barely at 2GB a month got throttled. I only use my phone for email and social networking, no streaming video/music, and my monthly usage is already at 400-500MB. I can see streaming video/music here and there will push you to 2GB very quickly, more if you do those regularly. So the argument that people using anything below 5-10GB as bandwidth "hogs" is simply marketing, and an insult to users and customers in general.

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The corporate fanboyism here in the US is simply amazing. I mean really, seeing how many people here went above and beyond to actually defend AT&T, making up excuses and attacking other users, it's mind boggling. No wonder we suck at wireless compared even most European and Asian countries. There are these people that just keep bending over for the carriers and asking for more...

Just another comparison, Singapore's Singtel, for ~US$32 a month, you get 12GB (yes GIGAbyte) data quota that INCLUDES tethering. Yet we in the US went from unlimited to 5GB to 2GB/3GB to being throttled at less than even the sold tiered points, and tethering is charged extra to boot.

 

[Treq]

Hypothetical conversation between me and AT&T rep.

At&t rep: Hello what can I help you with today?

Me: I just got a message two days ago saying I'm going to get throttled soon and today my speeds went to almost nothing. What's up?

At&t rep: Well sir we have determined that your high usage is putting a strain on our network, so we slowed your internet speeds to free up bandwidth for everyone.

Me: Well, I just checked my data usage and I just barely hit 2gigs. Is that too much for the network to handle?

At&t rep: Well yes, if you got that message you are in the top %5 for your area.

Me: Ok, well, how do I fix this? I need to use my phone for my job.

At&t rep: You are in luck, I can switch you over to our 3gig or 5 gig plan right now, and that would fix your throttling problem.

Me: Wait, What? I was putting a strain on your network at 2gigs a month, so you slowed me down, but if I switch to a 5gig plan I can use more than twice as much without getting throttled?

At&t rep: Yes sir, That is correct. Witch plan would you like to switch to?

Me: Sprint *hangs up*

 

[pika2000]

This thread got me worried until I checked my data usage and found out I never went above 500mb. This is with wifi at home and 3G all day at work (as my workplace refuses to allow me to connect to unrestricted wifi there). I can't really stream movies or anything like that while at work and I do use internet on my phone throughout the day, so 2GB is a lot compared to what the average population uses. This is with iPhone 4S too.

But if you see how AT&T tiered their plans now, you cannot save any money based on your usage, which is what most people will actually be. Your option now are only 300MB (which is too little) or 3GB (at the same price of unlimited). Smart huh. They basically try to squeeze more money from people, and at the same time, try to get people off unlimited.

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At&t rep: You are in luck, I can switch you over to our 3gig or 5 gig plan right now and that would fix your throttling problem.

Me: Wait, What? I was putting a strain on your network at 2gigs a month, so you slowed me down, but if I switch to a 5gig plan I can use more than twice as much without getting throttled?

At&t rep: Yes sir, That is correct. Witch plan would you like to switch to?

Me: Sprint *hangs up*

At&t rep:

Well, it's already pretty clear that this throttling nonsense is only to get people off the unlimited plans, nothing to do with "strained" network.

 

[rgarjr]

Wowser. Increadible dialog there. Yes, with an unlimited plan they will never see a penny more added to your monthly bill. With a capped plan there is a possibility of more money for them if u go over. Damn greedy a-ho#es

At&t rep: Hello what can I help you with today?

Me: I just got a message two days ago saying I'm going to get throttled soon and today my speeds went to almost nothing. What's up?

At&t rep: Well sir we have determined that your high usage is putting a strain on our network, so we slowed your internet speeds to free up bandwidth for everyone.

Me: Well, I just checked my data usage and I just barely hit 2gigs. Is that too much for the network to handle?

At&t rep: Well yes, if you got that message you are in the top %5 for your area.

Me: Ok, well, how do I fix this? I need to use my phone for my job.

At&t rep: You are in luck, I can switch you over to our 3gig or 5 gig plan right now, and that would fix your throttling problem.

Me: Wait, What? I was putting a strain on your network at 2gigs a month, so you slowed me down, but if I switch to a 5gig plan I can use more than twice as much without getting throttled?

At&t rep: Yes sir, That is correct. Witch plan would you like to switch to?

Me: Sprint *hangs up*

 

[Treq]

But if you see how AT&T tiered their plans now, you cannot save any money based on your usage, which is what most people will actually be. Your option now are only 300MB (which is too little) or 3GB (at the same price of unlimited). Smart huh. They basically try to squeeze more money from people, and at the same time, try to get people off unlimited.

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Well, it's already pretty clear that this throttling nonsense is only to get people off the unlimited plans, nothing to do with "strained" network.

I know that, and you know that, but at&t is using the argument that these unlimited users are abusing their network at 2gigs to justify their throttling. An argument that makes no sense to me, seeing as they offer a 3gig and a 5gig plan.

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Wowser. Increadible dialog there. Yes, with an unlimited plan they will never see a penny more added to your monthly bill. With a capped plan there is a possibility of more money for them if u go over. Damn greedy a-ho#es

My point was to show how crazy it is to say 2gigs puts a strain on their network but 3 or 5gigs doesn't.

 

[cbreezy]

Top 5% after 5GB... I live in the downtown Atlanta GA area.

I received a text from AT&T on 1/27/2012 informing that I was in the top 5% of all data users. I immediately opened the iOS app to check my data usage. It showed that I had used just over 5gb. I don't know where these people live tht are claiming they used only 2GB and started receiving texts that they would be throttled. I average between 3-4GB of data per month so if the limit is 5GB in my area I should be ok for now. The bottom line is AT&T does not want these unlimited data plans that have been grandfathered in. They want each of us with these plans to switch to tiered plans as if they don't make enough $$$ off of us already! If it gets any worse I would suggest a class action lawsuit against AT&T. I am an attorney and will look into this if it keeps going on. Hang in their my fellow AT&T users and don't give up the rights to your unlimited plans! It may get worse before it gets better but it will get better!!!

 

[Mr. Gates]

3 Words

CLASS

ACTION

LAWSUIT


Lets get it done

*******************************************************************************

Could you imagine going to McDonnalds and ordering an Extra Large soda with the "Unlimited Refills" and after the first refill they take away your cup and replace it with the tiny 6oz Kids Cup ???

Wouldn't you be pissed off ???

Isn't that wrong ???

 

[Seraph-]

I am not filing a complaint here but I just wanted to look at it.

Guess what, I got a trusted security warning in Safari

And that's from FCC

There's really nothing to stop AT&T from announcing the end of grandfathered Unlimited Data plans for the iPhone. They're not bound by the FCC or SCCs to retain the plan.

AT&T knows that if they terminate the grandfathered plan and migrate all subscribers to the 3GB plan, they will have an enormous PR backlash.

So, they're doing what they do best, which is to bugger everyone on Unlimited via the backdoor with throttling data speeds. Curious how there isn't enough capacity to provide up to 5 GB/month for Unlimited data users, but there is enough capacity to provide 5/GB/month + 1 gb increments if you're paying $50/month + $10/GB over the cap.

AT&T will only listen when they get enough FCC complaints to stop what they're doing.

So, start complaining already.
http://bit.ly/zBWCpj

And FYI, while Verizon Wireless is not yet throttling, be aware that Verizon is rolling out "walled garden" for FiOS which will enable the company to throttle your FiOS data speeds to as low 64 kb in the event you do not accept their TOS, fail to pay your bill on time, or download copyrighted material.

 

[Jack Dangers]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)



I don't think they can argue that these people being throttled at 2 gigs are abusing the network when they sell 3gig and 5gig plans.

Edit: Oh yeah, GO PATS!!! Forgot to write that before...

This. The fact they are selling 3 and 5 gig plans w/o throttling kills their argument. It's frustrating. And like others have said, there are no other alternatives. Verizon's data is slow Sprint is even worse and T-mobile has no coverage once you leave the city... I've never had complaints with ATT until this stunt.

 

[lycracatsuit]

I too got hit with throttling at 2.1gb here in the FiDi San Francisco... but the next month I got the same message at 1.9gb.

So if you are in the top 5% you will be throttled if you ever get there again. So you use less. Then there is a new top 5%, and they get throttled. So on and so forth until everyone is throttled down to one megabyte per day.

 

[Seraph-]

I don't know where these people live tht are claiming they used only 2GB and started receiving texts that they would be throttled. I average between 3-4GB of data per month so if the limit is 5GB in my area I should be ok for now.

I am in VA and I got the email of doom at 2.1 GB, similar to you, I've averaged between 3-5 GB/mo the past few years.

 

[Treq]

This. The fact they are selling 3 and 5 gig plans w/o throttling kills their argument. It's frustrating. And like others have said, there are no other alternatives. Verizon's data is slow Sprint is even worse and T-mobile has no coverage once you leave the city... I've never had complaints with ATT until this stunt.

My (and probably a lot of people here) hope is that the next iPhone will work with sprint's LTE network, and sprint doesn't get rid of its unlimited plan. Fingers crossed... 5-6 more months...

 

[unixfool]

Here's my 2 cents.

I'm no longer an AT&T client. I went to Verizon. I wasn't dissatisfied with the service, but wanted LTE and an Android phone...but...

I've had issues with AT&T in the past where I canceled my contract early. My suggestion is to NOT pay a business over what you already owe them when you're an unhappy customer. Let's say you are 6 months into a 2 year contract and AT&T is being ridiculous or there is something preventing you from getting what you've paid for. To say you're unhappy but still willing to pay 18 months more of services within the contract...that's a TON of money for even a 1-line contract. It's more practical to just pay the contract cancelation fee outright than to continue to put up with a bad situation and give the company what might amount to $2-$4K in revenue. Sure, canceling several lines will more than likely give you quite the cancellation fee, but unless it's close to the total amount of 2 years worth of fees, you're still in the good, IMO. And the closer you get to the end of your contract, the lesser the early termination fee will be.

IMO, the customer is always right. If a company can't resolve an issue with a bill or contract or finds loopholes to limit the the service the client is supposed to receive, while still not adjusting the revenue they're taking from the client, sure, I'll pay a huge early termination fee just to prove a point...and be happy with their competitor's service. People say that canceling and going to Verizon/T-Mobile/Sprint doesn't solve anything, but I'm not aware of those companies bending over their customers like AT&T currently appears to be doing. Switching will stop them from taking advantage of you and you're more than likely going to save money in the long run if you use ETS.

Another option is to just alter your usage habits if you don't want to leave or don't want to use ETS. I don't think I've ever even come close to 2GB of monthly usage, with ANY phone service. I don't typically stream on my phone and if I do, I do it via wifi only (or find a desk/lap computer).

Personally, I hope a class action lawsuit develops. AT&T is doing some shady ****. And as someone else already said, perhaps they need to be broken up again. After reading the main article, it makes me glad that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger fell through.

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Verizon's data is slow.

LOL!

I don't think so!

 

[Treq]

Here's my 2 cents.

I'm no longer an AT&T client. I went to Verizon. I wasn't dissatisfied with the service, but wanted LTE and an Android phone...but...

I've had issues with AT&T in the past where I canceled my contract early. My suggestion is to NOT pay a business over what you already owe them when you're an unhappy customer. Let's say you are 6 months into a 2 year contract and AT&T is being ridiculous or there is something preventing you from getting what you've paid for. To say you're unhappy but still willing to pay 18 months more of services within the contract...that's a TON of money for even a 1-line contract. It's more practical to just pay the contract cancelation fee outright than to continue to put up with a bad situation and give the company what might amount to $2-$4K in revenue. Sure, canceling several lines will more than likely give you quite the cancellation fee, but unless it's close to the total amount of 2 years worth of fees, you're still in the good, IMO. And the closer you get to the end of your contract, the lesser the early termination fee will be.

IMO, the customer is always right. If a company can't resolve an issue with a bill or contract or finds loopholes to limit the the service the client is supposed to receive, while still not adjusting the revenue they're taking from the client, sure, I'll pay a huge early termination fee just to prove a point...and be happy with their competitor's service. People say that canceling and going to Verizon/T-Mobile/Sprint doesn't solve anything, but I'm not aware of those companies bending over their customers like AT&T currently appears to be doing. Switching will stop them from taking advantage of you and you're more than likely going to save money in the long run if you use ETS.

The problem with this is that the customer gets nothing for the money they just spent on the etf. Yes they may still have to give the company more in the long run but they will still have to give someone a similar amount if they want to receive cell service. Add to that the cost of a new phone for the new network and the customer is out a butt load more money than just staying until their contract is up. It sucks, but that is how it is.

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LOL!

I don't think so!

Uh, yeah it is... their 3g data speed is less than half that of At&t.