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

[cameronjpu]

My minimum so far, for the past year, has been 20GB per month. And that's basically 90% music streaming off of Pandora and OoTunes and DI Radio.

For this month, I'm 10 days into my cycle and I'm at 7.1GB used. Thats mostly from photos, email, music streaming and obvious, netflix

None of these are tethered data usage.

I paid "UNLIMITED". I expect UNLIMITED.

Fortunately, the problem that you and others like you cause for the other 95% of us will end very soon no matter how much you whine about it.

Unfortunately, the life lesson of being a good neighbor will have to be learned elsewhere. But make no mistake, you do have to learn it. Maybe it will be not abusing a bowl of free mints at a restaurant, when the girl you're on a first date with looks at you with disgust when you empty the bowl into your bag. Maybe it will be in August when you're watering your lawn every day, screaming "I PAY MY WATER BILL YOU COMMIE!" as the cop writes you a ticket during a drought. Maybe it will be in McDonalds as you fill up your bottle of heinz at their "unlimited" ketchup dispenser and the manager kicks you out.

I wish i could be there when that lesson does actually hit home.

I'll say this slowly - you are NOT subsidizing HIS usage. YOU paid for YOUR usage at the rate AT&T picked. He paid for HIS usage at the rate AT&T picked.

Please, use your logic and that thing between your ears... it's a wonderful tool.

Yep, and ATT picked a rate that forces the many to subsidize the few. Thankfully in this case, the few are almost always jerks, so removing their subsidy feels very good for the rest of us.

You might want to practice saying things slowly, because it looks like your days of streaming your world over video to your website with your unlimited 3G connection are over. When throttled, it might be a lot harder to understand your rantings for your massive audience.

Please explain how using what you paid for is abuse?

You'll learn it someday. Apparently not here, but it will hit you eventually.

And here's a thought for all of you complaining about the network being slow - do you really think that will change if you boot off only 5% of the users? NO. Why? Because AT&T has so oversold their capacity that in places like NY and SF there STILL won't be enough bandwidth to support users... start thinking instead of just spewing myths and baseless claims.

Yep, because only 5% of the users probably use as much data as the other 95% combined. So kicking those 5% off will double the available pipe for the rest of us.

That's a very good point. And what most users don't realize is that the companies pay for pipes at certain speeds, but then sell you data usage. So AT&T uses huge pipes at say 10GB/s, but charge you for total data usage. It's a completely apples to oranges conversion, and you get ripped off in the end.

Think about it. $30 a month for unlimited, or $25 a month for 2GB. Which one seems like an absurd amount?

30 for unlimited. The other is feasible, deliverable, and possible.

"Unlimited" is not an amount, so by definition, unlimited is an absurd amount. Quite a few posters here have demonstrated nicely what absurd usage looks like. Not for long

Explain how paying for a service and receiving said service is demanding or greedy, much less both? What would you do if you paid full price for something and only got 50% of it or even less?

50% of unlimited?

You're so childish. WAAAA! Explain this!

And this is what it comes down to. MONEY. They just want more money because they don't want to upgrade their ****. They f'ed up offering unlimited (because they can't handle it) and they're getting bit in the ass now by it.

Yep, and you just want more money because you don't want to pay for your fair usage.

Most things in the world come down to greed. Unfortunately when two parties tussle over the same dollar, neither of them gets to claim that the other is greedy.

 

[powaking]

Why not just download/sync the podcasts you're listening to? I have all of mine pulled down and synced every morning. That way, if I end up being on a train/tunnel, I don't lose the stream anyway.

I do download my podcasts when I can before my commute each day. I use Instacast to subscribe and listen to my podcasts (hate having to do it all via iTunes). Some of the podcasts don't get updated until during the day and Instacast will download them when they become available (I do have it set to download over 3g). Tech News Today is a daily show so listening to yesterdays news today is kind of useless.

Otherwise I would just end up listening to Pandora. I sometimes connect to my companys wifi but at the same time don't want to get a letter that I'm streaming radio over their network.

My commute is 1.5 hours each way (on a good day) so when you add that to my daily work ya I can use up a lot. Its why I still have unlimited.

Also......when AT&T says they will throttle the top 5% which % are they talking about? 5% in your area, 5% in a demographic area or 5% total on their network? If lets say the top 5% is on the western part of the country how does that benefit me being on the eastern part of the country?

 

[stockscalper]

Their 3G, if you can find it, is already slow as mud. And they're going to throttle it? I can't stop laughing

 

[bruinsrme]

Do you really think ATT has bandwidth issues? After all, all we ready about is million and million of new iPhones being activated every quarter.
ATT canceled the unlimited a little over a year ago when they stated 10% of their unlimited customers were bandwidth hogs.
Now with an additional say 8,000,000 new smart activated and the unlimited plan gone it seems to me that % should be significant lower.
I personally applaud ATT for the FUD they are advertising, great for stock holders and many at MR.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm not sure how this is really a big deal. Put it this way: it doesn't affect 95% of all unlimited users. Moreover, you really have to try hard to be in the top 5%. That is A LOT of video watching -- hours a day. You are not going to get to the top 5% by casual web surfing, streaming music for a couple hours a day, and maybe a short streaming video now and then. The only people truly affected by this are the abusers.

Do you really think ATT has bandwidth issues?

Not only do I think it, I experience it every day, and I live in a major city.

 

[samcraig]

I see this as no big deal. But then again - I'm not on pandora/netflix 24/7 or using my iPhone (against TOS) as a wifi hotspot via jailbreak.


And better to throttle than kill unlimited or charge a premium for those IN the top 5%..

There are much worse scenarios here...

 

[MacPossum]

§ 241. Circumstances Significant In Determining Whether A Failure Is Material

In determining whether a failure to render or to offer performance is material, the following circumstances are significant:

(a) the extent to which the injured party will be deprived of the benefit which he reasonably expected;

(b) the extent to which the injured party can be adequately compensated for the part of that benefit of which he will be deprived;

(c) the extent to which the party failing to perform or to offer to perform will suffer forfeiture;

(d) the likelihood that the party failing to perform or to offer to perform will cure his failure, taking account of all the circumstances including any reasonable assurances;

(e) the extent to which the behavior of the party failing to perform or to offer to perform comports with standards of good faith and fair dealing.

Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 241 (1981) (West)

 

[BJMRamage]

at first I thought "that sucks". I am NOT an unlimited user...I use between 400mb - 1500mb per month.

BUT then I thought those Top 5% are actually screwing over 95% of the other users on ATT. Think about that. 95% of people on ATT WILL NOT be negatively impacted, rather they might get better service.

All those whining, grow up you still have unlimited data...just might be a bit slower.

 

[mantan]

Again... slowly... it doesn't matter if the whole house is networked or just one phone - if you're streaming 24/7 it's the same amount of data regardless of the device. It doesn't MATTER how many devices, since it's the same speed pipe. And if you paid for unlimited... it's none of your business what I do with my data.

You can't tell me how to use my electricity, my water, my gas, or anything else I pay for. Stop telling me how to use my UNLIMITED bandwidth. Your network slow? Complain to AT&T.

Actually the number of devices does matter....as the TOS is very clear that unlimited data is for your phone over.

I would bet a significantly amount of the 5% are people who tether their devices in violation of their TOS....but will still want to beat their chest about their rights they have under that same contract they violated themselves...

 

[silentnite]

Whoa! AT&T is gotta be kidding any more slower than it is now they may as well call it 2G. That Blows!

 

[alphaod]

I use more data during the summer when I don't have access to WiFi... why doesn't AT&T average out the amount of data used throughout the year to account for spikes in use? (ie: I use only about 500MB of data a month, 9 months in the year, and then during June-August, I use about 40GB a month...); will people who use less than the prescribed capped plans be refunded money for less used data?

 

[bruinsrme]

I'm not sure how this is really a big deal. Put it this way: it doesn't affect 95% of all unlimited users. Moreover, you really have to try hard to be in the top 5%. That is A LOT of video watching -- hours a day. You are not going to get to the top 5% by casual web surfing, streaming music for a couple hours a day, and maybe a short streaming video now and then. The only people truly affected by this are the abusers.



Not only do I think it, I experience it every day, and I live in a major city.

Go to a Boston redsox game or bruins game and 3G is unavailable. Ironically 30 minutes after the game 3G is available, like clockwork. Yet the stadiums are riddled with ATT clubs and advertising.
To address your point, ATT is raking in customers and smartphone activations containing data plans but yet doesn't seem to be keeping up with their customer needs?
Blame the data hogs, not the willingness for ATT to address the real issue on their end.

 

[SolRayz]

I'm not sure how this is really a big deal. Put it this way: it doesn't affect 95% of all unlimited users. Moreover, you really have to try hard to be in the top 5%. That is A LOT of video watching -- hours a day. You are not going to get to the top 5% by casual web surfing, streaming music for a couple hours a day, and maybe a short streaming video now and then. The only people truly affected by this are the abusers.



Not only do I think it, I experience it every day, and I live in a major city.

Once again...we have nothing to gauge "abuse"....that could be anything over 2GB.

 

[mantan]

I use more data during the summer when I don't have access to WiFi... why doesn't AT&T average out the amount of data used throughout the year to account for spikes in use? (ie: I use only about 500MB of data a month, 9 months in the year, and then during June-August, I use about 40GB a month...); will people who use less than the prescribed capped plans be refunded money for less used data?

40GB a month!!! Even if they did, you'd still average over 10 gig a month for the year...which would undoubtedly put you in the top 5% of average monthly users...

 

[castlema]

Outside of coffee shops and libraries, who has free wifi these days? Everywhere I go, they want you to pay.

McDonalds, Panera, many Safeway stores and most hotels come to mind.

 

[winston1236]

ip5 on verizon or sprint and i am gone!

 

[cyks]

I'm not sure how this is really a big deal. Put it this way: it doesn't affect 95% of all unlimited users. Moreover, you really have to try hard to be in the top 5%..

About a year ago, AT&T said that 65% of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 200MB of data per month and 98% of it's users use less then 2GB a month on average.

Let's assume, that because of their capped plans, that those numbers haven't changed.


According to their numbers, only 2% of users use more then 2GB a month... so, if they were to throttle the top 5%, it should also be safe to assume that that number will be well BELOW the 2GB mark. Funny, since 'unlimited' customers pay more per month then those with a 2GB limit.


I love how most in this thread keep blaming the top 5% for using most of the network. Quoting that number because AT&T said it.

It would be just as accurate to say that the top 25% use most of the network.

It would also be accurate to say the top .5% use the majority of the network.


60% of the top 5% use less then 2GB.... yet they'll be punished.

 

[mantan]

About a year ago, AT&T said that 65% of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 200MB of data per month and 98% of it's users use less then 2GB a month on average.

Let's assume, that because of their capped plans, that those numbers haven't changed.


According to their numbers, only 2% of users use more then 2GB a month... so, if they were to throttle the top 5%, it should also be safe to assume that that number will be well BELOW the 2GB mark. Funny, since 'unlimited' customers pay more per month then those with a 2GB limit.


I love how most in this thread keep blaming the top 5% for using most of the network. Quoting that number because AT&T said it.

It would be just as accurate to say that the top 25% use most of the network.

It would also be accurate to say the top .5% use the majority of the network.


60% of the top 5% use less then 2GB.... yet they'll be punished.

Good post. I do agree that AT&T needs to be more forthcoming what what the actual data number is.

One of the challenges even in the last year is that 'average' data is likely increasing. As people get more familiar with their devices, they start wandering into Netflix, Pandora and other heavy data apps that raises overall usage. This is only going to increase as more apps look to push more data. It'll definitely occur when LTE data speeds hit. (oh and Apple's big 'Cloud' initiative isn't going to help.)

The genie out of the bottle is the whole concept of 'unlimited' data. A concept that Apple required of AT&T when the iPhone was released and made when nobody predicted how fast data use would explode. And a concept that really doesn't make sense in the cellular world where bandwidth is more limited.

AT&T needs to define what heavy usage is.

 

[Crunch]

Why is this so horrible? I'm getting a consistent 5Mbps down and 1.3Mbps up. That's horrible?

What I wonder is what that number is that AT&T refers to as "the top 5%". I like the fact that I will be warned if I should fall into that category. What do you guys think it is? 10GB? 25GB? 50? Hmm...

 

[gnasher729]

Do you really think ATT has bandwidth issues? After all, all we ready about is million and million of new iPhones being activated every quarter.
ATT canceled the unlimited a little over a year ago when they stated 10% of their unlimited customers were bandwidth hogs.
Now with an additional say 8,000,000 new smart activated and the unlimited plan gone it seems to me that % should be significant lower.
I personally applaud ATT for the FUD they are advertising, great for stock holders and many at MR.

It's "five percent of the unlimited customers" they are complaining about. That number stays the same no matter how many new customers they have.

AT&T probably thinks that if they upset the top 100,000 "unlimited" customers and they all leave to Verizon, then AT&T has suddenly enough spare capacity for a million or two new "limited" customers without any investment. And they are probably correct.

I was sold and pay for unlimited service it is not abuse to use what I was sold and pay for.

***** you AT&T!

I think AT&T will not complain if you leave.

Also......when AT&T says they will throttle the top 5% which % are they talking about? 5% in your area, 5% in a demographic area or 5% total on their network? If lets say the top 5% is on the western part of the country how does that benefit me being on the eastern part of the country?

They will not throttle the top 5%. They will have set some amount of GB per month, and if you exceed that, you will get throttled. And with todays average use, 5% of their "unlimited" customers are above that limit.

Even if it is legit, that doesn't mean you deserve to get an excessive amount for free. Well, business or pleasure, high / excessive mobile use is a privilege that you'll need to decide whether it's worth the extra cost or not. You may be finding out that very question soon enough.

Has nothing to do with legit, deserving, or excessive: If someone uses more than a certain amount of data, then AT&T will not want them as a customer anymore. (Here in the UK, some person who asked a car insurance for a quote was told they would insure him for £24,000 per year, with just an average car. That's 40,000 dollars. It seems the insurance just didn't want him as a customer).

 

[ecib]

Just download less :/ use free open wifi more. I am sorry but some people must really abuse their downloads to go over some caps.

By abuse you mean observing a company offering a particular service at a particular price, and deciding to purchase and use it.

I'm sorry, but framing fair use of an *unlimited data* plan as abuse is asinine. They've stopped offering the plans, so there are only grandfathered plans to deal with on AT&T's end, and of those plans, only a small portion of the users use a lot of data. This is supposed to degrade AT&T's network? Doubtful, and if that's the case they want to make, they need to release the hard network data to back it up if they want to be taken seriously.

 

[MacCheetah3]

*********. I have 15 days left in my billing cycle and I've used 8075.76 MB (8 GB). It's all from Netflix.

Do you travel continuously? Either way, but.... Why would you need to be watching ~60 to 70 hours of Netflix on the go per month? Quite frankly, you should be paying a bit extra for that privilege. I enjoy my Netflix as well, but it is by no means a necessity or in any way critical. You're not going to pay more anyway, it will just stream at a lower quality. If it's so low that it's unwatchable (buffers a lot) than you'll just have to suck it up and decide if your frequent on the go entertainment is worth the added cost (tiered plan and pay the $10 per GB overage).

Some of us do use video editing or other reasonable yet high-data activities with iOS devices.

Even if it is legit, that doesn't mean you deserve to get an excessive amount for free. Well, business or pleasure, high / excessive mobile use is a privilege that you'll need to decide whether it's worth the extra cost or not. You may be finding out that very question soon enough.

And, BTW, open Wi-Fi routers are few and far between now.

My guess is for the same reason. I don't have my router open, mainly because I don't want everyone in my apartment complex -- in a home travelers by -- to hog all of the bandwidth I pay for. My home isn't a business. I'm not providing a perk to already paying customers.

I can log into their site to see how much of that 250 GB I've used. That is what AT&T needs to do.

You can already do this with AT&T, including an iOS app. There are even apps that warn you: DataMan Pro

AT&T sold "unlimited" data plans at one point and a contract was signed with the customer. By using as much data as the customer wants does not make that person an "abuser" -- they are simply operating within the contract.

So is AT&T. It's still unlimited. Nothing in the contract said service levels can't change. In fact, there is a disclaimer about a small percentage of possible occasional subpar performance and reliability and blah, blah, blah.

I think I'm going to open an "all you can eat" restaurant.

I knew this would come eventually. Buffets are the same idea, it's just that your stomach is the automatic cap. I'm guessing that the 400-500Lbs people are only a 5% or so ratio for those restaurants as well. Even look at the Olive Garden with free breadsticks and salad. Do you really think the average customer eats more than a few servings each? If it were a problem, restaurants would add limitations as well, and they do sometimes.

 

[hobo.hopkins]

By abuse you mean observing a company offering a particular service at a particular price, and deciding to purchase and use it.

I'm sorry, but framing fair use of an *unlimited data* plan as abuse is asinine. They've stopped offering the plans, so there are only grandfathered plans to deal with on AT&T's end, and of those plans, only a small portion of the users use a lot of data. This is supposed to degrade AT&T's network? Doubtful, and if that's the case they want to make, they need to release the hard network data to back it up if they want to be taken seriously.

I use a lot of data per month (on the Verizon network), but I wouldn't have any problem with data throttling. They are still giving users the unlimited data they paid for, only making it so that a select few users cannot negatively impact the entire base of users. I think it's perfectly fair, even if I were to be affected.

 

[NoStopN]

I smell a class action suit!

If that's the case, you'd have to include Verizon & T-Mobile because they've been throttling for a while now.

And you can certainly blow your LTE/4G crap out yer rear.

I like my LTE 4G, thank you very much. Whenever the iPhone can support LTE, I'll pick it up.

Open WiFi is a thing of the past.

Try going to McDonalds. Free & no passwords on them. Plus, they & Starbucks are AT&T partner hotspot locations. They may be slower than 3G, but they won't change speed when you get to 2, 5 or even 10GB.

I can't even get my iPad to reliably connect to my home router. It just prefers 3G. Don't notice the non-WiFi connection until I hit some Wi-Fi-only feature - no, I'm NOT always going to watch the tiny indicator in the corner, nor am I always going to stop what I'm doing and go toggle Settings -> Cellular Data -> Off to force it (and then be annoyed by having to turn it back on again).

And, BTW, open Wi-Fi routers are few and far between now.

My iPad found both bands that my router was putting out. And my iPad has surfed on both reliably. Sounds like you either have a router issue or your iPad software is messed up & doesn't acknowledge wifi as equally as 3G.

All the way back in 2007 with the launch of the original iPhone it was in the fine print that the Unlimited Plan had a 5GB data cap. They have already covered their ass on this.

Not really. I had months where I exceeded 5GB with no peep from AT&T.

The problem boils down to AT&T not being willing to upgrade their network and that we live in one little corner of our city that gets neglected by everyone, since if we cross either the streets (we live on a corner) we are in another town.

Anybody with any knowledge of technology and/or business sense understands this. AT&T is criticized for shoddy service & lackluster customer service. But, when they start a propaganda parade that says, "We need the merger with T-Mobile to improve....", that's an admission that your network is not satisfactory to serve your customers. Plus, T-Mo customers are already aware that if the merger goes through, service won't improve.

ip5 on verizon or sprint and i am gone!

As I stated before, my next iPhone will be LTE compatible.

 

[ayeying]

Demanding AND Greedy.

I don't think so. I'm on the go a lot. I don't feel I should be limited or even throttled.

I paid for Unlimited Data, so I'm going to use Unlimited. I'm already being extremely loose with AT&T and not care about the 25% dropped calls I have or randomly I would lose 3G and be thrown on E or completely no signal for no reason.

Think of it this way, if you have Unlimited Texting, would it be right to say "Oh, btw, even though you have Unlimited, we're really limiting you to like 5000 a month", is it fair?

Now for throttling, same example with Texting. "Oh, since you're using too much this month, we're going to delay sending or receiving your text messages". Would it be fair then also?